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Community Corner

Pistol Duels and a Little Black Dress

Tudor Place opens this fall season with 'Guns and Gowns' event.

Pistol duels and a little black dress were the center of conversations held over cocktails last night at this fall’s Tudor Nights Guns and Gowns event hosted at the historic 1815 Tudor Place (1644 31st St., NW).

Two late 1700s flintlock pistols made for dueling and a late 1950s black silk dress were the featured items from the large collection of antiques bequeathed by the Tudor Place’s last owner Armistead Peter.

The little black dress belonged to Peter’s wife, Caroline Ogden-Jones Peter, whose strong fashion sense left the estate with a designer wardrobe collection from the 1920s through 1950s.

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Braedon Renne, Tudor Place Development and Management Officer, designed two drinks for the evening - the “blushlady” to highlight the dress and “the hunter” to accent the pistols.

Guests were served the special drinks and hor d’oeuvre in the 1873 Dower Townhouse on the Tudor Place grounds and were invited to walk through the gardens to the mansion where the antique collection was on display.

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Tudor Nights are held four times in a year to feature a particular group of items from the archives because the museum does not have enough space to permanently showcase Peter’s entire bequest.

Tudor Place was originally the home of Thomas Peter and Martha Custis Peter, step-granddaughter of George Washington. Martha Peter purchased the grounds of Tudor Place in 1805 with $8,000 she inherited upon Washington’s death.

In 1815 Dr. William Thornton designed the center structure, which conjoined two smaller preexisting structures. Thornton also designed the United States Capitol building.

Mandy Katz, Tudor Place Communications Officer, said Tudor Place comes back to life with community events in the fall and winter.

Tudor Place will host a Fall Harvest Tea this Saturday from 1-3 p.m. The cost is $25 for members and $30 for nonmembers.

Horticulturist Suzanne Bouchard will teach a kitchen herb garden tutorial on Oct. 8 from 10-11:30 a.m. The cost is $15 members and $20 for nonmembers. There will be a children’s Fairies in the Garden Tea that same day from 1-2:30 p.m. Children can dress up like fairies and partake in a proper tea. The cost is $20 for a member’s child, $25 for a nonmember’s and $10 for adults.

Tudor Place will be adorned with Christmas decorations for the next Tudor Nights on Dec. 6.

Click here to see listing of more Tudor Place events.

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