National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
screen. The seating furniture is mostly covered in its original Aubusson tapestry. Stanford
White provided several of the tables. There are four pieces of furniture made by the nineteenthcentury
Parisian cabinet-maker Paul Sormani including a pair of card tables, a two-tier tea
table, 645 and a roll-top desk. All of this furniture is Louis XV style with gilt-bronze mounts.
Sormani exhibited at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Frederick and
Louise attended this exhibition, and it is possible that they became acquainted with his work at
that time. The Steinway piano with a gilded and decorated case was originally made for
Frederick Vanderbilt's 693 Fifth Avenue house. 646 The green cut and voided velvet curtains and
portieres were made from fabric purchased by Stanford White. 647 The large Living Room rug
was supplied by Stanford White 648 and was supplemented by a number of smaller rugs, although
many of the ones presently there now have been moved from the foyers and hall. 649
The Living Room has interesting wall sconces composed of gilt-bronze mounted pink
marble urns on gilt-bronze brackets that were made by E.F. Caldwell & Co. 650 The many
Oriental vases mounted as lamps attest to Frederick's interest in porcelains.
I asked her whether there were any pieces in the room that were acquired by Mr. Vanderbilt
other than from the decorator. She [Van Alen Bruguiere] said that only the Whitney statue
and possibly all of the Chinese vases on the south side of the room, but definitely piece
number (old number) 108, and present number 868, and possibly the corresponding vases on
the other side of the room were from Mr. Vanderbilt's father William H. Vanderbilt. 651
One pair of lamps on the western refectory table still has the original tops to the jars
beside the lamps. One lamp known to have been taken from the Living Room is a bridge
lamp. 652 There are a number of bronzes displayed on the tables, one of which was made by
Frederick's cousin Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. 653 Another bronze was taken by Mr. Shears
and then returned in 1939. 654 There were a number of books and folios recorded in the Living
Room in 1938, but their location is unknown. 655
The Vanderbilts had many problems with the appearance of the Living Room. Whitney
Warren was asked to make changes at the same time that he redesigned the Second Floor Hall in
645
Branded on the underside "P. Sormani."
646
Serial # 41139. See correspondence in object file #839 from Theodore Steinway to Mrs. Margaret
Partridge, August 20, 1970. The piano was sold to Frederick on October 23, 1880, and was one of the first
Steinway pianos with double-reinforced waterproofed hammers. The piano as recorded in the Steinway
ledgers was finished in Rosewood and was finished in June 1880. It was decorated after that. According
to an article in the New York Morning Journal, March 18, 1887, the piano was decorated by Martine and
was "one of the rarest and costliest in the city." Mr. James Maher kindly shared his notes from this article
with me. I was unable to locate a copy of the original.
647
Van Alen, 1940. The original drapes were put into storage in 1998. The portieres are replacements.
648
Van Alen, 1940 believes that the rugs date to the late 16th century. According to Traudt, the large
living room rug was brought back by Mrs. Van Alen's chauffeur; she had taken it to Wakehurst but it did
not fit. She also took a small rug at that time. (Fred Traudt Report, Vanderbilt # 46, December 19, 1939.)
649
According to Craig Jessup, former curator.
650
Caldwell Collection, Cooper-Hewitt Library, Wall Brackets, Volume 3, 20, #c-4140.
651
Bruguiere, 1948.
652
"Mr. Reeves came for a bridge lamp in living room for Mr. Shears. (Fred Traudt Report, Vanderbilt #
46, December 19, 1939.)
653
Van Alen, 1940
654
Fred Traudt Report, Vanderbilt #46, 1939.
655 Curry Inventory, 1938, 9-10.
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