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

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.

Villa Thenard, Antibes

French chemist Baron Louis-Jaques Thenard built this villa before his death in 1857. Russian Grand Dukes Nikolai and Peter Nikolaevich Romanoff (cousins of the last tsar) moved into the villa with their wives on May 1, 1919. The exiled brothers would both die here in 1929 and 1931, respectively.

Today, the property is known as Chateau Algarve and it is available as a luxury vacation rental.

Salviati mosaic decorations adorned the villa including a frieze and portraits of various men. The status of these mosaics is unknown, although it is possible that they were removed or lost during past renovations.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 135.
Wikipedia FR
Wikipedia
Agence du Cap d'Antibes
Chateau Algarve

Central Hotel, Berlin

Located on Friedrichstrasse between Georgenstrasse to the north and Dorotheenstrasse to the south, and facing the Central Railway Station, this grand hotel was built in 1878-80. It was designed by architects Hermann Von der Hude and Julius Hennicke.  It boasted having a telephone, electricity, three elevators, and baths on every floor.

Georgenstrasse corner with one of the building's four 98 foot high coupolas

A mosaic frieze designed by Herman Geber ran above the eighty-eight second floor windows/window-doors on the external facade. It was composed of flower garlands adorning the names of the world's most important cities on a gold background. The central panel on the Georgenstrasse corner clearly shows "Constantinopel" (sic).

The Dorotheenstrasse corner

In 1881, Salviati had a showroom in the Central Hotel, while the Venice and Murano Company had theirs nearby at 16 Lindenstrasse. Containing 600 rooms, in 1885 the Central Hotel was still the largest hotel in Germany.

The covered courtyard, or Winter Garden, held 2,500 people and it hosted one of Berlin's best-known variety theaters starting in 1887. The entire hotel was destroyed in World War II.

Dorotheenstrasse corner, March 21, 1945

The same corner today

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 135.
The Builder. April 24, 1880. 504.
Baedekker's Guide Books: Northern Germany. 1881.
Wikimedia Commons Scan from book: Landesdenkmalamt Berlin (Ed.), Denkmale in Berlin, Bezirk Mitte, Ortsteil Mitte, Petersberg 2003, p. 112.
Wikimedia Commons W. Pembroke Fetridge Harper's hand-book for travellers in Europe and the east, 1, Harper & Brothers
Dr. Habbo Knoch, Habilitationsprojekt, postcard from 1898
Wikimedia Commons postcard from 1900
Wikimedia Commons destruction, March 21 1945

Leighton House, Kensington

This former home of the painter Frederic, Lord Leighton has operated as a museum since 1929. George Aitchison designed the first part of the classical style building in 1864. Construction began two years later and lasted for thirty years.

A major extension in 1877-79 added an Arab Hall, which contains many objects from Leighton's extensive travels, as well as a mosaic frieze designed by Walter Crane. Crane based the designs of the hall on those of the palace at La Zisa in Palermo, Italy.

Salviati executed the mythological-themed gold mosaic work around 1881.

Salviati also made the mosaic portrait of Pisano in the Kensington Valhalla that was based upon an original painting by Leighton sometime after 1866.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Bridgemanart
Leighton House Museum
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Telegraph.co.uk
Guardian.co.uk
Jeanette Johansson's flickr Photostream

Villa Etelinda, Bordighera

Originally known as Villa Bischoffsheim, this residence was designed by Charles Garnier in 1873 for Parisian banker Raphael Bischoffsheim. Construction was carried out by the firm of Mombelli and Bulgheroni. By 1900, the Villa belonged to a British Lord and was known by its new name. Charles Garnier, Louis Pasteur and Claude Monet all lived in Bordighera around this time.

A golden mosaic frieze with writing runs along the facade above the ground floor windows. The inscription is in Latin and it commemorates the recovery of the Queen Margherita of Italy - who Bischoffsheim lent the villa starting in 1879 or 1880 -  from illness sometime around 1882.

The archways are decorated with a leaf motif and include Raphael Bischoffsheim's initials.

The tower contains more mosaics in various geometric designs.

