the Victorias: making more Magic-and Legend

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What makes magic? 

There is always a secret trick to magic-sometimes magic happens and it becomes legend-as is the case of the life of the furnishings for a room at Elsie de Wolfe's Villa Trianon.

Maybe it was more Alchemy than Magic.

 an advertisement from the Frederick P Victoria & Son archives 

featuring one of a pair of Italian Blackamoors groups from the Villa's Ballroom

It all began when Stephane Boudin of JANSEN made a suite of pieces for a Circus Ball at the Villa Trianon hosted by Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl. On the night of July 2, 1938-with the Lady as ringmaster, the Circus Ball gave way to one of Elsie's many memorable rooms. 

 Oliver Messel painting of Elsie The Ringmaster

 Elsie in center- between Sir George Clerk (at l)  & her husband, Charles Mendl the night of the Ball

  (images from the Campbell & Seebohm book Elsie de Wolfe A Decorative Life)

In order to accommodate the 700 guests for the Circus Ball an entire wing was added to the Villa Trianon. Boudin-the alchemist- created a dance pavilion with green and white stripe "disappearing" walls opening onto the Villa gardens, matching curtains inspired by the Regency- and that was just the backdrop for the special pieces in the room: banquettes, ottomans, circular seating, blackamoors, parasols, lanterns & trees.

 scenes from the original Ballroom at Villa Trianon, above and below

(above images from Andre Ostier, the Elsie de Wolfe Foundation-and the Sparke book)

(The complexities of the relationship between decorator-Lady Mendl to decorator -JANSEN & Boudin, to hostess -Lady Mendl to patron with the funds- Paul-Louis Weiller are another part of the legend-told best in the definitive book ELSIE de WOLFE The Birth of Modern Interior Decoration by Penny Sparke.)


The next magician to possess the JANSEN CIRCUS pieces was the venerable house of Frederick P. Victoria & Son. Frederick Victoria-the alchemist- opened his legendary antique house in New York just a few years before the Circus Ball & today Frederick son's Tony-and Tony's son Freddie-carry on what began in 1933. 
from their site:
Less well known was the fact that early on the company began to also offer full production capabilities to its top clients. These services included bespoke cabinetry, metalwork, finishing and upholstery to achieve the precise, and sometimes ambitious, results desired by its clients. After WWII, both the antique collections and the custom work of the company continued to earn a respected reputation. While clients included well respected families, artists and royalty, the company continued to focus on delivering the finest quality pieces and services, and for at least one client went so far as to keep the client’s actual name from its own workers.

A Conversation with Tony Victoria:

When did Frederic P. Victoria acquire the pieces from Elsie's legendary Villa Trianon pavilion? What were the circumstances of the acquisition? 

TV:The house in Versailles was kept intact for years after she died by I believe a friend. Don’t remember his name. However in the early 80’s the Circus Room was offered for sale in one lot, if my memory serves, in Paris by Maitre Ader, I believe.

I heard about the sale, bought it and shipped all the elements back to my shop on 55^th street.

 images from Frederick P. Victoria & Son of  archives of the Ballroom at their shop

showing the contents of the Ballroom after they were purchased at auction. 

Everything minus the central planter,the planters on either side of the sofa & the “snail” stove behind the sofa, is from Elsie’s Villa Trianon room.

Did you purchase them with a particular client in mind or was it one of those –I just have to have those moments? 

TV: I did not have a specific client in mind. I had heard Elsie’s name since my childhood. She would send these rather bizarre Christmas cards: a photo with her head resting like a sculpture on a small marble pedestal which itself was on usually a mantle piece with writing in white wishing my Father and Mother Merry Christmas. So when it came up, I was drawn to it. Besides, there were so many amusing elements that I felt I could find homes for all of them. And, I did.

Was it frenzied buying as I might imagine it would be today?

 

TV: I don’t remember too much about the auction itself. I don’t believe it was a “frenzied“ affair. Elsie de Wolfe’s name did not have the cachet in France then I don’t believe that is does, especially now, in America.

