The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1888-01-10
Thirty Minutes in Fairy Land.

an army. of nimble-fingered men and
women, under the personal supervision
of Mr.. Flagler, MIR. Seavey, the manager,
MIR. Roberts, the chief clerk, and Mr..
Vail, his assistant, were busy unwrap-
ping and placing the sumptuous furnish
ings of that wonderful room. The rich
| carpets had been laid NEARLY 1, 900 yards
of the finest Administer, designed and
woven expressly To order for this room
and the furniture and the ornaments
now being put in will finish it. The
great chandeliers Of incandescent cleo
| trio lights made the vast space almost
like noon day. The electric clock over
the principal fireplace which once
wound up never runs down while
| the battery operates. The great
slab of Mexican onyx which forms
the front of the mantel piece, three feet
| by ten in size, the elaborate fresco
| painting ON the ceiling, the richly
blended hues of the yielding pile which
| covered the floor, the endless variety
rial and shape of the rich furniture,
| and best of all the rare and exquisite
works of art which adorn the walls and
| beautify it. Every feature can only be
| family described in unfeeling type. The
| furniture, as might be supposed, is be-
| yond description, rich and beautiful in
| every detail The tracings in Arabesqe
patterns on the woodwork is of solid
| metal heavily plated in gold, and the up
| Lolstering, whether in plush brocade or
the damask, of the very finest workman
ship and material. The list of paintings
embraces a number, of life size
pastiles by Koppay including Kole, Juda,
| Titania, Beatrice, Anne Page, BESIDE
mona and other types of female beauty;
two small flower pieces-genius, by
MIR. George Seavey and large group in
applique and tapestry "a Judith, by f.
Richter; a bit of old st. Augustine, by
NJ. Seymour, Courtship, by A. Grees;
T. A. Bridgeman's famous painting, On
the Bosphorus; the Alameda, Cordova.
by Thompson; a forest maiden, by Leon
Richet, pupil of the celebrated Diaz;
Roses, by K. III. Greatorex; two magnifi-
| cent bronzes, Elizabeth and Marie
Stuart, each of which, as well as many
| of the pictures named, cost a fortune
in itself. A hundred other objects of
art and virtu, including the richly de-
signed bronze fire place and group of
rare onyx tables, add to the wonderful
collection, and make the room one of the
most remarkable in the world. In the
l. N IL.
handsomest and rarest paintings were
put in position last night, including two
/ large panels on either side of the grand
stairway, representing the landing of
Columbus, and Charlemagne taking the
oath of office by Moran, and ON the walls,
Ponce de Leon searching for the foun-
| tain of youth by Heade, and a portrait of
Cortez by an eminent Spanish artist,
| which was purchased by Mr.. FlagIer
from lady in Palatka, and has been
skilfully restored.
The names of those who have contrib
| uted, no less than the painters of these
great art treasures, to the splendors of
this wonderful room, are entitled to hon
| orable mention. MIR. Flaglsr takes gen.
uine pleasure in bearing witness to the
excellency of their workmanship. They
are Messrs. Potter and Stymus, of New
York, who made the furniture and fur
nished all the hard wood finishing in the
| entire house; Hurter & Company, of
New York, who executed the mosaic
work; Louis Tiffany & Company, who
g., . Il clio
in the many colored windows, and
Messrs. w. and j. Sloan, of New York,
| who furnished the carpets.
As has been heretofore announced in
THE DAILY News, there will be no for
NAL opening ceremony. 1t was hoped
that the work would be so advanced that
the public could he invited to look
through the building to-day, but so
much remained to be done after the
main army of artisans had departed that
although the guests who are coming
| from New York on the vestibule train,
and who are expected to reach here in
| time for a 6 o'clock dinner on Wednes-
| day tomorrow will be provided for
and entertained. the doors cannot be
opened to the general public
/ until Thursday. THE DAILY NEWS,
l which has heretofore refrained from at
tempts at fragmentary description and
has taken especial pains to avoid giving
| annoyance to the overworked and har-
raised architects and contractors of the
Ponce de Leon, is enabled to promise to
its readers at any early day an exceed
ingly full and complete description OF
the entire structure and its contents
prepared by AN expert Orders for copies
of which will be received from this date
in the St. Augustine or Palatka Office