San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-01-31

NEW 1Ohh, Jan. oO.-Whlle i can
not youch for the truth of the
statement, a member of the late Mrs.
George ]. Gould's family once told
me the former Edith Kingdom priced
the Gould mansion at No. S57 Fifth
avenue more highly than all her other
earthly possessions.
The great French abode facing the
easterly stretches of Central Park and
just across from Elbert Fl. /Gary's
INTELLECTUALLY beautiful city home
was erected under the direct super
vision of Mrs. Gould, and that wide
ly beloved lady spent several years
in the remote parts of Europe pur-
chasing the magnificent furnishings
that made the residence, during her
lifetime, thing of beauty and home
par excellence.
The Gould house was Mrs. Goulds
personal property and in her will she
directed that it be sold and the pro-
ceeds divided among her children.
She often, however, expressed the
hope that some one would take her
place as mistress of the house, who
would love the place as she did.
And that wish has come true.
About year ago the dowager Mrs.
Vanderbilt. who long ago wearied OF
the titanic establishment she main
tanned at Fifth avenue and Fifty-sey-
enth street, purchased the Gould
house and while members of the
oh taI nj
the time the sale was reported III
the real estate columns that Mrs.
Vanderbilt would Use the Gould house
as her city home, / am in a position
to announce that the mother of all
the vanderbilts" will receive her mail
at No. S57 Fifth avenue when she
returns to New York from Paris
where she is sojourning with her
daughter, Mrs. Harry Payne Whit
Dcy.
Mrs. Gould could have asked for
no more distinguished successor.
And the Gould house will form a
picturesque background for the
diminutivc lady, who has always
looked bit ont of place in the some
what 'fussy" house her late husband
erected many years ago.
The great hall of the Gould house,
with its marble floor and winding
marble staircase, is an architectural
gem. As one passes through the
massively heavy bronze doors one i'm
mediately feels a sense Of the regal.
The first floor of the mansion has
three rooms besides the foyer-hall-
the wonderfully paneled library on
-. IL s.f t..
the state dining salon with its i'm
mense portraits and small morning
room that looks almost as il it had
been lifted bodily from house in
the Bots de Boulogne.
Mounting the marble stairway, the
second floor contains but two i'm
mense rooms and a large foyer. Di-
rectly over the dining salon is the
ballroom, paneled in ivory and gold
and hung during the lifetime Of the
late Mrs. Gould, with the famed
Halmi portraits Of the daughters of
the Gould household-Lady Decies,
Mrs. Anthony J. Drexel Jr., Mrs.
Carroll Livingston Wainwright, and
Mrs. Henry A. Bishop Jr., and to
the right overlooking Fifth avenue
and the park, is the drawing room,
the walls of which are covered with
priceless tapestries. The floors Of
the foyer and drawing room are also
of marble.
In planning the house the late Mrs.
Gould had in mind the giving Of
prodigal entertainments. She rarely
acted as hostess in hotel ballroom
and in recent years confined her en-
pertaining strictly to her own private
ballroom. The last big ball given in
the house which has become Mrs.
Vanderbilt's city home was a dance
in honor of the sartorially perfect
Mrs. Juan r. Mayer, the former Mary
Cameron.
The third and fourth floors OF the
house have numerous suites-all
French in design-and the halls of
these floors are of inlaid marble.
ktv,a . rrae ssotI Ma NTna1,p