The room itself was quite expensive for the time, so after that lot I folded my own tent, as it were.

 

image from the Victoria archives

What was the condition of the pieces? What were the banquettes upholstered in? Was there a great deal of restoration to these and other pieces from the room? 

TV: As I remember it all the upholstered pieces were upholstered in white canvas with green trim, a sort of signature combination for her. I did not recover anything, as for the most part everything was in presentable condition.

Freddie mentioned several things about the room in our conversation–the beautiful naturalistic lanterns and also mentioned of “Making that full-round tree for Michael Taylor . It has to have been one of my father's favorite projects.”   

How did you do it? 

Did you make the new one with the same materials-and what were they?

  

TV: As for making the tree for Michael, well one couldn’t say no to him, could one?

Plus he was buying a large chunk of the room, especially the trees which, while amusing, required a certain level of imagination, not to mention courage, to buy. As you know, he had both in depth.

As for favorite project, well I am not sure that I would use that term. 

Certainly it was one of the craziest and most challenging of my career. I have always said that we, the firm, were ready to make anything for anyone. Little did I know that that would include a tree! The trunk was made in solid wood and somehow I was able to cajole my metal fabricator to make dozens of hand hammered leaves which he then affixed to metal stems. We then painted the leaves etc and then bent the stems and placed them we thought in more or less natural positions and groupings.

 (Tony Victoria graciously answered these questions after a story I published on designer Michael Taylor here about the Garden Room he designed for Mrs. Stanley Dollar)  

Frederick P Victoria & Son, Inc. their own blog here

Michael Taylor stories at little augury here

Elsie de Wolfe stories here

Frederick P Victoria & Son stories here

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making magic

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Michael's Way

 The Garden Room of Mrs. Stanley Dollar decorated by Michael Taylor

Michael Taylor found the naturalistic white metal banquette and pouf  for this room at Frederick P. Victoria & Son- along with other pieces for the Garden Room.  Four full scale metal trees- 3 made by Jansen- were added to the room- Victoria making the fourth. Elsie de Wolfe had purchased the forest from Jansen for her 1938 Circus Ball held at her Villa Trianon at Versailles. Both the designer and the client were enchanted by the idea of pulling the white trees into the room -setting the magic that their towering presence must have made.

some things-I never forget.
a room so exquisite, so beautiful- You see it. You don't forget. Many things you do.This you don't.
Design stagnates, it lags.
Some designers are good, some are very good- some are excruciatingly great.
Michael Taylor was.
He was- one of those great designers that could create a uniquely beautiful room-an unforgettable one. He knew where design originated, where it had been. This was just one of the small-but crucial elements that gave him that edge-that would give anyone an edge.

Yes, his clients were rich, but they recognized a spark- a brilliant spark.
This one was that brilliant spark- One we never should forget. This room was too- it was his.
He made magic.



and it's not easy to make, ask her.

 before I read the charming words of Hamish Bowles-another magic maker-
I spotted Magic.



Hamish Bowles from a Lunch Celebrating... here

Chilled pea soup was served in little ramekins in the conservatory. It matched perfectly the moss-green cushions on the Jansen banquettes (you will remember these from Elsie de Wolfe's Circus Ball), and indeed the bright green moss bedding out the exuberant potted succulents. That is the fastidious attention to detail of the Trevor Trainas for you.

Elsie's Way

the Triana Way

The conservatory of Trevor and Alexis Traina

The home of the Triana's has been decorated with the assistance of Alexis Triana's godfather, Thomas Britt, and family friend Ann Getty. Ann Getty has added these special seating pieces to her ANN GETTY HOUSE collection. I love the little benches.

