,biltmore ,house and ,gardens           
,,biltmore ,,estate                     
,biltmore-,asheville                    
,north ,carolina                        
,,open ,,to ,,visitors                  
,illustration3 ,biltmore ,house ,from   
,the ,esplanade      ,illustration3     
,decorative capital ,a  ,approached from
 the ,biltmore ,lodge ,gate of ,biltmore
 ,estate1 along a three-mile drive of   
paved roads which wind their way through
 plantations of flowering shrubs and    
forests of pine1 hemlock and hardwood1  
,biltmore ,house1 for nearly half a     
century unique among the great country  
houses of ,america1 comes into view with
 almost startling suddenness4 ,a sharp  
turn through the wrought iron gates of  
the north entrance gives one the first  
view of the magnificent mansion         
completed by ,george ,w4 ,vanderbilt in 
#ahie4      ,illustration3 ,banquet     
,hall and ,its ,triple ,fireplace       
,following in many details the lines of 
,french ,renaissance chateaux1          

particularly those of ,blois and        
,chambord1 ,biltmore ,house was designed
 by ,richard ,m4 ,hunt1 of ,new ,york4  
,the landscape setting of the mansion   
and the estate was planned by ,frederick
 ,law ,olmsted1 designer of ,central    
,park1 ,new ,york1 and executed under   
the direction of ,c4 ,d4 ,beadle1 for   
more than sixty years ,superintendent of
 the ,estate4 ,by many1 the great estate
 surrounding the mansion is believed to 
be the finest example of landscape      
design in ,america4  ,the visitor can   
profitably study the exterior of the    
mansion before passing through the main 
portal4 ,the structure has a frontage of
 #ghj feet4 ,the breadth of the house1  
from the main door to the west front1 is
 #aej feet4 ,the facade rises in three  
distinct levels1 graduated from portals 
to finials4 ,the characteristic ,french 
peaked roof1 with its dormer windows and
 lofty chimneys1 relieves any tendency  
toward severity4 ,the walls are of      
hand-tooled ,indiana limestone2 the roof

 is of slate4  ,biltmore ,house1 begun  
in #ahij1 was completed and opened in   
#ahie after five years of intensive     
construction4 ,special railroad tracks  
were laid from what is now ,biltmore    
station to the site--three miles        
away--for the conveyance of the great   
mass of construction material required4 
,hundreds of skilled artisans from      
various parts of this country and       
,europe worked unremittingly1 while     
other hundreds of laborers from the     
mountain sections of ,north ,carolina   
were given steady employment during the 
period of construction4  ,the visitor   
gains the first impression of the       
mansion's magnitude when passing through
 the main entrance door1 flanked by     
sixteenth century lions of ,italian     
marble1 into the great hall which gives 
access to the main rooms4 ,the          
self-supporting arches surrounding the  
,palm ,court are ceiled with tiles      
especially made by the celebrated artist
 and architect1 ,rafael ,guastavino1    

while the arches and dome of the broad  
circular stairway which spirals to the  
topmost floor from the left side of the 
hall are of ,indiana limestone4 ,facing 
the entrance door from the rear of the  
hall is a ceremonial furnishing of      
,cardinal ,richelieu1 showing the       
,cardinal's coat-of-arms1 motto and hat2
 it is one of a pair1 the other is hung 
on the wall of the second-floor         
corridor4 ,the grand staircase1 modeled 
after that of the ,chateau ,blois1 winds
 its way around the massive wrought iron
 chandelier which extends downward from 
the roof to the ,entrance ,hall ceiling1
 and bears a light cluster for each     
landing4  ,while visitors are free to   
choose their own itinerary1 the tour of 
the mansion usually begins at the ,court
 of ,palms1 adjoining the ,entrance     
,hall4 ,this court is a sunken area1    
encircled with marble and1 in almost    
every season1 adorned with masses of    
flowers from the gardens and            
greenhouses4 ,the central fountain is   

