Completed in 1813 by public lottery subscription, so in October 1814 it is barely a year old and still smells of paint.
Description
Completed in 1813 by public lottery subscription, so in October 1814 it is barely a year old and still smells of paint. Public meetings, subscription balls, auctions and a subscription library.
It is where the European community does anything that requires more than one household to agree, which makes its records a map of who is aligned with whom.
Notable Features
- Subscription lists. Who paid for what, and how much, in public. Committee membership is a power chart in ink.
- The library. European books and periodicals, some months out of date, and the London papers.
- Auction and meeting notices.
- Open to subscribers, which the party can become for money.
The Senses
- Smell. New paint, new plaster, wax, and the faintly sour smell of a building that has not yet dried out.
- Sound. Echoes. It is too big for the number of people usually in it.
- Colour. Fresh whitewash, pale stone, and the hard bright light of tall new windows.