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right wing is the dining-room and breakfast-room; in the 
left, the library and drawing-room. 
The library has a low wood wainscot, with upper walls 
finished in plain gilt, thus presenting an effective background 
for the magnificent collection of paintings with which the 
room is hung. The mantel and chimney-breast are of Caen 
stone, designed with an elaborately carved upper panel. ‘The 
fireplace lining is of red brick and the andirons are gilded 
bronze. All the beams and rafters of the ceiling are exposed, 
the latter being very closely set, and all have been decorated 
with small paintings by James Wall Finn, in the style of the 
Italian Renaissance. The work has been marvelously well 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
August, 1909 
is finished in white plaster, richly decorated and in high 
relief. Some fine old gilded mirrors are hung against the 
entrance wall, and on one side is a superb piece of old 
French tapestry. The rug is very soft in color, and forms a 
beautiful foundation for the rich furnishings. The walls 
have a low wainscot of wood, painted white, and relieved 
with a small band of hand-carving. 
Both these rooms are reached by an extension of the cor- 
ridor that forms so fine a feature of the great hall. Set 
within its wainscoted walls are glazed cases containing some 
of the rarest and most beautiful of Mr. Crocker’s porcelains. 
The cases are lighted by electricity from within, and when 
The breakfast-room has a richly decorated plaster ceiling and is hung with superb tapestries 
done, since it has all the character of an antique ceiling. 
The window curtains are of red velvet with gilt trimmings, 
but the color of the room is actually determined by the furni- 
ture, the coverings of which are of deep blue velvet or blue 
and gold. ‘The lamp shades, of deep red, give also a dis- 
tinctive note to the room. ‘The rug has a black ground, with 
figures of red, green and tones of yellow. 
Directly opposite is the drawing-room. Its walls are com- 
pletely lined with velvet brocade in white and gold, and are 
unrelieved with architectural features save for the monu- 
mental frame of carved wood, painted white, of the entrance- 
door, and the mantel of carved white marble that faces it at 
the other side of the room. The window curtains are of the 
same material, and the furniture is of the English type, lined 
with red and white velvet, with gilded frames. The ceiling 
so illuminated the wonderful beauty of their contents is seen 
at its best. Other porcelains and bronzes stand above the 
cases and help to convert this passage into.a veritable shrine 
of Oriental art. 
The dining-room is at the farthest end of the house and is 
finished throughout in California redwood. It is, in a sense, 
a memorial to Mr. Crocker’s early home, since the entire 
surfacing of the room is of California origin. The walls are 
designed in great panels, separated by pilasters, heavily en- 
riched with carving. At one end is the fireplace. Here the 
pilasters make way for Corinthian columns; on each side is 
a monumentally framed door, and in the center the fireplace 
encased in polished black marble, while above it is a portrait 
of Charles Crocker, Mr. Crocker’s father. The ceiling is 
extremely beautiful, with a great central oval of irregular 
