THE ROGERS HOUSE
There was built in Peabody, Massachusetts, in the early part of the
nineteenth century, one of the most magnificent colonial homes of the
period. It still stands, a large, pretentious, two-storied house, known
as "Oak Hill" and the summer residence of Mrs. Jacob C. Rogers. The
house itself is in the center of well laid out grounds, being placed far
back from the road and showing at the front a wide stretch of lawn
interspersed with trees, one of which, a purple beech, is among the
tallest and largest in New England.
[Illustration: PLATE XXI.--The Rogers House, Peabody, Mass.]
The avenue which starts between stone gate-posts shows a wide gravelled
road lined on either side by magnificent trees, many of which were
planted at the time of the house building. At the left, standing by
itself, is a wonderful oak, notable for its symmetry and its height. It
is from this tree that the house derives its name "Oak Hill." The
grounds at the rear of the house show a garden that covers three acres,
the garden proper being geometrically laid out with a fountain in the
center and a sun-dial at the end. Back of it all are arches of woodbine
that make a most effective setting for the floral display, while catalpa
trees, weeping mulberry, and other varieties are found scattered through
the estate.
At the left one comes upon the most wonderful feature of the place. It
is a large lotus pond, where during the season are found many varieties
of the Egyptian lotus, there being sometimes one hundred of these
marvellous blossoms open at once. Just back of the house is a lily pond,
which is laid out in a decorative manner. It shows many varieties,
including the Cape Cod lily, the blue, the pink, and the white.
The grounds cover an area of two hundred acres, which are laid out at
the front and sides in lawns resembling those of England. The rear gives
a background of flowers, while beyond sweep to the boundary line
extensive grain fields and vegetable gardens. Entrance to the grounds is
through carved gateways, the boundary being a well built wall of stone.
In the early days these grounds belonged to Nathaniel West, who was a
very noted merchant and the owner of the ship _Minerva_, the first of
the Salem vessels that circumnavigated the globe. Nathan West married
Elizabeth Derby, one of the daughters of Elias Hasket Derby, familiarly
known as King Derby and who was one of the three merchant princes that
led the commerce in Salem. The house, which at the time of its building
was one of the most notable ever erected, was designed by a celebrated
English architect and is a type of the Adams period. Originally it was
much larger than it is now, for at the death of Mrs. West two portions
of the house were detached and moved away to meet present-day
requirements. The parts taken were so large that one of them to-day
forms a private residence on Chestnut Street in Salem.
The Rogers house is colonial in design. It is two stories in height and
was built at the time when wood-carving had reached the highest degree
of excellence in the historic city by the sea, and when skilled workmen
had been attracted there from every part of the land. Doubtless many of
them were employed by Samuel McIntire on this house which contains some
of his most wonderful work. These men, with the native ingenuity and
wonderful skill in the handling of tools, took great pains to execute
in wood what many of the master architects across the sea were doing in
stone, more particularly as regards decorative molding. In studying the
work on this house, one cannot too carefully take into consideration the
tools which these men had to use, and the precision with which the fine
scale detail is carefully thought out, making these workmen compare
favorably with those of to-day.
[Illustration: PLATE XXII.--Doorway, Rogers House.]
The house where so much fine woodwork is shown is painted white, with
green blinds, and is an exceptionally good example of what the
century-old architecture in and around Salem stands for, possessing
character, dignity, and grace such as is seldom found. This is
particularly exemplified in the front doorway, the porch being perfectly
balanced, its well proportioned fanlights and sidelights giving it rare
dignity and refinement. Ornamentation in the balcony shows McIntire's
work in baskets of flowers picturesquely carved, while the steps are
flanked with marble vases filled with geraniums, the bright blossoms
giving just the right touch of color to bring out the white of the
house. The flooring of the porch is tiled, and the hallway is most
imposing, the stairway being lined with pictures of the old masters,
including Van Dykes, and Salvator Rosas, Oliver Cromwell proroguing
the Long Parliament, Diogenes with his lantern hunting for an honest
man, and many others. The dado here is most unusual, being fabric
painted red, while the hand-painted landscape decorations show a section
of the classic Zuber wall-paper.
The front entrance displays on the inside a well planned elliptical arch
over the door, with a frieze motif of reeded sections between applied
rosettes tied into the cornice, the charming pattern in these sashes
being brought about by iron bent against the glass. In most houses of
this period, as in this, the elliptical arch of the fanlight is echoed
elsewhere in the house.