surmounted by a statue of a boy and     
swan1 the work of ,karl ,bitter1 the    
,austro-,american sculptor4 ,on the     
walls are copies of the ,parthenon      
,reliefs1 now in the ,british ,museum4  
,from the ,court of ,palms the visitor  
enters the ,oak ,drawing ,room1 panelled
 in ,norwegian oak4 ,most of the        
engravings hanging here are after       
paintings by ,landseer4 ,heads of deer1 
buffalo1 moose1 and bear also adorn the 
walls4 ,the three bronzes over the      
fireplace are by ,barye1 while on the   
bookcase at the left are four ,chinese  
,celadon vases4 ,the ,spanish table in  
the center is of late eighteenth century
 origin1 as is the writing desk facing  
the entrance4  ,from the ,oak ,drawing  
,room one enters the great ,banquet     
,hall1 one of the chief centers of      
attraction4 ,copied in large measure    
from an old ,norman banquet hall1 this  
room is #gb feet long2 its ceiling      
reaches a height of #ge feet4 ,at one   
end a triple fireplace1 extending almost

 across the entire width of the room1 is
 surmounted by a frieze by ,bitter1     
8,the ,return ,from ,the ,chase40 ,high 
above the frieze are grouped the flags  
of the great powers of ,europe at the   
time ,columbus discovered ,america4     
,the outstanding objects of interest in 
the ,banquet ,hall are five sixteenth   
century tapestries depicting the story  
of ,vulcan and the loves of ,venus and  
,mars4 ,it is the unconfirmed legend    
that these tapestries1 woven of silk and
 gold1 adorned the tent of the ,french  
,king1 ,francis ,i1 on the occasion of  
his historic meeting with ,henry ,,viii 
of ,england on the ,field of the ,cloth 
of ,gold4 ,the various figures on the   
tapestries1 which were made in ,brussels
 after the cartoons of the ,bolognese   
painter1 ,primaticcio1 stand out in     
striking relief4 ,particularly does one 
note the beauty and naturalness of the  
four medallions1 one at each corner4    
,on the walls are replicas of the flags 
of the thirteen original states1 and the

 ,biltmore ,estate ,world ,war service  
flag1 with its fifty-three stars--three 
of them gold--hangs proudly over the    
center arch4 ,at the opposite end of the
 ,banquet ,hall from the fireplace1 sets
 of shelves display brass and copper    
pieces of ,dutch1 ,spanish and ,french  
origin which are attributed to artisans 
of the seventeenth century4 ,the large  
pipes in the organ loft above are       
flanked by wood carved reliefs by ,karl 
,bitter1 depicting scenes from ,wagner's
 operas4  ,from the ,banquet ,hall the  
visitor proceeds to the ,dining ,room1  
the walls of which are wainscotted in   
red marble1 surmounted by tooled        
,spanish leather2 the upholstery is of  
,genoese velvet in red and gold4 ,on the
 right is the fireplace by ,wedgwood4   
,portraits of members of the ,vanderbilt
 family hang from the walls4 ,in this   
room are displayed beautiful ivory      
carvings and lustre-ware4  ,in the      
,print ,room are rare engravings by     
,earlom1 ,mc,ardell1 ,turner1 ,cousins1 

,ward and ,cole4 ,on the center pillar  
of the entrance is the remarkable       
engraving1 8,the ,executioner10 by      
,prince ,rupert1 after ,spagnoletto2    
underneath it is 8,the ,virgin and      
,child10 engraved by ,theodore ,caspara 
,furstenbergh1 after ,correggio4 ,the   
large reassembled engraving on the left 
wall shows the family pedigree of       
,maximilian the ,great1 by ,albrecht    
,durer 7#aeae72 the six engravings on   
either side of this piece are also by   
,durer4  ,a ,spanish cabinet of the     
sixteenth century is placed on the left 
of the large ,durer engraving2 on the   
right a ,dutch cabinet of the late      
seventeenth century4 ,on the right of   
the entrance1 in the center of the end  
wall1 is an ,italian ebony dresser of   
the sixteen-seventeenth century2 between
 the windows are a number of bronze     
busts by ,meunier4  ,an antique that    
attracts much interest1 especially among
 students of history1 is found in the   
right hand corner of this room1 near the

