National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
the door to the Den. The Den has an arched alcove at the western side with carved or faux
carved panels within the arches. A faux-painted tapestry fills the upper wall section of the
western side, with a built-in bookcase with leaded glass doors below. The side walls are paneled
with arched sections in Santo Domingo mahogany and carved brackets at intervals coinciding
with the arched timbers. These brackets support light fixtures. There is a carved frieze that
functions as a shallow shelf for objects above the arches. A large fireplace with a carved mantel
is on the north wall. There are additional open bookcases on the east wall surmounted by a
carved, vaguely gothic elongated arch. The south wall originally had a built-in bench like the
one that appears in the drawing for the Lobby. This bench was part of an architecturallyconceived
surround with carved panels, arches, columns, and capitals. There are two inset
tapestry panels behind the bench, one above the other. The main body of the ceiling supports a
beautifully carved center medallion surrounded by encased cross-timbers. These cross-timbers
have applied rosettes at their intersections and a figural terminus. The ceiling and upper walls
retain the original mottled green paint. Like the Lobby, the stylistic feeling of this room
combines Renaissance vocabulary with an art-nouveau use of scrolling curves. 603
The Den decorated by Georges Glaenzer is documented by five blueprint drawings. 604 It
is believed that the carving was executed by Swiss artists. 605 An interesting letter from Georges
Glaenzer to Stanford White documents Glaenzer's use of Swiss carving: "I have also purchased
extensively Renaissance, French, German, Italian and Swiss wood carvings, in the style of those
that you have seen at Emil Peyre's." 606 The mantel is also said to have come from a Swiss
church, 607 and the ironwork over the south window is Swiss. 608 Herter Brothers, subcontracted
by Georges Glaenzer, played a small role in patching some plaster and possibly working on the
wood floor. 609 Elmer Garnsey, a decorative artist, executed the plasterwork on the architrave. 610
The room was built quite close to the drawings. The major difference was the
substitution of carving where inlay was indicated on the drawings. The brackets holding the foo
dog lights were added, most likely at the time of construction, as there is no discernable
difference in the work.
The Den has the following furniture: a pair of armchairs, a pair of easy chairs, two side
chairs, a Savonarola chair, a library table, two sofas, and a side table. The original draperies were
made of tapestry and are now in storage. The present replacements were fabricated and
installed in 1968. 611 The small window originally had a blue and gold brocade curtain. 612 The
603
I thank Peggy Albee for sharing her description of this room with me.
604
Drawing #7, Elevation of North Wall, #9, Elevation of South Wall, #8, Elevation of East Wall, # 6,
Elevation of West Wall, #10, Detail of Wainscot. All are in the VAMA collection.
605
Van Alen, 1940; Bruguiere, 1948.
606
Letter GAG to SW, August 29, 1898, SW Papers, Box 13:18.
607
Van Alen, 1940.
608
According to Mr. Samuels of French & Co. (Samuels, French & Co., 1940, 2.)
609
Herter Brothers Sales Ledger, 1898-1904, vol. 18, 43, Entry December 29, 1898. Herter Brothers Sales
Ledger 1898-1904, vol. 18, 99, Entry October 30, 1899, Geo. Glaenzer & Co. #33 East 20.
610 th
See CFM to Elmer Garnsey, CFM Papers, LC, December 7, 1898, Reel #4, "Yours of the 7 , in relation
to the plaster architrave in the Library, at the Vanderbilt House, has already been attended to." Elmer
Garnsey is recorded as a sub-contractor in the MMW Bill books, to the amount of $5,250. See vol. 6,
entry December 1, 1898, 437. On Garnsey see New York Times, October 29, 1949, 26:2. He was a
decorative artist and painter.
611
Albert McClure, Monthly Report, February 1968.
117