The Savannah morning news., 1900-07-12
ONE BEDROOM, 1900, GOO.
Ii Belongs to an American, of
Course, But the Cash Was spent in
London.
From the London Mail.

London.
From the London Mail.
1t is an opinion generally entertained
that the ege for costly and elaborate fur
niture is past and gone. Perhaps an or
der recently placed with Bond street
firm by an American millionaire will tend
10 dispel this Illusion
Mr. stephen S Marchand Is the fortu-
nate possessor of the most beautiful bed
chamber in the world. This immense
apartment, 70 by % feet, is of ellipitical
form.
The walls are paneled with deliberately
carved enrichments in the style of Louis
XIV, the background is finished white
enamel and the carvings and holdings are
gilt.
Taking into consideration the form of
the apartment and the difficulty and ex-
pense of adapting, panelins and wood
work to chamber of this shape, II Is nor
surprising that 1880 was the price for
the wall and dado woodwork alone.
The wall inside the panels is hung with
purple and gold Genoese velvet. This ma
terial, being of rare color. exceptional
quality and special design was manufac-
tured by Lyons firm at cost of q 1855
a yard. Therefore, the wall hangings
alone-there being twenty-eight panels in
the room-cost Mr.. Marchand something
like III los. per panel, or f2,170 for the
whole the ceiling was deliberately carved
and decorated by special artists from
Paris, and cost 1880 more The curtains
and curtain draperies are of the same ma
terial as the wall panels, and cost Il, $40
This Is exclusive of vitrage undercurtains
at f270 per pair. They were made by hand
of the finest Brussels net, interviewer with
silk These therefore. added another
Il $50 to the item of curtains. The carpet,
a handsome, hand-ted purple Administer,
had to be specially dyed, and ran into f6
5s per yard. This for the whole bed
chamber cost f3, 400. But the chef a. oeuvre
of the whole apartment was undoubtedly
the bedstead and bedroom suit. The bed
stead alone cost nearly fSS, 600, OF massive
ebony, with elaborate carvings of solid
ivory, and inlald with gold and filigree, II
occupied the finest artisans of France
for IL was made in Paris-nearly two and
half years. Some idea of the immense
amount of time and money lavished on this
piece of furniture may be gathered from
the fact that single broad ivory hand
which runs around the understanding was
cut in such an amazingly intricate and
tedious pattern that four fretcutters were
over eighteen months on this part of the
bedstead alone. One of the men thus EN-
pIoyed lost his reason by the tedious ma
ture of the work, and Is at present cut
ting borders in imagination in Gharenton.
AT the outset serious difficulty arose
that would have daunted any one but an
American 1t was found that the magni-
ficent trophy at the head of the bed
stead was so large that no single piece OF
ivory could be obtained of the required
dimensions.
The firm talked of reducing the carving,
but Mr. Marchand would not hear of It.
They found tusk of the requisite size
at last, but II took seven months to ind II,
and the cost of the ivory and the journey
as far as Uyanyembe, in Africa where
the mammoth tusk was discovered, ran
Mr. Marchand into a further expense of
nearly $4,000
The hangings of the bedstead were of
special purple damask costing "a 1Ss. per
yard, exclusive of the initial cost of the
loom cards
The wardrobe was nearly as expensive
as the bedstead--f29,0s $50 was the exact price
paid for it. When the trifiing additional
expenses of dressing table, f12, 400: wash
stand, 1920 and table de mutt f2 $40, are
taken into account, IL will be seen that the
entire suit aggregated the enormous sum
Of f93, $50
The chairs. of solid carved ivory with
ebony and gold inlay, increased this
amount to something over 100000
After figures like these such trliing
items as 1880 for chevsi glass, Il go for
chimneypiece and overglass, 1890 each
for the four doors OF the room f22s each
for the overdoors, and ITO for the wash
stand table fittings fade into lnsignifi-
canoe. 1t is 10 be hoped that the customer
was satisfied when he settled his little bill
of 1913, TAO.