CHAPTER XIII
DOORWAYS, MANTELS, AND STAIRS
NOWHERE in this country can the interiors of the old houses and their woodwork be studied as in Salem. The splendid mansions around Philadelphia and in Maryland and Virginia are detached and not always accessible, but in Salem one may walk through the old streets with a certainty that almost any of the houses passed will prove to contain features of interest to the student. The town was the home of wealthy ship-owners and East India merchants, who built there the houses which we study, for their homes. They did not spare expense—the Derby house cost $80,000; and they were fortunate in having for a fellow citizen a wood-carver, and designer, Samuel McIntire, whose work will bear comparison with that of men whose names have been better known. Within the last few years, however, McIntire’s name and work have attracted more attention, and his mantels and doors in Salem have been shown to the reading public in the book “The Woodcarver of Salem,” by Frank Cousins and Phil M. Riley.
McIntire built the eighty thousand dollar Derby house, which within a short time of its completion was torn down, owing to the death of Mr. Derby, none of the heirs wishing to keep so costly a mansion. Just at that time, in 1804, Captain Cook was building the house now known as the Cook-Oliver house. McIntire, who was the architect also of this house, persuaded Captain Cook to use much of the fine woodwork which he had made for Mr. Derby, and it was embodied in the Cook house, which was, when finished, given to the daughter of Captain Cook, who married General Oliver, the composer of the hymn, “Federal Street,” named for the street upon which this house stands.
Illustration [395] shows a doorway in the hall of the Cook-Oliver house, which was taken from the Derby mansion. The wood is pine, as in most of the Salem houses, painted white, and the ornamentation is all hand-carved. The design is thoroughly classical, with its graceful drapery across the top, and the urns, also ornamented with drapery. Through the doorway may be seen the mantel, which was taken from the Derby mansion, with the fine hob-grate, and a little of the old Zuber paper, which extends around the room, with scenes of the Paris of 1810-1820.
Illus. 395.—Doorway and Mantel, Cook-Oliver House, Salem, 1804.