photo by Alice Lum |
Joseph B. Thomas, Sr. was born in Boston in 1848 and
accumulated a fortune in the sugar business.
The energetic mogul moved his family to New York where his athletic
interests were reflected in his memberships in the New York Yacht Club and the
Sewanhaka-Corinthian Yacht Club, and his presidency of the St. Andrew’s Golf
Club. Thomas would pass his love of
outdoor sports to his son, Joseph B. Thomas, Jr.
The younger Thomas would also inherit his parents’ sense of
humor. In 1901, during the flurry of December
debutante balls and teas, the society pages were filled with events in honor of
young girls being introduced to society.
And then there was the one mention of a man.
“Mr. and Mrs. Joseph B. Thomas (Miss Annie Hill) gave a
small dance last evening at Delmonico’s for their son, Joseph B. Thomas Jr.”
said The New York Times. In an apparent
tongue-in-cheek jab at the tradition, the Thomases gave a coming-out for their
son that mirrored the others. “There was
a cotillion and some pretty favors. It
was a small dance. Only fifty or sixty
in all were invited, and they were of the younger set.”
Young Thomas would graduate in 1903, but before then he
already was noticed as an expert polo player, champion hurdler and a breeder of
Borzoi dogs–known as the “royal dog of Russia.” Because he was convinced that the best of
the species had never left Russia, one of the first things on his agenda upon
graduation was a trip to Russia.
There he visited all the famous kennels, finally spending
some time as a guest of the Grand Duke Nicholas at Perchina. The duke owned superior dogs and Thomas
purchased Bristri, who would go on to become champion in the United States.
He returned in 1906 to purchase more dogs. His success
led Country Life to note a year later, “But the Borzoi’s vogue in the Eastern
states may be truthfully said to have only fairly begun. Joseph B. Thomas, Jr., more than any other
one man, is responsible for this.”
Thomas’s parents were living in the exclusive Hotel Savoy
when, in July 1909, Joseph B. Thomas, Sr. became ill with sarcoma. Three weeks later in August, he died. The younger Thomas began looking for an appropriate home for
himself and his widowed mother.
In the meantime, the innovative English-born architect
Frederick Junius Sterner had come to New York from Colorado in 1906. He purchased a home on East 19th
Street where nearly identical Greek Revival residences lined the block. Built
half a century earlier, they were decidedly out of style.
Sterner remodeled his home by slathering it with colored
stucco, adding a Mediterranean-style red tile roof that extended beyond the façade,
colorful tiles and decorative ironwork.
The outmoded house was suddenly up-to-date and eye-catching.
Sterner’s transformation of the interiors were even more
startling. Architecture would note that “Mr.
Sterner believes that the interior of a living place should be primarily the
thing to be considered, the exterior coming about because of the interior
requirements, and it is in this manner than he has treated this house for his
own use.” Among the features was an indoor garden. The magazine said “This is a great
characteristic of Mr. Sterner’s work, as in practically every example he
incorporates a garden feature.”
His work caught the eye of Joseph B. Thomas.
By the end of 1910, Sterner had reworked a rowhouse for
Thomas, just down the street from his own, at 135 East 19th
Street. For this project, the architect
transformed the mid-19th century house into a Gothic fantasy. The stone-faced first floor, actually entered below
street level, supported four stories of multi-colored brick laid in a modified
Flemish bond pattern. Diamond-paned
windows topped by flat-headed Gothic eyebrows, a stepped gable that harbored
crouching gargoyles and a carved coat of arms carried out the Gothic
motif. An elaborate row of stained glass
windows behind carved tracery marked the dining room.
In 1910 Brickbuilder published a photo of the newly-renovated home (copyright expired) |
Inside, no trace of the former Victorian house
remained. The living room, called “the
Italian Room,” featured a barrel-vaulted ceiling with delicate plasterwork and
an imposing stone fireplace. Carved
paneling was used throughout to maintain the period illusion. The dining room was built as a balcony to
the living room, opening onto it through a series of wooden arches. Below it all was an immense brick-and-tile
wine cellar.
The dining room, to the rear, overlooked the double-height "Italian Room" -- Bricklayer 1910 (copyright expired) |
Thomas’s love for fun and entertaining was evident in the
many social functions in the house. On
St. Patrick’s Day 1914, he hosted a dance and supper for which all the
decorations and even the ices were green.
The Balalaika Orchestra played Russian music (straying a bit from the
Irish theme) and Miss Clara Fargo did several exhibition dances.
The Library -- Brickbuilder 1910 (copyright expired) |
Miss Fargo showed up in the society pages two weeks later
when The Sun reported that “Owing to the increased membership of Miss Fargo’s
dancing class the meetings of Tuesday nights, March 31, April 7 and April 14
will be held in the Della Robbia room of the Vanderbilt instead of at 135 East
Nineteenth Street.”
Clara Fargo, who was spending so much time at the Thomas
house, was not a mere entertainer. She
was the socially-prominent daughter of James F. Fargo, the Secretary of the
National, American and Wescott Express Companies and a Director of the Hanover
National Bank. The New York Times called
her “one of society’s cleverest dancers.”
The attraction between the Clara and Joseph was therefore natural—the same
article noted that Thomas “has entertained society frequently at musical and
costume affairs.”
Stained glass windows illuminated the carved-paneled Dining Room -- Brickbuilder 1910 (copyright expired) |
Later in 1914, the committee of the British War Relief Fund,
supported by society dames like Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt and Mrs. Arthur Burden,
decided to give a fund-raising dance.