The staircase cannot fail to attract notice, with its twisted newel post
and balusters and the molded mahogany railing. The box stairs with
panelled ends show decorative brackets. It is interesting to note the
twisted portion of the three balusters on each stair, each differing,
although the tops and bottoms are alike. The newel, hand-carved and
turned, is a specially good specimen of its type, and with the
balusters, which are also hand-carved and turned, represent a direct
development of the shipbuilding industry in their likeness to the rope
moldings of the ship cabins, so much used in those days.
In this hallway the door caps are placed above the lintel, showing no
supporting pilasters. They represent different designs of McIntire, in
some cases showing baskets, in some flowers, and in others garlands.
[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.--Parlor, Rogers House; Drawing Room, Rogers
House.]
The entire house is finished in white pine, a wood that is rather rare
to-day but which shows lasting qualities. This is particularly
noticeable in the drawing-room, which lies at the right of the hallway.
Over the fireplace is a wonderful old painting representing Saturday
Night. This is almost priceless in value, and shows a European peasant
scene where little children are gathered around their grandmother for a
good night parting.
The woodwork of this room is painted a soft brown, the carving on the
mantelpiece showing Neptune with sheaves of wheat, and the whole is
supported by Ionic columns. The center of the room at the rear is
arched, showing wonderful carving, molded pilasters giving an effect
that is fine and distinctive. Here we find, as through all the house,
the marked individuality of the Adams period.
Inside this arch is a background of rich, dark red leather, on which
are fastened wonderful old plates, many of them brought over by the
ancestors of the owner, and without duplicates in this country. These
plates are arranged to form a most artistic archway. Most of the prints
on the wall are from Sir Joshua Reynolds' paintings. Upon the
chimneypieces, not only in this room but also in the several others, it
would seem as if McIntire had put his best work. They appear to stand
out with exceptional grace and dignity, with charm of line and
proportion. Here we find applied work of the most delicate nature and
hand-carving that is exquisite in detail, adorning not only the moldings
of cornice or frieze, but re-echoed in the pilasters of the over-mantel.
The architrave of the mantelboard proper and its frieze, the capitals of
the colonnettes, the edge of the shelf, and the molding that surrounds
the panel over the chimney-breast, are masterpieces in bas-relief. The
architectural treatment in this room convinces one of the great
possibilities that lie in the white wood finish and how appropriate it
is as a background for the rare pieces of old furniture that were used
in our forefathers' day.
The living-room on the opposite side of the hall furnishes a most
satisfactory tone for mahogany furniture in its white wood finish,
there being a somber richness in the combination of the mahogany and
white that is most harmonious. For instances of that, we have only to go
back to our great-grandfathers' time, for a white finish was a popular
fad in colonial days.
Over the mantel in this room is "Sunday Morning," a choice picture that
is worthy of its setting. The casings of doorways which are often
elaborated by the addition of a beautiful cornice and frieze, are
further examples of McIntire's wonderful skill. Sometimes the cornice
includes wonderful hand-carved molding showing between the dentiles fine
spears which are supported by pilasters on each side. There are dainty
grapevines and superbly modelled fruit baskets, while the door-cap
frieze often shows dainty festoons and straight hanging garlands, with
rosettes between. In the pilasters we find carved eagles and
fruit-filled urns.
While most of these decorations are carved in wood, some of them are
made in French putty and applied to the surface of the wood with glue.
This idea is being carried out to-day by our leading decorators.
The morning-room is at the rear of the living-room, a large, handsome
apartment opening on to the wide veranda, which is a feature of one side
and approached by broad steps. The dining-room leads off the
morning-room and is finished in English oak. The entire house, more
especially in its interior decoration, is considered by architects all
over the country to be one of the finest examples of colonial
architecture that was built during the period of Salem's prosperity.
The furniture follows also the same period. Rarely in any private home
does one find such a gathering of rare pieces of the three masters:
Hepplewhite, Sheraton, and Chippendale. Most of these pieces, in fact
practically all, are heirlooms which have descended directly from
generation to generation, for this family has the distinction of being
one of the oldest connected with Salem's early history.
It is fitting that McIntire should have put his best work into a house
like this, where one finds no plain spaces, no wide panels without
decoration, and no simple pilasters, for there is a dignity and a charm
both in exterior and interior bespeaking not only wealth but good taste.
While the house does not contain as much old-time paper as do many of
the residences of that day, yet the pieces that are shown are
exceptional and comprise subjects such as one can seldom find. It is
refreshing to find such a house as this, where great taste has been
shown in the selection of furnishings, and where there is so much
harmony in surroundings.