Monday, June 7, 2010

'Talbot House' Interiors Part 1

Part 1 of the interior shots of 'Talbot House', the Talbot Jones Taylor estate designed by Lamb & Rich c. 1895 in Cedarhurst. Click HERE for more on 'Talbot House'.







Pictures from the Talbot J. Taylor Collection, 1906.

11 comments:

The Down East Dilettante said...

There's a lot to like here----and it will be even better after we clear out a little at the yard sale

Zach L. said...

There are 5 rooms pictured here and something like 40+ chairs visible in those 5 rooms. Either they had a lot of people over or TJT was a bit compulsive when it came to antiques.

Jeff said...

There is obviously no shortages on places to sit...

The dining room is quite attractive though. But I've always been a sucker for a nice black-and-white floor.

magnus said...

odd and overfull, but I rather like it. My shins hurt from a mental stroll through the library.

magnus said...

I wish I knew more about the history of interior decorating to explain the odd, but recurring theme seen in so many interiors prior to the mid 1920's: Embark on the following mental excercise in the Talbot House (and you can do this in pretty much any grand house of its era with pretty much the same result): imagine that you have arrived with 3 friends and are looking for a place to sit and chat. Without rearranging the chairs, there is nowhere in that vast drawing room or library that the four of you could sit without someone's back facing the group. It almost seems as if chair placement had been left to a randomizer, some facing this way and some that, with a sense of symmetry, I agree, but absolutely no sense of the comfort or convenience of those occupying the space. And Talbot House is better than many. At least swiveling around a few chairs would "do the trick". In many grand interiors of the era you would have to drag furniture halfway across the room to have a cozy chat with a few friends.

magnus said...

And HPHS- that is indeed a sedan chair in the drawing room: Just the thing to retreat to if you're bored or it's drafty. Maybe a not so subtle hint for your guests to scram.

On a more serious note, it is an odd choice of furniture to plop in a room meant for social assembly. You see them sometimes in very grand houses of the era, but typically in the front hall, and, I am told, fitted with a telephone: Basically a very fancy telephone booth. Did it serve the same purpose at Talbot House, I wonder?

Security word for the day: Mancin: a painkiller with testosterone: good for both aches and virility. I've already ordered two bottles.

Zach L. said...

I've added this to the previous posts on 'Talbot House' but for anyone wondering why the house was destroyed so early on, there was a major fire which erupted in the boiler in 1914 and quickly engulfed the house. G. Janson Waters, a banker and broker, was occupying the house at the time though it still belonged to the former Mrs. Taylor (Jessica Keene). There were a couple of explosions during the fire and it was large enough that people who had come to watch the house burn had to move back from the intense heat being emitted. The library, which contained "valuable antique rugs and paintings" was completely lost, the damage totaling $500,000. Their servants managed to save several pieces of statuary and paintings which was said to have represented only a small percentage of valuable objects in the house.

Zach L. said...

Indeed...that is where all these pictures came from.

Turner Pack Rats said...

why doesn't dilletante go back in his time machine and make an offer on the contents in 1913, bring them back to his new shop and we all can visit. there'll be plenty of places to sit. what, you didn't know he had a time machine. Maine IS a time machine.

magnus, could you order a couple of bottles of mancin for me too.

we can always console ourselves with the fact that they would have demolished it in the 50's anyway but what a loss. love those ceilings but they need a way bigger dining room table.

security word def - "quatop" - Italian for 'what hat are you wearing today?'

An Aesthete's Lament said...

Absolutely oppressive. The ceilings are so heavy and ornate they make the rooms seem crushed and squat (even more so). The dining room is particularly egregious, with that boldly patterned floor and the even more boldly patterned ceiling. Argh!

Zach L. said...

Wait, nothing to say about the six million chairs?