They turned to Joseph B. Thomas and the event was held at No. 135 East
19th Street on December 16.
The Conservatory, or "indoor garden," so important to Sterner's designs -- Brickbuilder 1910 (copyright expired) |
A month later the announcement was made that surprised no
one in New York society: Joseph Thomas
was to marry Clara Fargo. The wedding
took place on February 15, 1915, but was an understated affair due to the recent
deaths of Clara’s grandfather and Joseph’s brother, Ralph H. Thomas.
On July 28, 1916, Annie M. Thomas died at age 69. But
joy was back in the house a year later in October when Clara and Joseph’s son,
the new Joseph B. Thomas, Jr., was born.
The Wine Cellar -- Brickbuilder 1910 (copyright expired) |
With the end of World War I, Europe struggled to get back on
its feet. Farms had been destroyed by
bombings and the population of farm animals had been decimated. Joseph Thomas became the New York State
contracting agent for a program to ship American cows to Europe. It seemed like a nice thing to do. But not everyone thought so.
John T. Dooling, assistant District Attorney, protested the
program, warning it “menaces the milk situation here.” Dooling felt that the several thousand cows
being exported to France, Belgium and the Netherlands could result in American
children having no milk to drink.
“Should the milk situation be menaced by this exportation,”
he told The New York Tribune on August 15, 1919, he threatened to “notify
Federal officials and ask for action.”
photo by Alice Lum |
Despite the tempest, the Thomases, continued their charitable works. On February 2, 1920 The New York Times
reported on Clara’s participation in a fund-raising performance of Oscar Wilde’s
The Importance of Being Ernest, in which society women played the female
roles. “Mrs. Joseph B. Thomas, the former Clara Fargo, who was noted
for her dancing, was Cecily Cardew and quite slim enough to be 17,” said the
newspaper.
The couple became close friends with artists Robert Chanler
and George Bellows (who also lived in a Frederick Sterner-remodeled house on
East 19th Street). Many of
the homes along the 19th Street block had now been remodeled by Sterner
and Joseph Thomas was passionate about the neighborhood. He planted maple trees along the
block and introduced the gingko tree here.
For years he was president of the
Gramercy Park Association.
photo by Alice Lum |
He also became an accomplished fox hunter,
establishing kennels and stables in Middleburg, Virginia called Huntlands. His love for dog breeding led him to search
throughout Virginia to find red hounds descended from those presented to George
Washington by the Marquis Lafayette, and he wrote the book, Hounds and Hunting
Through the Ages.
Joseph B. Thomas died after a
prolonged illness on July 14, 1955 at the age of 75. The
house at No. 135 was sold to advertising executive Robert B. Grady and his
wife, Irma. After fifteen years the
house, called by The New York Times “one of the most ornate in the area,” was sold to
E. J. Smith with all the Grady furnishings intact.
As the 20th century came to a close, designer
Oleg Cassini owned the remarkable house.
Today it remains unchanged—a once unremarkable house that was
made truly remarkable in a 1910 make-over.
I visited Oleg here. It was gorgeous. Thank you for this bit of history.
ReplyDeleteI lived in this home with my parents, Robert Grady, and Irma Grady. The article misspelled my mothers first name.
ReplyDeleteThank you for correcting the spelling.
Deletethank you for pointing out the mistake.
DeleteAt Schwartzman: Vogue, 01june1924 issue, page 38. A picture of the very pretty Mrs. Joseph B. Thomas, formerly Miss Clara Fargo. Wearing a silver lace and white and silver brocade 18th century costume, for a fancy-dress party in New York. As one does. It says they winter in their New York home. As one does. Will have to snap a picture of the house this weekend. As one does. Thanks for a great site.
ReplyDeleteSadly this house is scheduled for sale at auction by the NYC Sheriff’s office on March 13th, 2019
ReplyDeleteAs an interior designer I added Cassini's signature wallcoverings and draperies, slipcovers, table runner, et al in his fabrics to every room in this 5-story house. Then as head of Sweet & Co. Public Relations, I planned the Press Reception to launch the Oleg Cassini Collection for Birge Wallcoverings. Every decorating editor and hundreds of wallcoverings retailers attending this event--the first "commercial" event in his home. It was such a success that Cassini allowed Jovan Perfumes to launch his perfume collection there a few weeks later! So sad to read current happenings to this home. I hope happier days are ahead. /s/ Patricia Hart McMillan, author "Home Decorating For Dummies"
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any word on current status of this home?
ReplyDeleteCheck out the claim in NY POST today that the house was built in Amsterdam and shipped to nyc https://nypost.com/2023/10/24/real-estate/a-400-year-old-townhouse-built-in-amsterdam-lists-in-nyc/
ReplyDeleteIt's charming story, but totally without historic basis. The building plans filed by Sterner totally debunk the myth in the article.
DeleteThe artist is probably Robert Chanler not Chandler. It is an old pre Gilded Age Society name. They are descended from Schuylers, Livingstons and Astors. They are associated with Rokeby Manor, Manor which still belongs to descendants the Aldrich family.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right. An inexcusable mistake on my end. Thanks for catching.
DeleteDunno if anyone saw the listing of this home that just popped on...but they went down a historical rabbit hole I wonder is true. (ie the home was originally build in Holland and then MOVED to upper West Side...then moved again to 19th street. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUDLruuFu_g Seems like a tall tail....
ReplyDeleteThat realtor tale is totally fabricated. The house was one of a row built in the 1870s and remodeled by Sterner.
Deleteahhhh got it.....
Delete