The Second Birmingham Central Library (1879-1973)

Birmingham's first Central Library and Art Gallery opened in 1865, but most of the building burned down in a fire in early January 1879. Rebuilding started almost immediately, using the remaining shell and pillars of the original library.

Opening of the first Birmingham Central Library, 1865

Remnants of the first Birmingham Central Library after the fire of 1879

The new Central Reference and Lending Libraries were designed by the architects William Martin and John Henry Chamberlain and opened in 1882. Salviati and Burke provided mosaic work for parts of the building.

Completely new, the Italianate red brick portion facing Edmund Street housed the Shakespeare Library designed by Chamberlain. The floral frieze above the second-story windows and the geometric patterns inside medallions above the first-story windows were made of mosaics.

 Facade of the Shakespeare Library

Due to both a lack of space (the building was designed for 30,000 books and by the 1970s stored 750,000) and a need for new road construction, the second Birmingham Central Library was demolished in 1973. Construction had started on its successor in 1970, which opened in January 1974 and still stands today.

The interior of the Shakespeare Memorial Library is the only part of the second library which survived. It was dismantled and then reassembled within the new building.

The Shakespeare Memorial Library today

Sources:
"The Birmingham Free Library." The Building News and Engineering Journal. Vol 42. June 2, 1882. 664.
"Birmingham Central Library (1879-1973)." Birmingham City Council.
Birmingham Forum

Sa'id Pasha's Palace, Mex (Alexandria)

Mohamed Sa'id Pasha was Egypt's Viceroy from 1854 until his death in 1863. He was educated in Paris and he began the development of the Suez Canal. In addition to the Qasr al Nil, his grand palace in Cairo, Sa'id Pasha built a palace on the old (or west) Alexandria harbor at Mex  (or Meks, Maks, or Al-Maqs). Unlike Sa'id's other Alexandrian palace at Gabari, the one at Mex was never finished.

The floor and walls of the palace's saloon were decorated with Salviati mosaics, which were ordered in 1860 at the cost of about 250,000 francs. Unfortunately, by 1878 the palace was a "bulbous ruin".

The abandoned palace compound at Mex, 1870.

Illustration of the entry gate at Mex palace.

Map of Alexandria from 1908. Meks is on the lower left.

Sources:
Salviati, Antonio. On Mosaics (generally). Leeds, 1865. 42.
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 132.
Salviati, Antonio. Les manufactures Salviati & Cie à Venise et Murano. Mosaïques, verres Paris, 1867. 15.
Rogers, Edward Thomas. "The Land of Egypt." The Art Journal. London: D. Appleton & Company. 5. 1879. 68-70. 
Lane-Poole, Stanley. Social Life in Egypt: A Description of a Country and Its People. 5. New York: P.F. Collier, 1884. 117-120.
Allatson, Wendy. Egypt.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. 546.
Burton, Richard Francis. The gold-mines of Midian and the ruined Midianite cities. London: C. Kegan Paul & Co. 1878. 4.
Wikipedia 
usbpanasonic's flickr Photostream

St. George Church, Clyst St. George

The ancient church was rebuilt in 1854-55, but it was gutted by air raid fire in 1940. It was rebuilt again in 1952.

Sometime between September 1862 and October 1863, Salviati decorated the church's western wall with mosaics of angels with widespread wings supporting scrolls of Scripture on the request of the same Reverend Ellacombe who supervised the 1850s restorations. Unfortunately, the mosaics did not seem to have survived the World War II damage.

Sources:
Salviati, Antonio. On Mosaics (generally). Leeds, 1865. 46.
Wikipedia
Cherry, Bridget and Nikolaus Pevsner. Devon. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.  271.
Ellacombe, Henry Thomas. The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Clyst St. George Exeter Diocesan Architectural Society, September 22, 1862. 70.
Robin Drayton on Geograph
Robert Slack's flickr Photostream

Octavia House

The house at 54 Ayres Street (formerly Whitecross Street) in the Southwark neighborhood of London is from the 1950s. It stands next to a garden and six cottages that were built in 1887 for the poor under the direction of social reformer Octavia Hill.

Two mosaic roundels originally decorated the garden wall. One was "The Sower" donated by Julia Minet in 1896 and made by Powell and Sons. It was on a wall in the north-west corner overlooking the Red Cross Garden, but it's since been relocated to the rear of the current Octavia House building.

The second mosaic roundel was "The Good Shepherd" presented by a Mrs. Lynch and Miss Gregg. It was made by Salviati; however, it is now thought to be lost.

Sources:
English Heritage
Bowers, Robert Woodger. Sketches of Southward Old and New. London: W. Wesley and Son, 1905. 467.
British Listed Buildings
Google Maps

All Saints' Church Emscote

Built on the former site of a Medieval Catholic church, All Saints' was built 1854-56 by James Murray. It underwent renovations in 1868-72 by Bodley and Garner with architect G.T. Robinson. This included a chancel expansion and the addition of a tower and spire.

Archival picture labeled as being from 1860, but already showing the tower of 1872.

