Among the striking details in Robert Robertson’s Pequot Library are the cast iron, copper plated decorative columns which head each aisle of the two storey stacks. Before restoration these were covered with layers of soot from the first years of the Library’s existence, when the stacks were lit with coal gas, and with the dust of benign neglect – one of the most welcome conditions the restorer can come across, because the pieces had not been altered, with one exception, since the Library’s creation.

Newmans, Ltd.'s challenge was to gently remove the residues and the original protective film, carefully highlight the polished copper, and apply a new protective film.

A cast iron capital at the top of one of the aisle columns before disassembly and restoration

A capital after restoration

An alteration made to the columns was for the installation of electric lights soon after the turn of the 20th century. A hole was drilled in each column to accommodate the switches.

In recent times, the individual switches were replaced by a central switch. We removed the unnecessary switches, then designed and manufactured a set of plates to cover the remaining roughly cut holes in an elegant, simple way.

A base of one column, where it meets the floor, before restoration.

A base after restoration

Getting columns ready for highlighting the polished copper plated sections

The completed columns stacked at Newmans, Ltd., awaiting their return to the Pequot Library