The morning call., 1890-09-19
THE STEWART MANSION.
Its Massive Furniture Carried to the Au,
ton Room-Grants Bed.


ion-Room-Grnnts Bed.
The last material glory of the Stewart
mansion had departed forever on September
9th, when the massive rosewood furniture of
its sleeping apartments was carried to a
Fiith-avenue auction-room. A year ago the
Stewart cellars gave UP their stores of wine,
and the mansion itself was sold to the Man
haitian Club with all it contained. The price
was $4,000, and hardly any part of the
magnificent furnishings, the brc-a-brac and
the statuary could be utilized by the new
proprietor So few months ago the collec-
tion of statuary was sold to Judge Hilton.
There still remained furniture enough to
furnish almost any two other New York
mansions. Each article was masterpiece,
constructed by hand after special designs,
but useless to the club. A good deal of it
would be out of place in almost any other
residence in the country, because the beds
and wardrobes were designed with view to
the size OF the rooms, and no other mansion
except, perhaps, some old country house
has such spacious rooms as the marble palace
at the corner of Fifth avenue and Thirty
fourth street.
The great feature of this collection is the
bed, which the merchant had made express
ly for the use of President Grant 1t took a
dozen skilled workmen nearly six months to
make this bed for the single nights repose
of President. Stewards fame was at its
zenith then: He was the greatest merchant
in the world. He had sent ship-loadS of corn
to famiShed Ireland, he had lavished thou
sands in charity at home, he had helped save
the Union and he was in the confidence of
the President and his Cabinet. In many
parts of the country there was great cry
for Stewart for Secretary OF the Treasury:
The President was to visit New York and
Stewart was to entertain him at his man.
sion. The date was several months distant
and the merchant Immediately gave orders
to celebrated firm of furniture designers
for the most massive and costly bed-cham Der
suit ever made for an American residence.
In good time it was finished. The wonder
full bed was placed in the state sleeping
apartment of the mansion, and one night,
for six and a half hours, the form of Presi-
dent Grant was stretched upon it. But
there has been no Secretary of the Treasury
by the name of Stewart.
In the Filth-avenne auction-ro0m the
famous Stewart furniture is arranged with
an effect calculated to impress the pros
pective bidder with q consciousness OF his
exceeding insignificance. On either side of
the entrance are the tremendous hall-standS.
The ceiling Of the auction-room is seventeen
feet from the floor. III 1t were SIX inches
lower the hall-stands would have to remain
on the sidewalk. Then increasing in mag
nflcence as the bidder advances toward the
desk where lie is expected to leave his de-
post, are the ordinary solid rosewood cham
ber-snits, the carved rosewood beds of Mr..
and Mrs. Stewart and the Italian marquetry
inlaid bed made for President Grant. Be
side these are rosewood wardrobes Is feet
high, 10 feet broad and yard deep. But
the Grant bed is the gem of the collection.
the massive rosewood head-piece towers to
the ceiling. Its cornices and pediments are
rich with carved fruit and flowers. and deli
Hack
marquetry are traced everywhere.-N. Y.
special to st. Louis Post Dispatch