Archival picture from the 1920s

The Salviati mosaic reredos featured "Our Savior and Saints" designed by Emile von Eyck of Warwick. It was already installed by 1882.

Archival picture from the 1920s

The church was damaged in the air raids of November 1940 and it was demolished in 1967. It was subsequently rebuilt in a modern style. While All Saints' pews were moved to Holy Trinity Church in Charwelton, Northamtonshire, the fate of the reredos is unknown.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 124.
Windows on Warwickshire
Miller, George Rev. The Parishes of the Diocese of Worchester. Vol 1. Worcester: Griffith Farran Okeden, 1889. 105.
Ward, Lock and Co. Ltd. Ward and Lock's Pictorial Guide to Warwickshire. Ward, Lock and Co., 1882. 66.
Pevsner, Nikolaus. Buildings of Britain: Warwickshire. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966. 451.
Bevan, G. Phillips. Tourist's Guide to Warwickshire. Warwickshire: E. Stanford, 1882. 50.
Saxon_Sky's flickr Photostream
Walyn's flickr Photostream

Ophir Farm

The six story, 84 room mansion was built on over 1,000 acres in 1864 by Benjamin "Doc" Holladay, who had made his fortune from the Pony Express. Shipbuilder John Roach bough the estate after Holladay went bankrupt in 1873. After he himself lost his fortunes, his son sold the property in 1886 to Elisabeth and Whitelaw Reid.

The house was undergoing renovations when it burned down in 1888. It was rebuilt by architects McKim, Mead & White and reopened in 1892, the same year President Benjamin Harrison asked Reid to be his running mate in the upcoming elections.

The "castle" in 1892

A "deep" Salviati mosaic frieze three feet high decorated the top of the entry hallway's pink marble walls. It was definitely in place between 1892 and 1907, however, it is unknown what later happened to it.

Above is the entrance hallway around 1892. The mosaics are visible to the left, starting above the fireplace.They mimicked tapestry foliage. After his parents' deaths, son Ogden Reid auctioned off all of the art in the house in 1935.

The building is now owned by Manhattanville College and is called Reid Castle or Reid Hall. The mosaic frieze is no longer located in the foyer.

Sources:
"Ophir Farm." The Illustrated American. September 17, 1892. 196.
Knox, Thomas Wallace. The Republican Party and Its Leaders. New York: P.F. Collier, 1892. 575.
House Beautiful. Vol. 11, December 1901. 380.
Ophir Farm and Manhattanville College
Manhattanville College. The History of Reid Castle. October 2011.
Wikipedia
Foreman, John. "Big Old Houses: But Would I Live Here?"
"Personal and Otherwise." New York Times. April 21, 1907.
"Art: Gutted Ophir." Time. May 27, 1935.

St. Augustine's College, Canterbury

First serving as the Missionary College of the Church of England (1848 to 1947), and later as the Central College of the Anglican Communion (1952 to 1967), these buildings are now part of King's School.

Salviati made the mosaic of Christ that hung above the Warden's Chair in the college's Great Hall, which was used as a formal dining room. It was presented to the college by Dr. Henry Bailey, the school's second warden from 1850 to 1875, and was already in the room by 1882.

This may be the same mosaic the Venice and Murano Company showed at the 1880 Melbourne Expo.

It was an approximately 1/5th copy of the apse dome mosaic in St. Mark's Basilica, Venice shown below.

Above, the dining room today. However, the near wall that used to hold the mosaic cannot be seen, so it's current status is unknown.

Sources:
Ewell, Robert. Guide to St. Augustine's Monastery and Missionary College. Canterbury: Cross and Jackman, 1896.
Historic Canterbury
Thomson, Mortimer. The Divine Comedy of Patriotism. London: Simkin, Marshall & Co., 1882. 40.
Wikipedia
Dennis Jarvis' flickr Photostream
Summer Language School

St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol

This Medieval church was constructed between the 12th and 15th centuries. It is a prime example of Gothic architecture.

George Godwin designed a reredos that replaced a triptych by Hogarth that was eventually moved to a redundant church. The new reredos from 1867 is made of carved Caen stone and contains "a circle of mosaic work in the central gablet, by Salviati."

The central panel is Christ blessing the loaves and the fishes. The panel on the right hand represents the distribution of the loaves and the one on the left the distribution of the fishes.

The same location today only contains an altar; the reredos are missing. They were removed in 1956 in advance of a visit by Queen Elizabeth II and consequently were intended to be gifted in 1958 to the Church of the Incarnation in Morrisville, Pennsylvania along with the Baptismal font. The font is currently in the US church, however, the reredos is not.

The reredos in their original location at the high altar c. 1867-85.

The high altar today.

 
Sources:
Nicholls, James Fawckner. How to see Bristol (with map): A guide for the excursionist. London: J.W. Arrowsmith, 1885. 71.
The National Archives
Wikipedia
Love Architecture
Bristol UK Postcards
Wright, John. Some notable altars in the Church of England and the American Episcopal Church. New York: Macmillan, 1908. 192.
Cornell University Library's flickr Photostream
John Clarke's flickr Photostream
Church of the Incarnation. Parish Profile. pdf. July 2010. 4.
The Living Church. Vol 136, 1958. 29.