 entrance--the chess table and set of   
chessmen once owned by ,napoleon        
,bonaparte1 and used by him during the  
six years of his imprisonment on the    
island of ,st4 ,helena4 ,tradition has  
it that the emperor's heart was placed  
in the drawer of this table1 after being
 sealed in a silver box1 following the  
autopsy performed by ,antommarchi4      
,doctor ,o',meara1 a physician placed in
 attendance on ,napoleon by the ,british
 government1 says in his memoirs that   
,lady ,holland1 of ,england1 presented  
the famous ,corsican with a chess table1
 and it is probable that this is the    
table referred to by ,o',meara4  ,from  
the ,print ,room visitors enter the     
,tapestry ,gallery4 ,covering almost the
 entire #ij-;foot length of the walls   
are ,flemish tapestries of the late     
fifteenth century1 depicting ,prudence1 
,faith and ,charity4 ,on the left of the
 first fireplace is a sofa in ,french   
tapestry of ,henry ,,iii period1 late   
sixteenth century2 the six tapestry     

chairs in the center of the gallery are 
,louis ,,xiv4 ,four chairs and the sofa 
under the middle tapestry are of ,louis 
,,xiv period4      ,illustration3 ,in   
,the ,tapestry ,gallery                 
,illustration3 ,the ,grand ,spiral      
,stairway  ,in the center is a large    
refectory table from an old ,english    
monastery1 probably removed from its    
original setting during the reign of    
,henry ,,viii4 ,twelve ,dresden china   
figures of the ,twelve ,apostles1       
bearing imprint of the ,imperial ,arms  
of ,austria1 are believed to have come  
from a private chapel of the ,hapsburgs4
 ,over the door into the ,library is a  
portrait of ,george ,w4 ,vanderbilt by  
,sargent2 on the left a ,sargent        
portrait of his mother1 ,mrs4 ,william  
,h4 ,vanderbilt1 and on the right a     
portrait of ,mrs4 ,peter ,goelet ,gerry 
7formerly ,mrs4 ,george ,w4 ,vanderbilt7
 by ,boldini4      ,illustration3 ,the  
,dining ,room  ,moving into the ,library
 the visitor's attention centers on the 

famous ceiling painted by ,tiepolo1 the 
last outstanding artist of the ,venetian
 school1 who died in #aggj4 ,the canvas1
 which covers the library ceiling1 was  
obtained by ,mr4 ,vanderbilt from an old
 ,italian palace1 on his pledge that the
 name of the former owner should never  
be revealed4  ,the unique library1      
panelled in ,circassian walnut1 contains
 more than #bj1jjj volumes1 among them  
rare works on art1 architecture and     
landscape gardens4 ,over the fireplace  
hangs an ,italian tapestry1 of the late 
seventeenth century4 ,two white         
porcelain vases of eighteenth century1  
three large ,chinese goldfish bowls1    
credited to the ,ming dynasty1 and a    
piece of sixteenth century ,spanish     
embroidery on the long table at the end 
of the room1 are other rare objects of  
interest4 ,the carved black marble      
fireplace on the left is nine feet wide 
and six feet high2 the figures on the   
andirons are by ,bitter4  ,leaving the  
,library one mounts the grand staircase 

to the second floor and enters the      
,first ,hall1 a room #gb by #ce feet4   
,here are hung many valuable paintings1 
among them ,sargent's life-size         
portraits of ,richard ,morris ,hunt and 
,frederick ,law ,olmsted1 designers of  
the house and the estate respectively4  
,here also is seen a large ,persian     
palace or temple rug1 middle sixteenth  
century1 #cc by #be feet4 ,the furniture
 here is ,venetian1 late eighteenth     
century4 ,another object of interest is 
a ,spanish ,wedding ,vestment ,chest4   
,above is an ,italian mirror1 nineteenth
 century4  ,opening from the hall is the
 ,louis ,,xvi ,bedroom with furniture of
 that period4 ,the ,south ,bedroom1 once
 occupied by ,mr4 ,vanderbilt1 commands 
from its windows views of rarely        
excelled scenic splendor4 ,in this room 
the carving and panelling are of walnut2
 the furniture is ,spanish1 ,italian and
 ,portuguese of the early eighteenth    
century4 ,the bed1 hung in red and gold1
 is ,spanish4  ,the ,north ,bedroom is  

