October, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



397 



original modest house into a spacious, almost imposing country gentle- 

 man's seat. 



The ineffable beauty of the natural setting which formed the back- 

 ground for his new home doubtless made irresistible appeal to Irving's 

 fancy. In any case he soon purchased land 

 adjoining the original property, and had the 

 immediate neighborhood of "Sunnyside" laid 

 out as it now appears. In approaching the 

 house one passes through an iron gateway 

 with stone posts and under a canopy of superb 

 old trees of many species and all beautiful. 

 At the entrance is a 



and beautified it in many ways, but 

 never in any degree destroying its dig- 

 nified old lines or disturbing its atmos- 

 phere of restful old-fashioned ease and 



circular driveway 

 and a well -kept 

 lawn, and almost 

 hiding the lines of 

 the house is a riot 

 of ivy, wistaria and 

 trumpet vine, climb- 

 ing from ground to 

 chimney top. The 

 ivy is of the fa- 

 miliar hardy Scotch 

 variety, and is the 

 outgrowth of a sin- 

 gle cutting given to 



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quiet. One of the 

 more recent changes 

 made in the charm- 

 ing structure was the 

 complete demolition 

 and subsequent skil- 

 ful restoration of 

 the pagoda-like an- 

 nex on the east side, 

 facing toward the 

 road. The original 

 small building had 

 decayed under the ravages of 

 time and weather until it was 

 beyond all hope of repair, and 

 finally the present occupant 

 called to his aid the well-known 

 architect Mr. William H. 

 Mersereau, of New York, who 

 with consummate art rebuilt, in exact duplication of 

 the original, the east wing as it stands to-day. 



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F1R5T 5T0RY PLAN 



Naturally the most interesting room of the house 



Irving by Sir Walter Scott, who plucked it from the walls is the genial author's study, an apartment of small size with 



of Abbotsford. an open fireplace, glass-incased book shelves and walls lined 



The present owner and occupant of "Sunnyside" is Mr. with prints of literary interest. Here it was that Irving 



Alexander Duer Irving, a grandnephew of Washington wrote his "Life of Washington," the task upon which he set 



Irving. Here with his family the present Mr. Irving finds a higher value than all his other efforts, but which the world 



a charming all-the-year-round home, a retreat filled with has not yet agreed to place before his more fanciful output 



cheerful memories and perhaps with the amiable shadows in its affections. This literary workshop stands now as the 



of early American authors and celebrities of other employ- author left it nearly fifty years ago. Two diamond-paned 



ments. Also the present occupant has added to the structure windows let in the light, and in each window frame is a com- 



The House Is a Charming Example of Pure Dutch Architecture 