  Photographed by Andi Hatch

Vogue.com

seating by Ann Getty House here

Yes! of course-all inspired by Michael Taylor.
the pillows-Michael Taylor.
the  apple green- Michael Taylor
and the settees-Michael Taylor.
and the Magic- it reflects design history, but it's fresh.


when the clients do the homework- it has to be unforgettable.



in green below- excerpts from Hamish Bowle's Ode to Love in  Vogue here

The Trainas also looked to some iconic tastemaking neighbors for inspiration. It is an impressive roster. There is madcap Dodie Rosenkranz, whose villa was decorated by Michael Taylor in a style that Britt characterizes as "palace in Calcutta."

Trevor in turn applauds his wife's "fabulous and whimsical eye," informed by legendary decorators including Tony Duquette, Michael Taylor, and Thomas Britt.

Trevor's childhood homes were concocted by his vivacious mother, Dede Wilsey, in collaboration with the innovative Michael Taylor—dramatically pretty backdrops for dramatically pretty Impressionists.


another Taylor post-and the Dollar rooms happen to be my favorite of all the designer - here.
another  Frederick P. Victoria story here
more LINKS-
Ode to Joy by Hamish Bowles at Vogue.com here
San Francisco Luxury Living. com here
Ann Getty House here
Frederick P. Victoria and Son here


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B4N?

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B4N

(bye for now)

I did not know this one-know UR glad I found it
and by now-sick of all this (lol),but have we reduced words to a sort of code?

photograph of Lady Mendl's Party, January 1,1939

Mona Williams

by William Vandivert from Life 

I don't text (rarely if ever) I don't feel I am missing anything. maybe if I had children I would follow suit and do it. I have about as much technology as I can handle. It may be slightly old fashioned-but does that really surprise you?

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xoxo

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xoxo?

Yes, (-often, I am guilty) 
Well- even my grandmother did this is the 60's.

photograph of Lady Mendl's Party, January 1,1939

Oliver Messel, LM, Lady Jersey

by William Vandivert from Life 

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BFF?

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do you -BFF?

so-  I thought this was best female friends.

so- No never-since It means Best Friends Forever.

I stand corrected.( I say this a great deal, as did my Father)

photograph of Lady Mendl's Party, January 1,1939

 by William Vandivert from Life 

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tmi?

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tmi? 

yes.

-there is always too much information.

photograph of Lady Mendl's Party, January 1,1939

by William Vandivert from Life 

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lol?

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never , (well,maybe once)

photograph of Lady Mendl's Party, January 1,1939

by William Vandivert from Life 

 

 

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omg

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do you "omg?"

I don't. (well,only once)

photograph of Lady Mendl's Party, January 1,1939

by William Vandivert from Life

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the Magnificent 7

One of the pleasures of this pursuit- getting a little pat on the back-in this venue it actually says-Someone  IS reading all this stuff and appreciates it.
Very Nice.
Thank You Very Much.
&
So many thanks to a new blog I have been enjoying recently- MADEMOISELLE POIROT
Her profile says "Originally from Paris and now trying to find my feet in London I have set up this blog to collect everything that inspires me" & herraison d'etre for establishing her blog is "For lack of attention a thousand forms of loveliness elude us every day" & she also has a sweet tooth-

this little gem is the PROLIFIC BLOGGER AWARD.

  "A prolific blogger is one who is intellectually productive, 

keeping up an active blog with enjoyable content."

After accepting this award, recipients are asked to pass it forward to seven other deserving blogs.
the MAGNIFICENT 7.

BEST of all those bloggers can suggest several blogs they find worthy of a daily read.

They do not have to tell us things like:

I xo chocolate,

:( rainy days, 

:) rainbows after a storm

or

Happiness is a warm puppy.
(charlie brown)

You may well say-shameless self promotion!  little augury-
Do Remember I have been a practicing decorator, designer for going on 30 years. It would not be possible to have avoided such temptations to do that before.

