21 November 2010

A curious orientation of the banisters

"Pender County, North Carolina. Sloop Point at Hampstead. House over 200 years old."
Found at Shorpy.

4 comments:

  1. Makes one wonder if the builder newel what he was doing.

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  2. I believe that the post at the foot of the stairs, the larger vertical post, is the newel post. It is rather the balusters that are peculiarly situated in this picture.

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  3. Paul, you're right re the newel post. But wikipedia says that baluster should be used for the swollen-shaped rail supports:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baluster

    and they suggest banister for the piece in question here.

    "The word banister (also bannister) refers to the balusters of a stairway. However, the term banister implies a more modern, narrower support to a handrail than a traditional baluster. The word banister is also often used to refer to the handrail of a stairway."

    You learn something every day. Thanks for the correction. Post amended.

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  4. bigjohn756 made a nice pun. I immediately groaned when I saw it--proof of its punicity!

    ReplyDelete

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