Cafe National, Berlin

By 1886, Dr. Salviati had a shop in Berlin at Friedrich Strasse 149 (in the Central Hotel), while the Venice and Murano Company had theirs in Linden Strasse 16. Salviati mosaics decorated many buildings in the area, including the Cafe National, built by A. Vogt located on the corner of Friedrich and Jager Strasse.

The interior of the cafe contained four mosaic pictures designed by Wiener representing four different nations. The building no longer exists.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 136.
Baedeker, K. Northern Germany: Handbook for Travellers. Ninth edition. Dulau and Co., London, 1886.
eBay

St. Mary's Church, Ealing

The original Medieval parish church was rebuilt in 1735-40 by J. Horne and then subsequently enlarged by S.S. Teulon in 1866-74.

The marble and Caen stone reredos was adorned with Salviati mosaics.

Archive photo from 1892 showing the reredos of a white marble cross on a gold mosaic background.

The chancel in 1909

The most recent restoration took place in 2002-03 and included the redecoration of the whole interior, which brought it more in line with the original Victorian design.

Although the mosaics reredos appear to be different than in the archival illustrations, it's unclear what changes were made and why.

Sources:
Cherry, Bridget and Nikolaus Pevsner. Buildings of England: London 3: North West New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991. 166.
St. Mary's Ealing
Ealing Civic Society
Mark Hillary's flickr Photostream
John Salmon on Geolocation
perivalevwood
Jackson, Edith. Annals of Ealing: From the Twelfth Century to the Present Time. London: Phillimore & Company, 1898. 240.

Kaiser Friedrich III Mausoleum

The structure holding the final resting place of the German emperor was added to the north side of the Protestant Church of Peace (Friedenskirche) located in Potsdam's Sanssouci Park between 1888 and 1890. The architect was Julius Raschdorff, who also designed the Berlin Dom (Cathedral) and Reichsburg Castle, the latter which also had Salviati mosaic decorations.

The cupola of the High Italian Renaissance style mausoleum can be seen to the right of the church itself.

Friedrich's sarcophagus is located in the middle of the rotunda, alongside that of his wife Empress Victoria. As the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, she was the former Princess Royal of Great Britain and Ireland. The tombs of two of their young sons are also interred here.

Salviati adorned the tomb with mosaics, including those on the wall showing "VRI" for Victoria Regina Imperatrix, which are now missing. As seen from the recent picture above, compared to the interior in 1931 the entire lower level has been refaced in black marble. The interior of the dome is still said to contain the mosaics of alternating angels and palm trees; however, entrance to the mausoleum is restricted and no photographs have been found.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 127.
Europeana
Wikipedia
Wikimedia Commons
Friedenskirche
Stefan Hintz's flickr Photostream

Ethnological Museum, Berlin

Located next to the Museum of Decorative Arts (also known as the Gropius Bau) at Koniggratzer Strasse 120 (now Stresemann Strasse), this museum was built in 1880-86 by architect Hermann Ende.

Otto Lessing designed cartoons of the (then) seven planets and the solar system, seasons, arts and industry, as well as phases of life which Salviati applied in mosaic to the ceiling of the circular entrance hall.

As with many of Berlin's buildings, this museum was also damaged in World War II. It served as the Museum of Pre- and Early History until 1961, when it was eventually razed.

In 1954

In 1961

The southeastern corner of Stresemann Strasse and Niederkirchner Strasse now contains a parking lot.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 136.
Grieben-Verlag. Berlin, Potsdam und Umgebungen: Praktischer Wegweiser. 118.
Westermann, George et. al. Westermanns Monatschefte. 62. G. Westermann, 1887. 375.
Academic
Staadliche Museen zu Berlin
Wolfsraum's flickriver
Architekten-Verein zu Berlin. Berlin und Seine Bauten: Der Hochbau. Berlin: W. Ernst, 1896. 228-229.
Potsdamer Platz 
Google Maps
eBay

New York Insurance Company, Berlin

Not to be confused with the New York Equitable Insurance Company at 43 Leipziger Strasse, this building was designed in 1880 by Kayser and von Grossheim and was located farther west, on the corner of Leipziger and Wilhelm Strasse.

Two facades of the palace contained Salviati mosaics of allegorical depictions of cities modeled after cartoons by Otto Lessing. They included: London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York, and Rome.

 

Facade detail of the mosaics featuring two cities between windows on the third and fourth levels

Although the building next to it at 125 Leipziger Strasse survived, the New York Insurance Company building was destroyed in World War II. In typical Berlin fashion, it's been replaced by a modern office building.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 136.
Grieben-Verlag. Berlin, Potsdam und Umgebungen: Praktischer Wegweiser. 140.
Guide through Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Holland and England. Berlin: J. Reichmann and Cantor, 1896. 12.
Baedeker, Karl. Northern Germany: as far as the Bavarian and Austrian frontiers. 10th ed. London: Dulau and Co., 1890. 55.
Europeana
Senatsvervaltung
Kleinanzeigen eBay
Zeno