Scenic Wallpaper

        
<div  class="align-right ibexa-embed-type-image">
    
    
    <figure class="ezimage-field"><img src="https://cc-dms-storage.s3.amazonaws.com/main/images/_aliases/450x450/media/governor_s_mansion/images/wallpaper_2/243142-1-eng-US/wallpaper_2.jpg" alt="Scenic Wallpaper" height="300" width="450" /></figure>

</div>

<p class="pb-6">&nbsp;The dining room's scenic wallpaper design is entitled <em>Isola Bella</em>, which in Italian means "beautiful island". The setting is composed entirely of lush foliage, exotic flowers and birds, and is thought to be an island in Lake Maggiore, Italy. The wallpaper is an antique pattern, designed in 1842-1843 by the renowned Zuber Company of Rixheim, France. It is virtually indistinguishable from the 19th century original because the same 1840's woodblocks are used to print it. The pattern required 742 different woodblocks and 85 separate colors of tempera paint which were hand-applied to each block. The gradation of background color from the warm, cream color at the horizon to the blue, violet hue of the sky is a result of being brushed on by hand before any of the other colors or patterns are applied. Since tempera is water-soluble, all of the sheets are meticulously installed by carefully-trained artisans. Because of its exquisite skyline, the wallpaper is considered among the finest scenic wallpaper designs dating from the first half of the 19th century.</p>


Silver Collection

        
<div  class="align-right ibexa-embed-type-image">
    
    
    <figure class="ezimage-field"><img src="https://cc-dms-storage.s3.amazonaws.com/main/images/_aliases/400x400/media/governor_s_mansion/silver_collection_downsized/243127-1-eng-US/silver_collection_downsized.jpg" alt="The silver collection" height="322" width="400" /></figure>

</div>

<p class="pb-6"><em>The USS Florida Presentation Silver Collection </em>is among the most impressive of all the objects displayed in the mansion. The complete 47-piece sterling silver service represents an outpouring of public support for our servicemen by the people of Florida. School children of Florida and private donors raised most of the $10,000 needed to commission the service. The dedication ceremony took place in Pensacola, Florida on December 18, 1911. Governor Albert Gilchrist, accompanied by his military staff, reviewed a parade of over 100 marines and soldiers before presenting the silver to Captain Harry W. Knapp, commander of the battleship. In 1930, in compliance with the London Naval Treaty, the USS Florida was decommissioned and eventually scuttled. The silver was returned to the State of Florida in care of the governor and has remained in the mansion ever since.</p>        
<div  class="align-right ibexa-embed-type-image">
    
    
    <figure class="ezimage-field"><img src="https://cc-dms-storage.s3.amazonaws.com/main/images/_aliases/400x400/media/governor_s_mansion/uss/243221-1-eng-US/uss.gif" alt="The USS Florida Battleship" height="318" width="400" /></figure>

</div>

<p class="pb-6">Most states have battleship silver services which are decorated, such as ours, with the symbols of the history, flora and fauna of their state.</p><p class="pb-6">Our silver service was designed and made by the Gorham Company in the "colonial" style and is over 100 years old. The various pieces include the seals of the United States Navy and the State of Florida. Each piece was carefully crafted to accentuate motifs of Florida. You will notice alligators, oranges and seashells in abundance! The largest piece of the collection is a 12-gallon punch bowl.</p>
