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And now for a complete change of architecture and style from Wharton’s The Mount (on which, see first post of 6 here) – even though it was begun only a few years later. This post is available as a video at https://youtu.be/TpDTldNDT-w .

Tucked away on the harbor of Gloucester, Massachusetts, is Beauport, the summer home built by one of the earliest Americans who made a profession of interior design. In 1907, Henry Davis Sleeper (1878-1934) began construction of a small cottage in the Arts and Crafts style. Over the next quarter century, he expanded it into a showcase of a wide variety of interior design styles. Beauport was written up in House Beautiful as early as 1916, and has appeared in many national magazines since.

It’s a crazy, sprawling, charming home. Each of the rooms – by the time Sleeper died, 56 of them on two floors – has a different theme, often historical or literary. It’s filled with a multitude of antiques, folk art, porcelain, glass, architectural salvage, and more. When Sleeper’s clients came to visit, they could point out particular windows or wallpapers that they liked, or even choose a room to have reproduced in their own home. Among his clients were Isabella Stewart Gardner, Henry Francis du Pont (for part of Winterthur), and Joan Crawford.

After Sleeper’s death in 1934, Beauport was purchased by the McCann family, who preserved Sleeper’s interiors. In 1947, their heirs donated the house to Historic New England. Today HNE’s knowledgeable docents lead visitors through Beauport … which is a very good thing, given the complexity of the floor plan. It’s also a good thing because Beauport isn’t the sort of museum where all the artifacts are labeled. You let the docent fill in the big picture, and immerse yourself in the mood of the place rather than going from detail to detail.

“Quirky” doesn’t begin to describe this house. You’ll know within the first half-dozen photos below whether you want to visit it or not.

The side of the house facing the street has a lavish garden in the English style: informal rather than symmetrical and regimented. (On the French, Italian, and English styles of gardening, see under the heading “The Conservatory Garden” in this post on Central Park’s Burnett Fountain.)

From the outside, it’s pretty obvious that the layout will be complex!

Below are photos of my favorite rooms on the ground floor. Mostly I’ll just let you look, because as I said, the place isn’t plastered with labels on individual items. You should be soaking up the effect of the interior decor: in this case, of Sleeper’s interpretation of Colonial American style.

Window with a sun motif, looking east at Gloucester Harbor.

Sleeper was particularly fond of glass objects, and always displays them to their best advantage.

I assumed that famous New Yorker view of a New Yorker’s view of the United States was a novel idea, but this view of a Bostonian must be considerably older – the New Yorker cartoon didn’t appear until 1976. A later (?) version of the map appears here.

Oh, how I miss having dozens of bookshelves! Not that mine were ever so architecturally appealing.

The China Trade Room, with a remarkable ceiling and a spectacular view on its walls, rather than out a window. The wallpaper, from the 1780s, was originally ordered by Robert Morris, who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution, and was America’s first Superintendent of Finance.

My favorite room on the ground floor is the large dining room, which has a nautical theme and yet another great view of Gloucester Harbor.

Next week: Beauport’s upstairs rooms, and the gardens and facade facing the harbor.

More

• More on Sleeper and Beauport here and here. Beauport is maintained by Historic New England. Membership in HNE gives free admission (via North American Reciprocal Museum) to many properties outside the Northeast, including (for example) the Ringling home in Sarasota, Florida.
• For more Gilded Mansions and their gardens on this website, click this tag.
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