I ask You-
Think about the BIG self promoters in the Home Design and Lifestyle business-Living and Not.. Don't you like them, in spite of what you may say?
& Yes,
I also sold furniture-some of the good stuff. This is when I learned  "How to Sell."  Why? I worked on commission most of those years. (the trenches)

There is one thing you learn and I believe (if you don't -you are doomed in this business of interior design):

Believe in your knowledge and believe you will be paid for it. A recommendation to a client is a Your Gift. They should and do appreciate it.  Something like-Madame X- You should absolutely -Go to the little dump of a dry cleaners in the little dump of a shopping center, next to the dump of a service station. They are the experts in how to keep a paillette  from melting. These are the things that make other matters-like insuring Madame X that the $20,000 sofa is worth every penny. It really is.

Now for the little assemblage of the sparkling paillettes that make up my 7 Prolific Bloggers- that I read daily and you should give them a go as well-

MY DOG EARED PAGES

REGGIE DARLING

THE DOWN EAST DILETTANTE

THE MODERN TRADITIONALIST

IT'S ABOUT TIME

VICTORIA THORNE

PORCELAINS AND PEACOCKS

the catch- 

These 7 darlings have also been AWARDED

 the

BEAUTIFUL BLOGGER AWARD

Christina Lindsay of Fashion's Most Wanted  graciously bestowed this award upon little augury. I found FASHION through the HOUSE OF BEAUTY AND CULTURE. Superb both!  Christina shares her take on fashion, beauty and gives us the occasional glimpse into her London life.

She says,  

"Whether it's the latest thing or something from a bygone age, if I like it I'll write about it

NOW-  

In tradition of that BEAUTY- I must tell seven things you may not know about me. Could it be possible there are actually 7 things I have not blabbed about on this thing ?

I actually DO xo chocolate,

I DO Love rainy days, 

& I firmly believe
Happiness IS a warm puppy.

(charlie brown)

I am a big animal lover-

not to the degree that I love them better than people-

Just Some.

I love cutting flowers-

Peonies, Heirloom Roses, Iris.

I am pleased that the wonderful

Charlotte Moss

at tete a tete has Little Augury on her blog links.

I read too many Blogs!
(YOU?)

all the photographs are of Elsie de Wolfe- the first BIG SELF PROMOTER. What about a blog exclusively about Elsie? I have considered a second BLOG devoted to ONE of interest Woman in the World of Design. She is a possible, Suggestions?
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the Business

trellis dining roomby Mark Hampton

from AD here

much has been written about the new book MARK HAMPTON AN AMERICAN DECORATOR,  all well deserved and well done. I admire this decorator-&  in the book's title there are immediate clues as to why.Why?

Mark Hampton- was quintessentially  American- He was the BILL BLASS of decorating-Style, Grace, Insight-both men possessed, and their spot on eye produced some of the most memorable rooms and fashion loaded with that Style and Grace. More importantly Mark Hampton loved his work-He was a decorator and proudly so. That is the proper word for every good-make that great practitioner. Some scoff-at DECORATOR-and run from the word- preferring DESIGNER or Interior Designer. The title elevates? All well & good-just remember-Anyone can be One. That phrase from the famously beloved musical- you know it- " ME, A NAME, I CALL MYSELF."  It is a good feeling to be a designer-It is a great feeling to be a Decorator. The term HOLDS a wealth of meaning, I think of Elsie de Wolfe as she declared:

"I am going in now for interior decoration. By that I mean supplying objets d'art and giving advice regarding the decoration of their houses to wealthy persons who do not have the time, inclination, nor culture to do such work for themselves. "

 It is a good thing, a Great thing. All the drafting, space planning, specifications galore- can not  Charm. Can not Make the Room.  Mark Hampton did a beautiful job- Making A Room. He said it best:

"We all know that interior decoration is seen by many as a frivolous career, full of ruffles and flourishes and preposterous fashion statements. Yet to transform the bleak and barren into welcoming places where one can live seems to me an important and worthwhile goal in life. Sometimes this transformation can stun the ee, sometimes simply gladden it, but theses are not frivolous pursuits.


