Hello friends,

Today I want to continue our tour at the Flagler’s Museum. I will show you one of the most important rooms in the Whitehall, and it’s library. The room where important decisions were made by some Gilded age businessmen.
Many of Whitehall's first-floor rooms were decorated to have a distinct masculine or feminine feel, depending on who was going to use the room.

_{The Library in the Flagler Museum.}

This room’s interior like all the rooms on the 1st floor was designed in a specific historical style as a reflection of a belief among Gilded age Americans, that they were the inheritors of a great Western tradition, a tradition that they got from the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Greece and Rome. The dark wood and deep red fabric gives it a masculine look as was typical for the libraries of that time. The Library was used by Flagler as a reception area to greet guests and meet with business associates. It was decorated in the masculine style of the Italian Renaissance.

Literature was very important during the Gilded age. Even though the scientific findings were doing progress in business the knowledge of Western history and literature was thought to be essential by those who saw themselves as society leaders. The objects on display in this room underscore the cultural aspirations of the Gilded age. This shows that wealthy people of those days were very educated (nowadays it’s hard to find anyone who knows much of a literature or history people don’t discuss or study it anymore).

Flagler’s family portraits are mounted on the Library walls, including a painting of Henry Flagler above the fireplace. Also hanging on the walls are portraits of Flagler's father, Reverend Isaac Flagler, daughter, Jennie Louise Flagler Benedict, and first wife, Mary Harkness Flagler.

Among the marble and bronze sculptures of ancient leaders and heroes is a bust of George Washington, the national hero, whom Gilded Age Americans admired as a great American hero and two busts of Roman senators.

_{The bust on the library table is of Augustus Caesar.}

The Whitehall incorporated the most advanced technology of the day. Its structural skeleton of steel girders and ceilings of cast plaster were seen as a combination of high technology and beauty, and made possible the construction of the building in just eighteen months. It would’ve taken longer time if they would make ceiling of wood.

---

Henry Flagler owned this sculpture, which was displayed at home in Mamaroneck, New York.

_{(Left) Antoine-Louis Bare (French, 1795-1875)
Theseus and the Minotaur, cast after 1875}

_{(Right) Ernst Seger (German, 1868-1939)
Heracles [Hercules) Fighting the Nemean Lion, 1923}

---

Look at those old Bibles on the desk. I wonder how old they are. I couldn’t find that information anywhere. The detailed patterns on the lamp, desk and on other furniture items proves that the owner of the house hired the best decorators of that time. I don’t blame him, he had to show the seriousness of his business to his partners, when they had meetings in this room.

Americans were true believers that new technologies would improve their lives. New technologies were getting incorporated in their daily lives at that time. Among the many forms of new technologies showcased at Whitehall were electric lighting, a telephone system, and a central heating system with individual thermostatic control in each room.

I think this technology revolution could be comparable to us getting smart houses, electric cars, the use of artificial intelligence, ability to schedule and program some tasks to be done on a certain time etc.

I hope you enjoyed the photo tour of the library.

All the information about this place is taken from the museum with my edition.

Device	IPhone 12 Pro
Theme	The Flaglers Museum, part 2
Object	Library
Captured by	Hive account@artmom

Thank you for visiting!