Baguès

A design for a wall light
for Chanel, 1940.
Image:  1stDibs.

My friend and sometimes collaborator Hector Alexander recently snagged a drop-dead low table during the opening minutes of an estate sale that had been produced by the elite firm Maison Baguès.  Still in business and noted for its distinctive (and often copied) light fixtures, the atelier once also produced a line of accessory tables.


A bronze low table
with a lacquer top.
Image:  Elle Décor.

Either a palm frond or bamboo motif were popular leg forms for these tables.  Hector's low table in the form as shown above has a clear glass top, but the same model with the original smoky antique mirror top was offered in 2002 by Malmaison Antiques in NYC for $20,000.


A small tripod table
in the bamboo motif
with a marble top.
Image:  1stDibs.

Noël Baguès started a firm in Paris around 1860 that produced bronze candlesticks and other items used in Christian worship services.


An advertisement for Eugene Baguès.
Image:  eBay.

 

Eugene Baguès in his New York office.
Image:  Elle Décor.

His son Eugene introduced bronze light fixtures in 1880.  In turn, Eugene's sons Victor and Robert expanded the lighting collection in the 1920s and added gilded iron fixtures as well.  At one time, there were additional retail branches in New York, London, Brussels, Rome, and Cairo.


The Galleon chandelier
is one of the signature pieces of
Maison Baguès.

Although the company went under the control of bankers during The Great Depression, Victor's son Jean-Pierre was able to eventually buy back the company in 1957 and revived the collection and also made new introductions.
 


A sconce for seven candles in the popular
double parakeet form.  Also available
in a number of variations, this sconce
is the most copied by other makers.
Image:  Elle Décor.

When Jean-Pierre Baguès retired in 1995, his successor Mr. Souriou relocated the business to Viaduc des Arts in Paris, an area of fine metal-workers.  In 2007, a second location was added to make large chandeliers and other products.


An inventive model using the bamboo motif
in gilt and patinated bronze.
Image:  Elle Décor.

In 2011 Mr. Gesteau formed an association with the maker of decorative cabinet hardware Bronzes of France.  Some pages of a vintage Baguès catalog may be seen on the web site of Riad Kneife here, a reference for some of the dates and names associated with the firm.  The current catalog of Maison Baguès may be seen here. 


A mirror of eglomise glass
in a giltwood frame.
Image:  Elle Décor.

One of the best customers of Maison Baguès was the legendary decorating firm Maison Jansen.  Since Jansen furnishings are highly prized, vintage Baguès pieces on the market today are often advertised as "supplied by Jansen" or "Jansen Style".  Baguès items were seldom marked or labeled with the maker's name, which also leads to mis-identification.  Chic antique shops in New York City such as David Duncan Antiques, R. Louis Bofferding, and Malmaison Antiques often have Baguès light fixtures and occasional tables among their offerings.  And occasionally, the furnishings come up at Sotheby's and Christie's auctions.  Estate sales are generally less dependable as a source, but it helps to have a keen, educated eye like Hector.

Cool Oasis

The rear garden of Dr. Cooley's residence.
Photo:  Andrea Zucker
Memphis Magazine.

Anyone doubting that Global Warming is upon us has not been to Memphis in the past few miserably hot summers.  A swimming pool is a much-appreciated amenity in this climate, and a particularly refreshing pool is one feature of a house with six landscaped courtyards that is presented in the article "Cool Oasis" by Anne Cunningham O'Neill in the October, 2012, issue of Memphis Magazine.  Although I am friends with the homeowner, John Tackett Design had nothing to do with the property.  My associate Hector Alexander Samada had revamped the garden, however, refining the planting to give more interest to the Brutalist architecture of the house.


The entrance of Dr. Cooley's residence.
Photo:  Andrea Zucker
Memphis Magazine.

At the end of the 1970s, the deep garden of a neo-classical mansion was subdivided, providing four additional building lots along the side street.  The three other houses are typical suburban types, but this one is a complete departure, stylistically, for the neighborhood.  Since this house was built in 1980, the neighborhood primarily of early 20th century houses has been designated as a National Conservation District known as Central Gardens.  Although the house might not fall within the design guidelines for the district today, it is much admired though shielded from the street and is often overlooked, in fact. 


