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Richardson Victorian Mansion Tour

Bob tours a beautifully restored H.H. Richardson Victorian mansion to get an idea of the grandeur of Chicago life during the era of the coach house, with Carole Callahan, curator of the Glessner House Museum.

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Richardson Victorian Mansion Tour

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" Hi Carol."

" Hi."

" How are you?"

" Fine, thank you."

" We're looking forward to seeing these 19th century interiors, but before we do, who were the Glessner?"

" Well, they were industrialists. They were one of the founding families of International Harvester."

" Ah hah! So they were wealthy Americans."

" Yes, yes."

" And what's special about this house in the design of it?"

" Well, it's an urban house that we've designed for city living."

" Uh huh."

" And it was their winter home. They summered in New Hampshire."

" Uh huh."

" And the house is L shaped and plans very functional. The private bedroom spaces are separate from the formal rooms where the guests would be invited to the manor."

" Sure. So it's really an L-planned----"

" Yes."

" public rooms here and private rooms----"

" Yes."

" in that direction, and what's here?"

" It's also---- Well, the house is a very personal expression. The library was the center of the Glessner's lives. They moved into this house with 2500 volumes in their library."

" So they were intellectuals as well."

" Yes, yes. And they were really coached in the designed by Richardson, who was their aesthetic mentor. He gave them pictures of himself. He did this with many of his clients, one of which we have here."

" Yes. What's this?"

" Mr. Glessner came from a family that supported the union before the civil war, and he was one of the financiers of Lincoln's life mast cast."

" So this is a bronze cast of Abraham Lincoln."

" Yes, yes. And his hands."

" Yeah."

" And another----"

" The gasket is pretty remarkable Carolyn."

" Yeah."

" It must be about 9 or 10 feet long?"

" Yes, yes. It's modeled after Richardson's staff in his studio."

" So Mr. and Mrs. Glessner could work here?"

" Yes."

" Study, yeah."

" There's an interesting story about the fireplace to the prominent place of fireplaces in this house. The Glessners brought a lighted coal from the fireplace of the library in their former home to begin the 1st fire in the library fireplace here."

" Nice touch."

" So, yes, yes."

" Yeah. It's a beautiful room, and they collected as well, right? You can see porcelains all over the place."

" Yes. They were also very interested in music."

" Really?"

" Yes."

" The piano has a colorful history. [unk] played on this piano."

" Really?"

" It's a concert Grand Steinway that was custom designed for them. Caruso played in this room."

" Wow."

" They were very an important supporter for the Chicago Symphony."

" Uh huh."

" They also patronized other art forms. This is a William Morris textile design. He was the founder of the British arts and crafts movement."

" Beautiful."

" And this was manufactured by the Royal School of Needlework Art."

" It's amazing that things like this survived and that they're here."

" It really is."

" Yeah."

" It really is. They entertained a great deal, and sometimes, the entire symphony, believe it or not."

" The whole Chicago Symphony?-Yes."

" Not bad for them."

" Although not at this table. We don't have the original table, but we do have original chairs----"

" Marvelous though."

" that were designed by Richardson's firm. This room really evidences the involvement of Richardson in designing the interiors here."

" He used golden oak wherever he could."

" Yes, lots of oak in there."

" Yeah."

" His firm actually took them shopping in Boston. They purchased these Persian tiles at a store in Boston----"

" They're antique tiles?-Yes, yes."

" Super."

" on one of their shopping trips. The house is very formal and the room here is very formal with this gold sealing, the Japanese letter paper, the gently curving [unk], which is very simplistic and is designed yet as point of lifting rich red velvet draperies."

" Uh huh."

" So popular in the late 19th century."

" Yeah. This is really the 1 room that we've seen that really says I'm opulent."

" Yes."

" Very rich."

" Could we see one of the family's private room?"

" Yes, the master bedroom."

" Great."

" Bedrooms weren't just bedrooms in the late 19th century. They were also sitting rooms. And this is some of Mrs. Glessner's needlework, her sewing bag and her half-finished embroidery on the settee."

" She would have relaxed here."

" Yes. And----"

" Yeah, sure. It's a beautiful room, but I'm struck by the fact that it's on the 1st floor----"

" Yeah."

" right next to the front door."

" Yeah."

" We don't really know why the Glessners requested this of Richardson."

" Uh huh."

" But he complied. It's very unusual for the period."

" You can control the teenagers, I suppose, yeah."

" Probably."

" Yes."

" The wallpaper is by William Morris, and the interesting thing about this is it's still produced in the late 19th century manner, on the same equipment that was here----"

" Is that right?"

" in the late 19th century."

" But this was recently installed."

" Yes."

" Yeah."

" Yes. The furniture is by Isaac Scott. These are pieces that they actually commissioned for their former house."

" Oh, okay."

" And it's a very different style than the furniture we've seen in the house."

" Scott designed in the aesthetic movement style and it's very full of nature motif and birds were common feature on his work."

" Uh huh. It's a good match with the wallpaper. "

" Yes, it works very well."

" Did he also do this library here?"

" He did. And when the Glessners moved into this house, actually, because of their contact with Richardson, the Isaac Scott pieces all became secondary furniture and were relegated to hallways and bedrooms----"

" Uh huh."

" and spaces like that. I think this piece is really wonderful because it's very architectural. We have the roof shingles up here. It almost looks like a townhouse."

" Yeah, I've never seen anything like it."

" No. Yeah."

" Well it's incredible that one American family were so prolific in their collecting and meeting artists and patronizing them and that the house museum still has all these pieces in one place."

" Yes. We think it's a very special property."

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