National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Resource History and Description of Existing Conditions
This room was repapered in 1932 with an exact reproduction of the original paper. 789
The original paper, remnants of which exist at the site, was hand-embossed with a hand-striated
pink ground executed in two colors. The original 1890s paper and the 1932 version are identical
except in the quality of the ground paper and the colors of the striations. In 1993, the NPS
replaced a section on the west wall with a modern reproduction wallpaper due to a leak in the
roof of the west portico. This paper is not embossed. In 1966 the Large and Small Red Room
draperies were replaced and the furniture was reupholstered. 790 The reproduction fabric is a
poor replacement and does not closely approximate the original.
Other changes in the room are minor. Mrs. Van Alen took two pictures from the red
rooms in 1939. 791
Small Red Bedroom
The Small Red Bedroom can be entered either from the hall or the Large Red Bedroom.
It was decorated and furnished in the same manner as the Large Red Room except that the
mantel is carved and painted wood more along the lines of the mantels in the third floor guest
rooms. It is furnished with a bed, two cane-back side chairs, an easy chair, a bureau, and a wash
stand with mirror. The mantel clock from this room is now in Mrs. Vanderbilt's Bedroom. 792 In
1966 the draperies were replaced and the furniture was reupholstered with the same poor
quality fabrics used in the Large Red Room. 793
North Foyer
The North Foyer leads to the Blue Room and the Mauve Room. It is furnished with a
green velvet sofa with fringe probably made by Herter Brothers, 794 a side table also probably
attributable to Herter Brothers, and a gilded center table with a marble top. There are three oil
paintings hanging on the walls and a hanging lantern provides light. The pair of vases currently
on the mantel in the Mauve room should be on the oak side table. 795 The rug now in the
Elliptical Hall should be in this space. 796
789
"She stated that in 1935 she went to Europe at the request of her uncle. She tried to match the
wallpaper on that room, the Blue Room and the Red Room. She was able to secure in 1935 the same
wallpaper that had been placed in the room in 1898." (Bruguiere, 1948.) While Mrs. Van Alen Bruguiere
remembered the year as 1935, it was more likely 1932. The shipping box from A.L. Diament & Co., 1515
Walnut Street, Philadelphia has a shipping label on it dated February 1932.
790
Albert McClure, Monthly Report, November, December 1966
791
Fred Traudt Report, Vanderbilt #46, October 21, 1939.
792
According to Craig Jessup, former curator.
793
Albert McClure, Monthly Report, November, December 1966
794
The sofa is visible in a photograph of the Parlor at 459 Fifth Avenue, William H. Vanderbilt Residence,
later Frederick W. Vanderbilt Residence, New York City. The photograph BHA4-02045 is in the
collection of Biltmore. The photograph probably dates to circa 1880. The green velvet upholstery
presently on the sofa is not original.
795
See Curry Inventory, 1938.
796 Curry Inventory, 1938, 46.
144