House museums have a special power to rivet a visitor's attention and engage his or her
imagination. This is a wonderful power ... It stems in great measure from the perceived
authenticity of what is seen at these sites; in their landscapes, structures and collections. The
clarity with which the issue of authenticity is handled, both in interpretation and in fact, is
therefore a major issue.
Frank Sanchis, Vice President, Stewardship of Historic Sites,
National Trust for Historic Preservation
A House Worth Preserving
The Cappon House, built in 1873-74, is one of the earliest intact house museums in Western
Michigan. Because it remained in one family until purchased by the City of Holland in 1980, it
contains a nearly complete household of furniture purchased by the family between 1873 and 1900
greatly enhancing its local, regional and even national import.
The Cappon collection is nationally significant as one of the largest known collections of labeled
and attributed early Grand Rapids furniture in its original setting, and is important for
understanding the American Victorian culture that produced it, and the Dutch immigrant family who
purchased it.
A Story Worth Telling
The Cappon House reflects the lives of the Dutch immigrants who "made it" in the new world. Isaac
Cappon and Catarina DeBoe Cappon were both immigrants from the Province of Zeeland, Netherlands in
the late 1840s. They met and were married soon after immigrating and had eleven children.
In the 1850s, Cappon worked for regional leather tanneries where he became acquainted with his
life-long business partner John Bertsch. The two founded the Cappon and Bertsch Leather Co., which
became successful in the 1860s due, in part, to Civil War contracts.
Catarina reportly fell ill around the time of her 50th birthday. She went to bed and did not leave
her room until she died two years later in 1887. Isaac later married his housekeeper Jacoba De Kok,
in late 1891. Together the two had five children.
The Cappons built an Italianate-style residence of wood in Holland, Michigan in 1873-74 following
the catastrophic Holland fire of 1871, which destroyed most of the town. When completed, the house
was considered the finest residence in southwestern Ottawa County. Much of the furniture and the
interior woodwork was produced by the Grand Rapids furniture industry when it was first capturing
the nation's attention in the mid-1870s.
Designs for exterior and interior decorative woodwork came from Cummings and Miller's Architecture
of 1868. The spectacular black walnut and ash Renaissance Revival interior woodwork was made locally
by the Holland factory of H. W. Verbeek &Co.
Cappon House As Textbook
Because their former house and possessions were destroyed during the fire, the couple purchased all
new furniture for the house. The Cappon's purchases were so typical of the upper middle class,
that the house becomes a veritable textbook of 19th century American, upper middle class culture.
Most of the furniture came from Berkey & Gay and from Nelson, Matter & Co., two of the most
significant early Grand Rapids furniture companies. These manufacturers, founded in 1859 and 1854 respectively,
were influential in the nationwide American furniture market starting in the 1870s. By introducing
machine-assisted production, they were able to produce middle to high-end furniture at costs lower
than other competitors.
Berkey & Gay, Nelson, Matter, and another Grand Rapids company, the Phoenix Furniture Co.,
exhibited bedroom suites at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876. All won awards and
their exhibits were seen by millions of exposition goers.
Among the attendees were the Cappons and Bertschs, who traveled to Philadelphia for the event. At
the Centennial John Bertsch supposedly purchased, for his new wife Caroline, the massive Berkey &
Gay bedroom suite now in the Public Museum of Grand Rapids' "Furniture City" exhibit.
Around 1874 Berkey & Gay supplied the Cappon's parlor furnishings including mirror, parlor suite,
center table, drapery and curtain cornice, the master bedroom suite (design attributed to John
Keck), and a "parlor suite" and bookcase for the sitting room. Photos of the Berkey & Gay
showrooms, taken in the mid-1870s, show a mirror identical to the Cappon's over-mantle mirror, and
chairs like those purchased for the sitting room. The Cappons probably contracted directly with
Berkey & Gay for this furniture.
Nelson, Matter supplied ash "cottage" bedroom furniture for the children's bedrooms in the 1870s, a
cherry "Langtry cheval" bedroom suite for the guest bedroom, and an inlaid secretary bookcase for
the sitting room (design attributed to Charles Radcliffe) in the 1880s. The Nelson, Matter
furniture was probably purchased through Piet Sakkers and James A. Brouwer, local furniture dealers
and "jobbers" who finished and retailed goods for the Holland market.
The Cappons were able to order other furniture from around the country, thanks to the late 19th
century transportation and marketing networks that supplied the middle and upper middle classes.
"A 19th Century Treasury Of Floor Coverings"
Historic Interiors consultant Gail Winkler, did a study and made recommendations for restoration
of interior finishes and furnishings of the house. The continuity of the family having lived in
the house for over 100 years has resulted in a particularly rich body of material for her to
examine including floor coverings, wallpaper, upholstery and curtain fabrics. Winkler observed
that the house is a "treasury of 19th century floor coverings."
A Delicate Balance
What makes the Cappon House's potential so great ironically makes the Trust's jobs that much more
challenging and costly. Because we hold a public trust to be as accurate as possible in or
preservation efforts, and because we have so much evidence of what was in the house during Cappon's
life, we are obligated to be as true to that evidence as possible. That may mean costly
reproductions of wall and floor coverings and upholstery material, just as it most certainly will
mean restoring the kitchen to its original design before the 1924 fire, and restoring the dining
room and the southwest porch, among other things.
It is, however, important to add that the house must be as user-friendly as possible. After all,
restoration of the house is undertaken on behalf of the community for both its educational value
and enjoyment. How to balance the need to make the house accessible and enjoyable for visitors
with the desire to make it and maintain it as valid a historical context as possible requires
making many difficult decisions. It means, perhaps, partially restricting access to some areas of
the house while inviting free movement in others. Some rooms may even be multi-purpose in nature
providing opportunities for appropriate special events and gatherings.
While it is important that the house be accessible to the public, it is just as important that it
is as historically honest as possible, so that when a little boy, like the one last week, visits
the house and asks, "Is it real?", we won't disappoint him.
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Berkey & Gay Armchair, ca 1874. Original.
silk brocatelle reproduced by
Scalamandre, N.Y.
Cappon House Kitchen
After Reconstruction
Detail from Lavina's Bedroom
Detail of the kerosene chandelier
from the Dining Room, ca. 1870.
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