In an era when there is increasing despair over the inhumanity of the world, the concerns of decorating, rather than seeming vain and irrelevant, provide for me a wonderful refuge. The work has to do with people and beauty and the timeless activities of domestic life. At least our private worlds can reward us with peace and pleasure."

 image from AD here

We all seek beauty- we may see it differently and find it different places. It may be a priceless work in oil on canvas encased in wood and gilt or a  pebble smoothed by hundreds of years on the ocean floor, slowly moving to shore.

Decorator. It is a noble profession-one that needs No gloss, No dross.
Being a Good designer is fine,
Being a Great decorator is divine.

 de Wolfe's Trellis Room at the Colony Club

image from gutenberg.org

read more about Trellis at my Dog Eared Pages here

read more about Mark Hampton and the book here at the Blue Remembered Hills, in fact there are a number of truly wonderful posts from Blue about Mark Hampton- Explore his blog here.

& at the essential reading blog Mrs Blandings here.

Elsie x 2

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Sir Charles Mendl and  ELSIE

  take a look at this cosmic decorating time warp.

I do!

 the pair assembled at the British Embassy in Paris

to say their vows of undying? love?
(note the beloved Blu Blu attends the ceremony)

Passing the Elsie test

 ah! the gifts- one can only imagine the loot Elsie collected-

& banished if it did not meet her de Wolfe aesthetic.

"I believe in plenty of optimism and white paint." EdW
 (some things One can not paint over.)

Blu-Blu

the couple selecting rings

(note Blu Blu's french high chair)

Holland Taylor recreates the one and only Elsie de Wolfe, and of course,that is, indeed- Mario Buatta posing as Sir Charles Mendl. Elsie was the blushing bride at age 57! or more. (Yes there's HOPE.)  The groom was 55, Elsie purported to be a young 57, (at least) according to sources.

Love Match

After All

Elsie with Blu Blu

(and Mendl propping up the fireplace)

"He looks so wonderful against the fireplace." EdW

Holland Taylor studied de Wolfe as all good actresses would and came up with these observations: 'Elsie de Wolfe hated her Looks, so her face is quite guarded.'

Keeping it loose

"In my struggle to lift myself out of the rut of ugliness and mediocrity, 

I did everything I could to keep fit."

(this mantra- at age 10, little Elsie swore off candy for life)

Taylor again- "And it's obvious that Elsie really didn't like her hands either. When she wasn't wearing little white gloves, she curled them into the oddest shapes, which only made them look like claws."

always with something up Her sleeve

like little ways to make money

 "Entertaining for Elsie was both an art and a business-" Elsa Maxwell

Mainbocher would give Elsie a tidy dividend for mentioning that-

SHE was wearing Him. 

She also decorated the Chicago born couturier's Paris salon.

~

always concerned with keeping up with clients (the Fricks)

Elsie could make deals with a restaurants-

hotels, antique dealers- reaping services for those rendered.

Photographs from the NYTimes Style and Entertaining Magazine* story conceived by Brigitte Lamcombe, photographer, Barbara Turk, stylist and Mitchell Owens writer- AT LONG LAST LOVE here .*
a MUST READ.

resting on her laurels

 

according to The Power of Style authors, Tapert and Elkins,

Elsie devised the cushiony upholstered bed rest with arms-

(casually known as a husband- I doubt if Elsie came up with that one!)

The Mendl's left Paris, fleeing to the States (Beverly Hills) to sit out World War II. Elsie created a fantasy stage set of a house called After All. She admitted to its impermanence, its temporary chic, knowing Villa Trianon, her dazzling Versailles creation was waiting. She returned and restored the Villa's damages sustained during the War.

Finally giving up her vital lifestyle- for repose, Elsie embarked on her final performance. Cecil Beaton said of Elsie, who held court in bed propped up- wearing evening jackets, organdy, white gloves and diamond bracelets-

  " Elsie is certainly prettier- prettier than she has ever been before.

(at long last-After All)

SOURCES:
Spring 2001 issue New York Times Magazine Style and Entertaining
The Power of Style- Annette Tapert and Diana Edkins.

