Unlocking Lyndhurst Exhibition

This mid-19^th century rococo revival sofa was part of a 12-piece parlor suite brought to Lyndhurst by second owners George and Julia Merritt. Third owner Jay Gould gave most of the suite to his sister, whose descendants returned it to Lyndhurst in the 1990s. However, the sofa from the suite was missing. The sofa was discovered in the corner of the carriage house attic during a prior exhibition installation in a completely ruined state. The piece is in a semi-ruined state in the Dark Shadows film, House of Dark Shadows in 1971. In the film, a vampire is staked on the sofa, which may have led to its further destruction. At the time, such furniture was considered dated and not as important as the furniture designed for the mansion by Lyndhurst architect Alexander Jackson Davis. The sofa was recently restored to its original condition and displayed on it is George Merritt’s wedding vest.

This magnificent parlor sideboard cabinet by the Herter Brothers, circa 1867, was originally in Jay Gould’s first Fifth Avenue mansion. When Gould purchased both a new mansion and Lyndhurst in 1880, the old parlor furniture from the city was repurposed in the country, with some new additions. Although one of the wealthiest men in the world and clearly able to purchase new furniture, this repurposing of furniture was common across class lines, particularly because Herter Brothers furniture, even old furniture, was exorbitantly expensive. Lyndhurst owns three suites of parlor furniture, currently displaying the earliest suite.  This piece was on long-term loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which recently returned it. It has never been exhibited at Lyndhurst before. Other pieces from the suite displayed in the gallery include an inlaid center table and side chair, and across the gallery a gilt easel and orientalist table and lacquered chair.

This black evening dress by Jerome, Paris, circa 1931-32 is one of the few dresses belonging to Anna Gould in the Lyndhurst collection that retains its couture label.  Gould typically removed these labels so as not to trigger customs duties while traveling between continents. Most of the French couture dresses surviving at Lyndhurst predate Gould’s 1939 return to the US. We can only assume that they had special meaning to her as they would have otherwise been out of fashion at the time of her return. Although one of Anna Gould’s favorite couturiers, Jerome was not as famous as some of his peers. Jerome, who was Jewish, had his shop closed by the Nazis in 1942 and may have perished in Auschwitz, prematurely ending his life and career.

Puck (magazine, active 1876 – 1918), drawn by Samuel D. Ehrhart
An international High Noon Divorce
February 28^th, 1906
Paper, ink
High-resolution scan and print of the original cartoon from Puck magazine in 1906. Published by J. OTTMANN LITH. CO. PUCK BLDG. N.Y.

Descendants of Anna Gould’s children shared a chateau in the Loire Valley but did not get along, leading to its sale. Subsequent dispersal of contents allowed Lyndhurst to acquire couture dresses and linens similar to ones previously at Lyndhurst. This stunning velvet evening gown with train by House of Worth, circa 1927-28 embellished her figure and elongated her short stature. The adjacent 1926-27 silk and metallic brocade evening dress, more in the traditional flapper style, was acquired at the same time. A now repaired rip at the rear seam suggests that the dress originally had a train that may have come off by accident or intentionally if it got in the way of the wearer.

For her avid support of enlisted men, Helen Gould received the sobriquet “America’s Sweetheart.” Gould, who helped the US government finance the Spanish-American War, received numerous American flags from regiments she supported. The scrapbook, recently donated by a Gould descendant, shows these flags on display in her Fifth Avenue home. The adjacent watercolor was made after one of the photographs and has remained in the Lyndhurst collection. The miniature gold cot, a replica of a serviceman’s cot, was made as a wedding gift to Gould. Servicemen donated ten cents apiece to have the cot manufactured. The cot is on loan from family descendants. Gould’s Poiret-style day dress, shown right, was revolutionary in that it had no structured undergarments, allowing freedom of movement for the modern woman engaging in philanthropy and business.

Gorham & Co.
Silver Commemorative Plaque of NYU Building commissioned by Helen Gould
Circa 1913
Silk, wood, silver
22” x 26”

Although notoriously ruthless on Wall Street, Jay Gould was very charitable and taught his children to make donations anonymously. His eldest daughter Helen Gould became one of the best-known philanthropists in the United States. Gould established a sewing school for women in the Lyndhurst bowling alley and a vocational school for indigent boys, known as Woody Crest, on farmlands adjacent to the Lyndhurst estate. The Arts and Crafts-style drop front desk was made by Woody Crest residents as a gift to Helen and donated to Lyndhurst by a descendant. On her wedding day in 1913, Helen received gifts from many of the charities she supported. The Gorham silver plaque was a present from New York University, where Gould was a major donor. The Saint Louis YMCA clock was a gift from another institution that Gould funded. The watercolor study for a Tiffany window in the church in Roxbury, New York, honored her mother.

Frederick Wilson (For Tiffany Studios, American)
Spec illustration for stained glass window for Jay Gould Memorial Church in Roxbury
Circa 1898
Paper, gilt, watercolor, wood, glass
32” x 25”

The Harral-Wheeler Mansion was built in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1847-48 and designed by Alexander Jackson Davis. It is likely that Davis also designed some furniture for the mansion or, at a minimum, specified pieces of furniture based on gothic-revival furniture designs that he had previously developed. The house was torn down in 1957 to make way for a new city hall. Later, much of the furniture in the house was divided between various museums. A bedroom suite with a bed similar to the one in the Lyndhurst primary bedroom was donated to the Smithsonian. Later pieces of furniture by the firm of Pottier and Stymus were donated to the Renwick Gallery. Lyndhurst received these two root wood outdoor benches. By lore, these are believed to have been designed by Davis and as such would be the only surviving examples of such work by him. However, there is no definitive proof.

After donating Lyndhurst with a substantial endowment to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Anna Gould’s children from her marriage to Count Boni de Castellane sued for the return of the property and money. Adjacent farm properties and works that were not deemed original to the mansion were sold off to replenish the endowment that was returned to the heirs as settlement. Lyndhurst had two copies of Frederick MacMonnies’ bronze Pan of Rohallion on the property, one in front of the mansion and one in front of the greenhouse. Both were sold. This work was extremely popular in the 19^th century and the Lyndhurst pieces were in the four-foot size, the rarest and largest of the reductions. The Italian marble basin and pedestal stand for the piece remained in the Lyndhurst collection. This bronze was recently acquired and restored and will be placed in front of the central entry to the greenhouse.