"I dream't I dwelt in marble halls"
Devoted to the histories and current state of the great mansions of America's Gilded Age.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Long Island North Shore Society











Click HERE to read a great article from the July 22, 1946 issue of Life magazine. See cover of Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney and then go to page 73 for story.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Mrs. Drexel Dahlgren Residence Champ Soleil, Newport, RI

 
 





















Champ Soleil, located on Bellevue Avenue, Newport's most fashionable street was  built in 1929 for Lucy Drexel Dahlgren and is one of the last great houses to be erected towards the end of Newport's golden age. Lucy Drexel Dahlgren was the granddaughter of Joseph W. Drexel, of Drexel & Company, Philadelphia. The 1929 home was designed by the prominent architectural firm of Polhemus & Coffin and was inspired by the hunting lodge at Versailles called La Lanterne.
The second owner was Roberta & Robert Goelet, who had the house enlarged and decorated by the famed french decorating firm Maison Jansen. The estate was later owned by Russell B. Aitken and his wife Annie Laurie Aitken. Mrs. Aitken was the mother of Martha "Sunny" Von Bulow , who had  a home down the avenue named Clarendon Court. Clarendon Court unfortunately received much attention during the 1980s when Sunny fell into a coma at the house, which lead to a sensational court case evolving around her husband, Claus Von Bulow. 

Click HERE  and go to page 145 to read  and see more photographs of  the house during the Goelet ownership in "Jansen", by James Archer Abbott, Acanthus Press 2006

Links to more on Champ Soleil
Things That Inspire


Saturday, January 8, 2011

Gilded Age Society


Here are a few of my favorite books about high society. The mansions of the gilded age weren't just built to be lived in,  but to be used as vehicles for social impression and standing. When Alva Vanderbilt wanted to break into the 400 of New York Society, she constructed her chateau at 660 Fifth Avenue. All of society was abuzz about it and legend has it, that Caroline Astor's daughter Carrie was practicing a dance to be preformed  at the housewarming party when Alva Vanderbilt, informed her that she wouldn't be able to attend, since her mother, The Mrs. Astor had never called upon Mrs. Vanderbilt. Carrie supposedly went home and cried to her mother that she couldn't miss the event of the season. Mrs.Astor, who still felt the Vanderbilt's were nouveau riche, decided that maybe the time had come for the Vanderbilts to enter the "400". Story has it that she got in her carriage and drove up Fifth Avenue and left her calling card for Mrs. Vanderbilt. One hour after , the last of the invitations to Alva's ball arrived at Mrs. Astors townhouse.This and many other of the great stories of the Gilded Age  are told in these wonderful books.


Click HERE to read the chapter on 66o Fifth Avenue from Great houses of New York  

Click HERE to read online.







Society As I Have Found It 

Click HERE to read online.







Peacocks On Parade
Click HERE to read on Google books.

Who Killed Society?
King Lehr and the Gilded Age
Click HERE to read about Harry & Elizabeth Lehr on The Down East Dilettante





Links to more Harry & Elizabeth Lehr

Harry Lehr
Elizabeth Lehr
Portrait of Lady Decies by Giovanni Boldini & Biography

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Behind The Hedgerow

A  must have film about Newport Society! click HERE to view the website and order.

Caumsett at Lloyd Neck, NY Estate of Marshall Field III

The Marshall Fields: The Evolution of an American Business Dynasty

The Marshall Field III estate at Lloyd Harbor New York was built in 1922 by the heir of the great Chicago Department store, Marshall Fields. Situated on 1,700 acres along the Long Island Sound, the house, modeled on the great Georgian houses of England was designed by John Russell Pope along with many of the outbuildings. The entire estate today is now owned by New York State and is preserved as a parkland to be enjoyed by the public. Below are some aerial views of the estate taken during its heyday.




Please click the following links for more on Caumsett and the Marshall Fields

Caumsett Foundation
Caumsett on Wikipedia
Historic American Building Survey
Marshall Field III on Wikipedia
New York State Parks
Old Long Island

Saturday, January 1, 2011

The Country House Conference 2018

Mansions of the Gilded Age & The American Country House Foundation in partnership with The Planting Fields Foundation are proud to present the 2018 Country House Conference, "Bold and British", an exploration of historic British country houses. The conference will take place November 3rd at historic Coe Hall. Guests will fully immerse themselves into the world of the British country house with a full day of topics ranging from decorative arts to lost country houses. Speakers will be,John, Earl of Dumfries who will speak about his family estate"Mount Stuart",Carol Wallace will discuss her book, "To Marry An English Lord", Artist Ed Kluz will also discuss his book "The Lost House Revisited" Michael Diaz-Griffith, the current Associate Executive Director of the Winter Show will give a presentation "Lutyens and The Last Country Houses" and Henry Joyce, the executive director of Planting Fields will give a talk about the history of "Coe Hall". More information and Ticket link HERE.

Speakers will be,

JOHN, EARL OF DUMFRIES
Mount Stuart

John, Earl of Dumfries, will be discussing the role of a “next-gem” heirs to British country estates. John is the son of the 7th Marquess of Bute, commonly known as Johnny Bute. The Bute family have been in possession of their estate since 1157 when granted the office “Steward of Bute”. The previous Georgian country houses on the estate burned in 1877 and was replaced by the current extravagant mansion design by Robert Rowand Anderson and the 3rd Marquess of Bute. The Bute family are also historically associated with Cardiff Castle, Dumfries House, Bute House and Rothesay Castle. 




MICHAEL DIAZ-GRIFFITH
”Lutyens and The Last Country Houses”

Michael Diaz-Griffith is the Associate Executive Director of The Winter Show. Diaz-Griffith will discuss the work of famed British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869-1944). Lutyens, best known for the garden bench bearing his name, is one of the the most celebrated British architects of the twentieth century, with works spanning the globe including the design for the new British capital of New Delhi. Diaz-Griffith will discuss Lutyens’s country houses in the context of rapidly changing times, from the Victorian Age to the 1930s, exploring the social forces and aesthetic decisions that shaped the last grand residences of the pre-war era. 







 ED KLUZ
Artist and Author
The Lost House Revisited
 
Ed Kluz is an artist, illustrator and printmaker. His work explores contemporary perceptions of the past through the re-imagining of historic landscapes, buildings and objects. Kluz will present a selection of country houses from his recent book The Lost House Revisited . The book explores the stories of many of Britain’s most iconic and extravagant country houses through Kluz’s atmospheric artwork. 














HENRY JOYCE
Executive Director,
Planting Fields Foundation
Coe Hall

Henry Joyce will provide an overview of Coe Hall, and the Coe family. Coe Hall is emblematic of a growing Anglophile trend among America’s upper class in the first part of the 20th century. Coe Hall is typical of many ‘manor houses’ built by affluent industrial families who sought to evoke a sense of aristocracy among themselves so closely associated with Britain in the American imagination.
CAROL WALLACE
Author
To Marry An English Lord

Carol Wallace is a New York Times bestselling author and coauthor of To Marry an English Lord: Tales of Wealth and Marriage, Sex and Snobbery . First published in 1989, To Marry An English Lord chronicles the American heiresses who crossed the pond in an approximately forty year “cash for class” period in which American money helped to bolster many of Britain’s greatest country estates. The book has often been cited as an inspiration for Downton Abbey and has seen a resurgence in popularity as many take a closer look at this unique period in country house history. 

You will not want to miss this wonderful and educational event which takes place at one of the most magnificent remaining, "Gold Coast Mansions". Tickets can be purchased HERE.
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