*NOTE: I have not seen these images or story out and about on the internet, if USED-please give the creators proper credit-
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Listen Up-chatting with the Lady & the Duchess

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What a mutually beneficial friendship this must have been. Elsie taking on the Duchess- considered a style and social mentor for Wallis-the ultimate power couple.

Friends. I do love the idea that Wallis and Elsie were friends. I can just imagine the conversations- Did they call each other Lady Mendl? Duchess?

I'm sure some of their conversations have been documented. Do You know of?

Were they?

Of the latest Mainbocher?

EdeW that last "bleu did not suit You? No?"

"No?"

"No."


WWW's next bauble from the Duke?

WWW~ "E. is looking at a ring."

"A ring? No."

"No?"

"Absolutely -No- A brooch. NO?"

"A brooch?"

"A brooch."

"A brooch."

I somehow envision these two sitting down to just doing some down & dirty gossiping. Talking about past lives-actresses-& otherwise, their men-& otherwise, their peccadilloes & otherwise.

Elsie serving up:
1 ½ oz. Tanqueray gin
¾ oz. Cointreau
3 oz. freshly-squeezed and chilled pink or ruby red grapefruit juice (or more to taste)

Stir gin and Cointreau together and chill. Stir in grapefruit juice and pour into a chilled cocktail glass.

read more about it here
or maybe WWW & EdeW swapped receipts WWW's her famed PORK CAKE. yummy. Get the skinny here at Lucindaville.

” Nobody ever called me beautiful, or even pretty.”
WWW

& begging the design purists pardon

read LUCINDAVILLE post on GOSSIP here
an article about Lady Mendl from the New Yorker 1938 here

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ELSIE DE WOLFE: Long May She Reign

In light of the recent travails of Elsie de Wolfe's Villa Trianon:

LONG MAY SHE REIGN

Scene from a Dining Room: Walls covered with mirrored panels done in the style of Jean Baptiste Pillement, with the mirror's backing cut away to reveal painted chinoiserie landscapes. This particular scene certainly appears to me-Chinoiserie Elsie on her throne with her subjects kneeling in reverence or in fear.

read
An Aesthete's Lament: Villa Trianon:The Dilapidation


An Aesthete's Lament: Requiescat en Pace:Villa Trianon


An Aesthete's Lament: Up Close: Villa Trianon

(image from Elsie de Wolfe's 1936 design in Beverly Hills for Countess Dorothy di Frasso. A 70 year secret treasure of her work photographed by SIMON WATSON for House & Garden in 2007, "Elsie in Amber" produced by Mayer Rus, written by Christy Hobart.)

Hutton Wilkinson, president of the Elsie de Wolfe Foundation called it "a lost gem" and a "complete surprise. It has all the bells and whistles of her work. It's absolutely extraordinary," The estate was handed over in 2008- for the sale of its contents and the residence. (read more here.)

This de Wolfe creation 70 years in situ-relegated to destruction. Little is appreciated in terms of the work by this legend. Whoa to the similar destruction of a great work of architecture- this is unlikely. Now it seems that Elsie de Wolfe's Villa Trianon will suffer the same fate.

monogram this

I guess I still have a bit of a thing for monogramming- I remember staying at my GranMa's and always wanting to sleep on the monogram sheets. She had a special way of making the bed with these sheets...that I did not like- making the bed with Gran- but I digress.

Again- monogramming was the rage in college (is it always so?) but at that time (early 80's) I was trying desperately to conform and reform the little bit of bohemian streak I had a the time...like putting a cat in a bag and occasionally opening it up to let a little air in-but I digress.

I don't often embrace the MONOGRAM but these are terrific. I think the designs are clean a little retro and modern too. They remind me of certain designers-

DIANA VREELAND can't you see DV

DAVID HICKS DH

SISTER PARRISH" SISTER"

BILLY BALDWIN BB

Elsie de Wolfe E deW

all from LA PLATES and their BLOG too.

(click to RED to link)