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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



April, 1913 



The painting over the desk is attributed to Murillo and is a work of great beauty and interest 



The Workshop of a Literary Man 



By Berwyn Converse 



LMOST every one is interested in being per- 

 mitted to have glimpses of the workrooms 

 or studies of literary men and women who 

 have made their mark in the world of letters, 

 for it is supposed that one's work is, in a 

 large measure, influenced by the surround- 

 ings in which it is done. This may account for the interest, 

 which is not after all merely one of idle curiosity. 



The photographic reproductions accompanying this article 

 illustrate two rooms in the bachelor quarters of a well- 

 known dramatist whose apartment is one of the most inter- 

 esting in New York. So situated, that during a large part 

 of the day the rooms are flooded with sunlight from windows 

 facing east and south, the location lends much to their ar- 

 rangement. The rooms being a literary workshop are filled 

 with the implements and tools of the craft in the form of 

 books, manuscripts, letter files and scrap-books, and are also 

 adorned with paintings by the old masters — one of them a 

 Murillo — etchings and engravings, miniatures and auto- 

 graphed portraits and the delightful horde of treasures one 

 who has what might be called the "collecting instinct" is 

 always sure to accumulate upon his travels and keep near at 

 hand when at home for his own pleasure and for the delecta- 

 tion of his fellow-connoisseurs. 



The little study, which is illustrated upon this page, has 



been finished in woodwork of dark oak, and the walls were 

 covered with ingrain paper of a golden brown tint, which 

 serves admirably as a background for the objects upon the 

 walls. The waxed hardwood floor, dark brown in tone, is 

 covered with a single Oriental rug or great beauty, 

 and the furniture, which is exceedingly simple, has 

 been stained black to harmonize with the woodwork 

 in mantel, door and window-frames. By closing a 

 doorway and placing over it an old embroidery, space 

 has been made for two bookcases, which are arranged 

 at either side of a broad, flat-topped desk lighted by a large 

 study-lamp with a domed shade. Just above the desk is 

 hung an old painting framed in dull gilt. The picture repre- 

 sents the Holy Family and is attributed to Murillo. This 

 was a favorite subject with the Spanish master, and he 

 painted it a great number of times. One entire side of this 

 little study is filled with a group of windows which face 

 south. The long, straight draperies over the sash-curtains 

 are of Chinese embroideries, and squares of Chinese and 

 Japanese brocades showing here and there threads of gold 

 in the silken textures of dark-toned body colors are made 

 into cushions generously distributed upon the deep seat 

 placed within the window-recess. 



Opening by wide folding doors from the study is another 

 room, which might be called a combination dining-, and music- 



