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The Literary Traveler: Books, books and more books
By MARGO HAMMOND © St. Petersburg Times,
The canary-colored Italianate villa sets amid oaks, tulip poplars and, of course, evergreens on a 26-acre estate in the heart of Baltimore. It boasts the city's only private theater (flamboyantly decorated by Leon Bakst, the Ballets Russes' set and costume designer) and a bathroom with gold-plated fixtures. But the prettiest rooms in the house are filled with books. The three-story, 48-room mansion has five libraries. The literary and artistic spirit of the house, which is open to the public, is due to its last occupants. John Work Garrett was a globe-trotting diplomat and avid collector who grew up in the house, and his wife, Alice Warder Garrett, was an eccentric dilettante who surrounded herself with painters, writers and musicians. Alice Garrett, who once ran an art gallery in Paris with writer Edith Wharton, so frequently invited artists to stay at Evergreen, in fact, that the area of the house where she put them up was dubbed the Genius Wing. The couple, who never had children, bequeathed their home and its extraordinary collection of art and ceramics to Johns Hopkins University, to keep Evergreen "hospitably open to lovers of music, art and beautiful things." On a recent tour, conducted by a docent, I saw a number of the "beautiful things" the Garretts had collected: exquisite pieces of Japanese lacquer, netsuke and inro; dazzling blue and white Chinese porcelain bowls and vases; Tiffany lamps and chandeliers; a roomful of watercolors by Raoul Dufy; artworks by Modigliani, Degas and Picasso; and, of course, books. More than 30,000 of them. The book collection, begun by Garrett's father and continued with relish by his son, became so large that it was one of the reasons the house was continually expanded. The original dining room, for example, was converted into a reading room in 1932. Lined with teak book shelves, it is filled exclusively with the couple's travel books. Paintings in this intimate library offer scenes from the countries where John Garrett was posted. (A view of Rome, where he served as ambassador to Italy from 1928-33, graces the doorway.)
Another library was built adjacent to the house's drawing room. More books are stacked behind the stage in the theater wing (a space once used for classrooms, a gymnasium and a bowling alley). And upstairs, John's boyhood bedroom, renovated in 1885, is ringed by a wrought-iron balcony with glass floors that hold even more bookshelves -- filled with his boyhood books. The cream of the collection, however, is in the largest library, completed in 1927. Nearly 8,000 volumes line its walls, including such rare gems as an 11th-century copy of the Koran written in gold, Shakespeare's four folios, the double elephant folios of Audubon's Birds of America and first editions of such classics as Herman Melville's Moby Dick (1851) and Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass (1855). "The very high ceiling of the Library co-ordinates perfectly with the lovely proportions of the Library itself. The walnut paneling, the dull gold of the grilles, the subdued color of the tapestry, give the necessary quiet tone to the room," writes B. Howell Griswold Jr., author of John Work Garrett and His Library at Evergreen House. (This is a privately printed book, found in the library after Garrett's death in 1942; copies are available in the house's gift shop). "A large open fireplace is on the north side. Nearby are comfortable chairs and lounges, showing you at once that it is in truth a "private' Library. "In the center is a fine old table on which rest a number of books and a terra cotta camel of the Tang Dynasty (617-906 A.D.). All very simple, all very lovely, and all very nice." Visitors cannot leaf through the rare books, but 20 of them will be presented during a series of five "Evenings in the Library," beginning this fall. Also planned at Evergreen is an exhibition of 20 contemporary art books inspired by the house's rare book collection. The series will allow visitors to linger longer in Garrett's Rare Books Library. The brief time spent in the Garrett's libraries during the one-hour house tour would make any book lover hungry for more. - Margo Hammond is the St. Petersburg Times book editor. If you goGETTING THERE: Evergreen House is located at 4545 Charles St., Baltimore, Md. Tours are offered from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. All tours are on the hour, with the last tour beginning at 3 p.m. daily. The house is closed on major holidays. Admission is $6. EVERGREEN'S BOOK EXHIBITIONS: Evergreen's second annual Collectors' Series will include an exhibition of 20 contemporary art books, created after the artists had reviewed the mansion's rare books. The opening reception, free and open to the public, will be 5-8 p.m. Oct. 12. The exhibition will be open through Feb. 28, 2002. The 20 rare books that inspired the contemporary artists will be presented during five "Evenings in the Library," planned for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 23, Nov. 13 and 27, Jan. 8 and 29, 2002. Admission is $5 for artists, $8 for Evergreen members and $10 for the public. Reservations are required. Call (410) 516-0341.
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