The Great Room of the Cooley Residence.
Photo:  Andrea Zucker
Memphis Magazine.

The house was designed by Memphis interior designer J.O.E. Beck as his own home.  It includes a feature that Mr. Beck often employed, panels of a coromandel screen are hinged to fold open to reveal a bar.  Knowing that, it may be made out in the background of the photo above;  the lamp is on a table at the end of the sofa and the panels are partially open to reveal that the back wall of the bar is mirrored.  A glimpse through the doorway on the right reveals the galley kitchen with the original flame-red cabinets.  The central doorway leads to the entrance hall with a spiral staircase to a second bedroom and the door to the left opens into the master bedroom, giving a clue to the compactness of the plan.

A satellite view may be seen on Bing Maps.  Sorry, I could not get the link right, but you may search the address 684 South Willett Street, Memphis, TN.  The mansion from which this lot came is Beverly Hall, located adjacent at the corner of Central Avenue and South Willett Street.

 

101 Beautiful Rooms

A Family Room renovation by John Tackett Design.
Photo:  Pieter Estersohn for Southern Accents magazine.

A room from one of my John Tackett Design projects, done in collaboration with Josie McCarthy, is featured in a magazine currently on the newstands, Southern Accents, 101 Beautiful Rooms.  Devoted Readers might remember that this same room was also featured in Southern Accents, The Best Southern Rooms.  That earlier special issue featured three additional rooms from this same house in the Belle Meade area of Nashville and was the subject of a previous post of The Devoted Classicist here.

The magazine is a special edition that features rooms from past issues of the now-defunct periodical Southern Accents.  There is essentially no advertising, so it is basically a limited edition softcover book with captions instead of text for $13.99.  The cover features a Dining Room by Jose Solis Betancourt and Paul Sherrill.


A Living Room designed by Frank Randolph.
Photo:  Michel Armaud for Southern Accents magazine.

The Devoted Classicist shares an admiration for using maps as decoration with Frank Randolph, the interior designer for the Living Room also featured in this issue.  To duplicate the look, several versions of the 1734 Tourgot Plan de Paris can be downloaded from Meg Fairfax Fielding's blog Pigtown*Design.

An Entrance Hall designed by Thomas Jayne.
Photo:  Pieter Estersohn for Southern Accents.

My friend and sometime collaborator Thomas Jayne was the interior designer for a house in South Carolina whose Entrance Hall is also featured.  Thomas says, "The entry is a hyphen between an allee of trees and the plantation.  The hand-painted wallpaper is Chinoiserie, but we incorporated magnolias and palmettos, icons of the Lowcountry that resonate."  More of Thomas' work will be seen in his new book AMERICAN DECORATOR: A SENSE OF PLACE, published by The Monacelli Press, which will released on October 30, 2012.

More on Baltimore

"View of Baltimore from Howard's Park" by George Beck, c. 1796
The Maryland Historical Society.

Continuing on my tour of some of Baltimore's highlights, the second part of the previous post of The Devoted Classicist, it was a treat to finally meet David Wiesand of Mclain Wiesand, surely one of Baltimore's most creative and talented classicist artisans.

The Baltimore showroom of Mclain Wiesand.
Photo from the firm's website.

David is phasing out his inventory of antiques and decorative accessories, but take a look at his website to see the catalogue of new home furnishings, represented in To-The-Trade Showrooms around the country.

A vintage view of the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, now the Engineer's Club.
Photo from the Maryland Historical Society.

A tour of the Engineer's Club, located in the historic Garrett-Jacobs Mansion on Mount Vernon Place, was a real eyeful.  Robert Garrett was the older brother of T. Harrison Garrett of Evergreen House; dead at age 49, his wealthy widow, the former Mary Frick, married her late husband's personal physician Dr. Henry Barton Jacobs.  The original house which had been expanded and remodeled by Stanford White, was expanded again by John Russell Pope who also made some alterations to the original house, eventually growing to occupy four lots.  It is all well-preserved by the club.  Although not normally open to the public, a viewing of the rooms of the main floor is permitted as schedule allows.

