Vanderbilt Houses: The Architectural Legacy of a Gilded Age Family

Description

Authors Robert King and Chip Marlor have substantially expanded and updated King’s previous publication, The Vanderbilt Homes, published by Rizzoli in 1989. New information and images have been added to the original chapters and twenty-four additional houses are profiled. This remarkable overview of the grand residences owned by generations of Vanderbilts includes those that have been well-documented, such as Marble House and the Biltmore, as well as lesser-known homes, like Le Quesnay, William K. Vanderbilt’s home and Thoroughbred stable in Normandy, France. Among the houses that have been added to this vastly enlarged publication are Sunderland House, whose chapter contains previously unpublished images; Lou Sueil, Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan’s home in France; the Fabbri house on East 62nd Street; the Burden and Hammond houses on East 91st Street; and the Emily Sloane White house at 854 Fifth Avenue.

Each chapter includes extensive visual documentation—new photography by Robert King, archival photographs, many of which have never been published before, and, when possible, floor plans.

The tentative breakdown of the house chapters by volume:

VOLUME 1
• 10 Washington Place, New York, New York: Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt
• West or Vanderbilt Hill, West Hartford, Connecticut: Cornelius Jeremiah Vanderbilt
• Vanderbilt Farm, Staten Island, New York: William Henry Vanderbilt
• 459 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York: William Henry Vanderbilt and Frederick William Vanderbilt
• 640 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York: William Henry Vanderbilt, George W. Vanderbilt, and Cornelius Vanderbilt III
• 642 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York: Margaret Vanderbilt Shepard & Emily Vanderbilt Sloane
• 1 West 57th Street, Stable & Carriage House, New York, New York: Cornelius Vanderbilt II
• The (first) Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island: Cornelius Vanderbilt II
• The (second) Breakers, Newport, Rhode Island: Cornelius Vanderbilt II
• Woodlea, Scarborough, New York: Margaret Vanderbilt Shepard
• Idlehour, Islip, Long Island, New York: William K. Vanderbilt Sr.
• Petit Chateau de Bois, 660 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York: Alva and William K. Vanderbilt Sr.
• Marble House, Newport, Rhode Island: Alva and William K. Vanderbilt Sr.
• Chateau Vanderbilt, Saint-Louis de Poissy, France: William K. Vanderbilt Sr.
• Quesnay, Normandy, France: William K Vanderbilt Sr.
• Elm Court, Lenox, Massachusetts: Emily Vanderbilt Sloane
• 854 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York: Emily Vanderbilt Sloane White
• Florham, Madison, New Jersey: Florence Vanderbilt Twombly
• Vinland, Newport, Rhode Island: Florence Vanderbilt Twombly
• Pine Tree Point, Adirondacks, New York: Florence Vanderbilt Twombly
• Rough Point, Newport, Rhode Island: Frederick W. Vanderbilt
• Hyde Park, Hyde Park, New York: Frederick W. Vanderbilt

VOLUME 2
• Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, Vermont: Eliza “Lila” Vanderbilt Webb
• Nehasane, Adirondacks, New York: Eliza “Lila” Vanderbilt Webb
• Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina: George W. Vanderbilt
• Buckspring Lodge, Asheville, North Carolina: George W. Vanderbilt
• Beaulieu, Newport, Rhode Island: Cornelius Vanderbilt III
• 2 West 57th Street and 871 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York: Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney
• The Manse, The Studio, and Final Home, Old Westbury, Long Island, New York: Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney
• Oakland Farm, Portsmouth, Rhode Island: Alfred G. Vanderbilt
• Sagamore Lodge, Adirondacks, New York: Alfred G. Vanderbilt
• Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s New York City Pied á Terre, London flat, and Henley, his houseboat on the Thames River
• Sandy Point Farm, Portsmouth, Rhode Island: Reginald C. Vanderbilt
• 12 E. 77th Street, New York, New York: Reginald C. Vanderbilt
• 5 East 66th Street, New York, New York: Maria Vanderbilt Shepard Schieffelin
• 11 East 62nd Street and 7 East 95th Street, New York, New York: Edith Shepard Fabbri
• Sunderland House, London, England: Consuelo Vanderbilt Marlborough
• Crowhurst, Surrey, England: Consuelo Vanderbilt Marlborough
• Lou Sueil, Eze, France: Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan
• Eagle’s Nest, Centerport, Long Island, New York: William K. Vanderbilt Jr.
• Palm Beach Residences: Alva Base (William K. Vanderbilt Jr.), Eastover (Harold S. Vanderbilt), Casa Alva (Consuelo Vanderbilt Marlborough Balsan)
• 7 East 91st Street, New York, New York: Florence Adele Sloane Burden
• 9 East 91st Street, New York, New York: Emily Vanderbilt Sloane Hammond
• 19 East 70th Street, New York, New York, and Bogue Chitto Bar Harbor, Maine: Alice Vanderbilt Shepard Morris
• Sands Point, Long Island, New York: George Washington Vanderbilt III
• The Vanderbilt Yachts
• The Vanderbilt Family Mausoleum, Staten Island, New York

About the Authors
Robert B. King was born in Huntington, Long Island. He first became interested in the mansions and gardens of the American Gilded Age as a high school student when he began organizing an effort to save a local landmark from destruction—Ferguson Castle. While unsuccessful in his quest, King documented the history of the castle and his experience in his first published book Ferguson Castle: A Dream Remembered, with a foreword by actor Vincent Price and introduction by Jeane Dixon. King was commissioned to write a book on Oheka, which was published in 1985 as Raising a Fallen Treasure: The Otto H. Kahn Home. Then, in 1989, his third book, the highly successful The Vanderbilt Homes, was published by Rizzoli. Now retired, King worked for twelve years in management at Trans World Airlines, before his twenty-year career doing public relations for the Office of Secretary of Transportation of Delaware. This book, King’s fourth, is the culmination of his life-long dedication to historical preservation of the great estates of the Gilded Age with a specific focus on those owned by the Vanderbilt family.

Charles “Chip” Marlor, a native of Connecticut, graduated cum laude with a degree in French from the University of Connecticut and went on to receive his Master’s degree in Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University. He is Librarian Emeritus at Central Connecticut State University. Since boyhood, Marlor has been fascinated by the social and architectural history of the Gilded Age and was delighted when asked by Robert B. King to co-author a new and updated book on the houses of the Vanderbilt family. As a descendent of Commodore Vanderbilt’s second child, Ethelinda Allen, Marlor brings a personal perspective to the project. In addition to all things Gilded Age, Marlor is interested in American Impressionist art and in collecting antiques. He is happiest when at home in Connecticut with his husband, Eric, and their two dogs, Hilda and Shirley.