The villa has served as a home for families of fallen soldiers, and it is now - along with Villa Margherita located on the property above it - part of the Queen Margherita Museum, which exhibits the vast art collection of the Terruzzi family. Much of the villa, including the mosaics, was recently restored.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 134.
Cook's Handbook to the Health Resorts of the South of France and Northern Coast of the Mediterranean. London: Thomas Cook and Son, Ltd., 1881-82. 65.
The Westminster Review. Vol 154. New York: Leonard Scott Publication Co., 1900.  49.
Hamilton, Frederick Fitzroy. Bordighera and the Western Riviera. London: Edward Stanford, 1883. Advertisements 3.
Fondazione Terruzzi
Comune di Bordighera and Gallery
David Marani 
49luigi's flickr Photostream
- Sigma - flickr Photostream
FO.S.C.A.

Wessely Palace, Vienna

Built in 1891 by architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, this was the residence of Karl Ritter von Wessely. Wessely later became the Commander of the Imperial Military Academy of Austria from 1914 to 1915.

A decorative mosaic frieze by Salviati featuring angels and scrolls of vegetation runs under the roofline.

Sources:
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collectors' Club, 2008. 135.
Planet Vienna
Erich Schmid on Wikimedia Commons

Berlin Victory Column

The Victory Column or Siegessaule was designed by Heinrich Strack and inaugurated in 1873.

The columned rotunda around the base contains a 800 square foot frieze of Salviati mosaics from 1874-75 designed by Anton von Werner.

The mosaics commemorate the events of Janaury 18, 1871 when King Wilhelm I of Prussia was made Emperor of a united Germany in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

Germania - representing the Holy Roman Empire - confronting Napoleon

 A handshake representing the symbolic union of north and south German states.

Otto von Bismarck reading the proclamation of the German Empire.

Detail of a trumpeter

Germania sitting on the throne of the Empire, accepting the crown on Kaiser Wilhelm's behalf.

Sources:
olilau83's flickr Photostream
Thomas Wolf on Wikimedia Commons
Wikipedia
will.pimblett's flickr Photostream
medebb3's flickr Photostream
Barr, Sheldon. Venetian Glass Mosaics: 1860-1917. London: Antique Collector's Club, 2008. 50.

Drake Family Mausoleum

Also located in Brookwood Cemetery like Giulio Salviati's grave, this structure in plot 31 is the final resting place of Sir William Drake (1817-90).

Drake was a lawyer involved in the formation of the Anglo-Italian partnership of Salviati and Co. in 1869, along with Antonio Salviati, Sir Austen Henry Layard and several others. The mausoleum was built in 1880 after the death of Drake's wife. It was decorated with an enamel glass mosaic frieze that has almost completely deteriorated. The frieze once read "Because I Live Ye Shall Live Also."

Sources:
British Listed Buildings
The Mausolea and Monuments Trust
Brookwood Cemetery
Brookwood Cemetery Restoration
Richardr's flickr Photostream
Robert Freidus on Victorian Web

Brassey Institute Hastings

Designed by architect William Liberty (W.L.) Vernon for Hastings M.P. Thomas Brassey (who in 1886 became the 1st Earl Brassey), the building - inspired by the merchant palaces of Venice - was completed 1878-80.

While the Brasseys had a private suite on the second floor, the rest of the building contained a public library, school of the arts and other areas for use by local societies. It is now used as the Hastings Central Library.

The entrance porch contains an enamel mosaic frieze by Salviati of the Bayeux Tapestry. This is perhaps a nod to not only the historic battle that took place in the city of Hastings in the 11th century, but also the family's Norman lineage which can be traced back to Brecy during the time of William the Conqueror.

Sources:
British Listed Buildings
Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society
Archiseek
Rob Evans' flickr Photostream
Phil Sellens' flickr Photostream
Medieval Mosaic

British and Foreign Marine Insurance Co. Ltd.

Located just blocks from Albert Dock and adjacent to Liverpool Town Hall, this building on the east side of Castle Street was designed in 1889 by G.E. Grayson and housed the British and Foreign Marine Insurance Company for almost 70 years.

A colorful mosaic frieze of three separate shipping scenes located above the second-floor windows is attributed to the Salviati Company. 

The panel on the left is the most damaged out of the three, but it is signed on the bottom right corner by the mosaic's designer: "Frank Murray 1889".

Sources:
Liverpool World Heritage
Tarboat's flickriver photos
Dave Wood Liverpool Images flickr Photostream
Sharples, Joseph and Richard Pollard. Liverpool: Pevsner City Guides. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. p. 137.
ronramstew's flickr Photostream