Peabody Institute, Baltimore.
Photograph by William Henry Jackson, Prints and Photographs Collection.

The real surprise of the day was the George Peabody Library, formerly the Library of the Peabody Institute of the City of Baltimore, which opened in 1878, designed by Baltimore architect Edmund G. Lind.  I was familiar with the area because my associate Hector Alexander Samada had completed an interior design project on the top floor of a Romanesque Revival townhouse just on the other side of the Washington Monument.  But I had never been inside the library, a research facility open to the public, now part of Johns Hopkins University.

The Stack Room of the George Peabody Library.
Photo from Johns Hopkins University.

The Stack Room would rank high on the list of the most fabulous spaces open to public in the whole country.  The over 300,000 volumes, most dating from the 18th to early 20th century, cover just about every subject for research except music, a reflection of the scholarly interests of the 19th century.  This interior, along with the fashionable urban neighborhood that surrounds it, is a not-to-be-missed atttraction to visitors of Baltimore.

Evergreen House as it appeared circa 1930.
Photo from Johns Hopkins University, jhu.edu

Evergreen House Museum & Library is full of books as well, with several rooms devoted to valuable volumes.  In addition to notable architecture there are interesting furnishings and fine art throughout the mansion, too.  Although I knew about the historic house because of its influence on the legendary decorator Billy Baldwin, I had never visited it before being invited to come speak, as related in a previous blog post here.

Evergreen's ballroom-sized library addition of 1928 by Lawrence Hall Fowler
included a dumbwaiter to lower the rare coin collection into the vault.
Photo from Johns Hopkins University, jhu.edu

There are many features to interest visitors, not the least being the notable bathrooms of various styles and periods, several of which are on view during the tour.  And the kitchen is currently undergoing restoration.

A view of the Lobby area adjacent to the Theatre at Evergreen House,
with painted decoration by Leon Bakst.
Photo from Johns Hopkins University.

My talk was given in the Leon Bakst-decorated theatre which was formerly a gymnasium.  The small stage can display one of three fantastic scenic backdrops that Bakst painted, and the adjacent space, used as the theatre lobby, is covered with his designs;  the decoration is original but the white background has been refreshed.  I was happy to meet Meg Fairfax Fielding of Pigtown*Design and a number of other Devoted Readers who had come from Washington, DC, Old Town Alexandria, VA, and even one from West New York, NJ.  Also, it was a pleasure to meet the JHU architect Travers Nelson, Program Manager, Design & Construction. 

The cover of the catalog from the exhibit at Evergreen Museum & Library.
Image by John J. Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

Tours of Evergreen begin and end in the former Billiard Room in the added wing.  Believed to have been designed by Stanford White, it bears many similarities to the Parlor Stairhall from the Metcalfe House, Buffalo, designed by McKim, Mead and White now installed in the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  The space is now used as the Gift Shop and contains many interesting items for sale including the books by the authors from their speaker series and publications that accompanied special Evergreen exhibitions.  Those wishing to order publications such as BALTIMORE'S BILLY BALDWIN by James Archer Abbott may do so through the link or by calling the museum.

A view of the rear of Evergreen House before the 1928 library additon on the left.
The greenhouse with its onion dome turret is no longer extant.
The theatre wing can be seen on the right, extending out towards the garden.
Photo from the Maryland Historical Society.

One of Evergreen's best attended annual events is the Alice's Wonderland Garden Party, this year to be held on Thursday, May 10, 2012.  In addition to being an evening of fun, it is a fund-raiser for the museum with additional revenue being raised with a silent auction.  There are many fine items that have been donated, not the least being a pair of Louis XVI style fauteuils with hand-painted velvet upholstery.

A pair of fauteuils stamped JANSEN to be auctioned to benefit Evergreen House
at the Alice's Wonderland Garden Party, May 10, 2012.
Photo from Evergreen Museum & Library.

In addition to the curator-director of Evergreen, Jim Abbott, I owe great thanks to Nancy Powers, Museum Services Coordinator, and Ben Renwick, Facilities and Operations Coordinator, for all their help in making my presentation a success.  It was a memorable experience, seeing the highlights of Baltimore and meeting some of its most interesting residents.