International studio (60.1916/1917)

A Washington Residence

of the portico has been relieved by urns and flowers
and by pots of shrubbery which, introducing the
more intimate spirit of the garden, act as an
antidote to a too-pronounced feeling of solemnity.
We employ the word solemnity with slight mis-
givings, as according to a writer in the Evening
Post, everything in America to-day comes under
one of two heads, solemn or meticulous. There is
certainly nothing meticulous to be discovered
here.
The fenestration and balustrade above the
cornice are excellent in scale and are the product
of considerable study. It was essential to have
the main floor windows very lofty and the second
story windows, though lofty also, had to be kept
in due subordination.
The effect of the window spacing and the
high parapet screens with balustrade panels,
thanks to excellent proportion, is especially at-
tractive. Certain elements of the Mazzini Pal-
ace, in Rome, have been a source of inspiration
to the architect and have been happily sug-
gested.
The entrance hall is spacious and architectural
in treatment. The plan of the main floor was
studied to meet Mr. White’s requirements both
as a private and as a public citizen. The floor
is limestone, whilst the walls throughout are
Old English Adam period. Very agreeably has
a special recess been constructed into the wall
to show to best advantage a very fine historic
tapestry, being one of a Beauvais set of the Four
Seasons. Authentic old pieces of furniture,
flanked by busts of Washington and Franklin,
form an agreeable setting to it. The dining-room
is treated with wood and plaster with coloured
ornamentation in the Adam style. Over the
chimney-piece hangs a portrait of the late Mrs.
White, painted by John Sargent. The library
is in walnut with book alcoves stretching from
wainscot to ceiling, wherever the absence of doors
and windows permits; the door and book alcoves
being similar in treatment with elliptical heads.
Here may be observed busts and medallions of
the principal classic poets. The rooms above
are mainly sleeping apartments and guest
chambers.
It is unfortunate that we could not obtain a
satisfactory print shewing the exterior of the
house in its entirety, but the lay of the ground
baffled every effort of the photographer.

AN INTERIOR


OOK REVIEW
Old Concord. By Allen French, with
illustrations by Lester G. Hornby. (Little
Brown Co., Boston.) $3.00.
No American town has a more definitely marked
character than Concord. Concord is the very
essence of New England and counts among her
literati nearly all the writers who have crystallized
the New England spirit and some, like Hawthorne
and Emerson, who count among the greatest
names in American letters.
Concord symbolizes no less fully the great part
New England played in the War of the Revolu-
tion. Her towns-people have never forgotten that
the first Continental soldiers fell in her streets,
and they will show you nearby the little monu-
ment, shaded by two tall elms, which marks the
graves of the first Red-coats to face the rifles of
the Minute-Men. All these matters are sym-
pathetically treated and illustrated with a wealth
of anecdote of characters and events described.
The book will appeal strongly to all those who
have visited Concord or are interested in what
New England represents and has represented.


VIII