Tour the Allandale Living Room

This room was the scene of many lively parties and other special events when the Brooks family was in residence here.

The large hand-carved mirror dominating the room is gilt-covered wood. Its massive size and weight require at least three strong men to move it.

The Sheraton bookcase/secretary [which dates back to about 1785] is of mahogany with applewood marquetry [“mahr-kett-ree”]. Inside are curly-maple drawers and storage alcoves. It features the swan-neck, or “broken arch” pediment design at the very top, which was innovative in that, previous to this time, the arches were designed unbroken. The writing surface is of tooled leather, and the glazed astragal doors protect some of Mr. Brooks’ vast library.

In the corner is a solid mahogany “handkerchief” table. Much like a cloth handkerchief may be folded to be used as desired, the table-top of this piece may be folded down [by swinging one of the side-legs forward] to create a square table. It was crafted in England in 1745, and still has the original wooden pegs and hinge.

Under each window you will find a pair of “demi-lune” [French for half-moon] tables made of satinwood. They are hand-painted, and feature an inlaid sunburst pattern.

The 1920s-era hand-woven Turkish rug you see covering the floor in this room was specially made to wear well under dancing feet.

A Moran painting is perhaps the most valuable piece in the room. The painter was English and lived from 1829 to 1901. He had three brothers, two of whom were also artists [the other was a photographer]. Moran came to the United States in the mid-1800s to study art, and returned to England for further study in 1862. He came again to American shores ten years later and became a popular painter in Philadelphia and New York City. Moran is especially noted for his paintings which depicted important moments in American history [though h
is seascapes are also well-known], such as the one you see here.

In this large oil painting, General Chamberlain [wearing gold] introduces Colonel George Washington [in red and blue] to the recently-widowed Martha Dandridge Custis, who later became Washington’s wife…