upholstered in purple and gold ,genoese 
velvet4 ,the ,oak ,sitting ,room1       
between the ,north and ,south ,bedrooms1
 contains several large and beautiful   
bronzes by ,barye1 ,meunier and ,mene4  
,there also is a ,maria di ,medici      
settee bearing the private monogram of  
that tempestuous queen1 and on the wall 
are displayed ,sargent's portraits of   
,mrs4 ,kissam and ,mrs4 ,bacon4  ,the   
visitor emerging from the mansion looks 
down upon a grassy ,esplanade1 in the   
center of which are a fountain and pool1
 with driveways on either side4 ,beyond 
the ,esplanade is a magnificent         
structure of stone1 the 8,rampe ,douce10
 with its three turtle founts1 erected  
to enable one1 whether mounted or afoot1
 to reach the bridle paths and glades   
above and beyond4 ,below the level of   
the ,library ,terrace and the           
,esplanade1 surrounded by boxwood and   
holly hedges1 are the ,swimming ,pool   
and ,italian ,garden4 ,the holly hedge  
is studded at regular intervals with    

,italian sculptured urns4 ,here is the  
wall with ivy from ,kenilworth ,castle1 
and a veritable forest of old ,wistaria 
vine greets the visitor in the ,pergola4
 ,here1 as in almost every other part of
 the grounds adjacent to the mansion1   
are rare examples of beautiful statuary 
procured by ,mr4 ,vanderbilt on his     
travels abroad4  ,beyond the ,library   
,terrace are the ,italian ,garden1 the  
,shrub ,garden1 the ,walled ,garden1 the
 ,spring ,garden and the ,azalea        
,garden1 in the aggregate containing    
about thirty-five acres of rare and     
beautiful plants and flowers in almost  
endless variety1 which bloom in seasonal
 succession4  ,the greenhouses at the   
end of the ,walled ,garden are devoted  
to the cultivation of plants and flowers
 used in the adornment of the mansion4  
,the giant palms and ferns of many      
varieties present a truly tropical      
scene4  ,an estate of some #ab1jjj acres
 surrounds ,biltmore ,house2 formerly it
 comprised more than #ajj1jjj acres1 but

 a large portion of the forest area was 
granted to the government by ,mrs4      
,vanderbilt after ,mr4 ,vanderbilt's    
death1 as the nucleus of ,pisgah        
,national ,forest1 and #a1ejj acres were
 allotted for development of the        
,biltmore ,forest ,country ,club and the
 ,town of ,biltmore ,forest4 ,the       
estate1 with its #ag miles of paved and 
macadam roads1 and #abj miles of        
equestrian trails and earth roads1 gives
 employment to more than #ejj people1   
the greater number of these being       
engaged in the operation of the         
,biltmore ,dairy ,farms and kindred     
activities4 ,the ,biltmore herd of some 
#abjj pure-bred ,jerseys is one of the  
largest1 and is recognized as one of the
 finest1 in the country4  ,as a result  
of the efforts on behalf of the         
,asheville ,chamber of ,commerce1       
,biltmore ,house was opened to the      
public ,march #ae1 #aicj1 sixteen years 
after ,mr4 ,vanderbilt's death4         
,admission tickets are on sale at the   

,biltmore ,estate office on the ,plaza  
in ,biltmore1 and at the ,asheville     
,chamber of ,commerce4                  
,illustration3 ,a ,section of ,the      
,library                                
,transcriber's ,notes   --,silently     
corrected a few typos4  --,there was no 
publication information in the printed  
edition3 this e,book   is believed      
public-domain in the country of         
publication4  --,in the text versions   
only1 text in italics is delimited by   
underscores4