Parlor

The parlor of eighteenth and nineteenth-century homes was considered the best room and a public space where visitors were entertained.

The decorative arts and wall objects in a parlor would reflect the tastes and interests of the homeowner. In the Jewett sisters’ parlor, Sarah Orne Jewett’s books are displayed prominently, as are framed photographs of Jewett’s partner, Annie Fields, and close friend and designer of Jewett’s book covers, Sarah Wyman Whitman.