(NEW YORK CITY.) Woodwork designs for an opulent Manhattan townhouse. Manuscript contract and 33 pen and ink architectural drawings on coated linen, each from about 8 x 12 inches to 11 x 19 inches, 12 of them bound into small packets with fasteners, the remainder loose; all remain rolled, minor wear and foxing, a few light folds. New York, 1889
These drawings show the ornate woodwork for a Gilded Age Manhattan residence. Some are captioned with titles such as "butler's pantry," "3rd story saloon," Ceilings, doorways, and hallways are shown. Some are signed by draftsman Lorenzo R. Hartung, a Manhattan cabinetmaker. The accompanying contract is dated 21 December 1889 between the builder Francis Crawford and the Freeman & O'Neill Company of Claremont, NH, who were by the first day of March to "prepare and deliver in the new building now being erected on south side of 72nd Street, all of the mantels for the basement, second story extension, and the entire third and fourth stories and all outside and inside blinds, agreeably to the drawings and specifications made by G.A. Schellinger, archt."
Francis Crawford (1840-1902) was a builder and developer whose offices were also on West 72nd Street. He built at least 4 houses on this block. 136 and 138 West 72nd, put up in 1883, are still standing and have landmark status. The New York Sun announced on 5 October 1891 that Crawford had sold two new buildings, 118 and 122 West 72nd Street, both of them 4-story brownstones, 25 by 60 feet, for the exorbitant sums of $78,000 and $80,000. The plans offered in this lot are quite possibly from one of these addresses.
