Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - 32
ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
First Biltmore Christmas
THE
George W. Vanderbilt III saw to every detail before welcoming family and friends to the 1895
holiday season. Alas, no known photographs of the celebrations survive.
By MARSHA WASSEL | Photos courtesy THE BILTMORE COMPANY
O
n December 22, 1895, George
W. Vanderbilt III, America's most eligible bachelor,
awaited the arrival of his first
guests-his mother and 26 of
his relatives. It would be the
largest gathering of his family
since the death of his father, William H.
Vanderbilt, 10 years earlier, and the official opening of Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina.
Construction of his new home in the
remote, rugged mountains of western
North Carolina had been a six-year undertaking and, despite hiring additional
workers, the 250-room French chateau
was still not complete. Vanderbilt moved
into the Bachelors' Wing on October 26,
as his own room remained unfinished.
Amidst the daily pounding, yelling,
thumping and thudding of construction,
he focused on finalizing as many details as
32
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possible before his family and, later, close
friends arrived.
There was much to be done. "Boy Stealing Geese," the centerpiece sculpture of
the glass-roofed Winter Garden, was not
in place, and would not even ship until
December 10. Work on the dome above
the grand staircase continued well into
the month, as evidenced by the date December 18, 1895, memorialized in plaster
by a worker. As the holiday approached, it
became evident the library, music room,
secondary staircases and other features
would not be finished in time.
Undeterred, Vanderbilt, the consummate host, was determined to make this
very special Christmas-the first at Biltmore House-meaningful and memorable; and although the house was unfinished, decorating and preparations for
guests began. Vanderbilt and his estate
managers attended to each detail, includ-
ing the appropriate height for the tree in
the enormous Banquet Hall.
Chauncey Beadle, nursery superintendent, wrote to Estate Manager Charles
McNamee, "I quite agree with you that
we should have a very large tree for this
occasion; in fact, I think a twenty foot
tree in that large Banquet Hall would be
rather dwarfed."
They also discussed where to get the
best holly and mistletoe. On December
14, McNamee contacted Vanderbilt's secretary, Thomas Morch, requesting a daily
supply of fish be sent from New York,
"Mr. Vanderbilt will require fish enough
to make a course for fifty people every
day and lobsters for the same number
twice a week."
The New York Times reported, "G.W.
Vanderbilt has for two weeks past personally directed a corps of carvers, joiners,
decorators, and florists in giving finishing
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Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - 5
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Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - 7
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Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2019 - Cover4
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