It's My Obsession

I'm a woman possessed. Or maybe that's obsessed. I absolutely can't get any work done because I'm still going through the Museum of the City of New York's online collection portal. This is becoming a problem, I can tell. But, I wouldn't say it's for naught because I did find photos of Billy Baldwin's former apartment at Sutton Place. I first saw photos of this apartment a few years ago while reading an old magazine from the 1930s. Then, Adam Lewis included additional photos in Billy Baldwin: The Great American Decorator. And now, the MCNY website has even more. I'm starting to feel like I like I know Baldwin's apartment better than I do my own. I guess that's what happens when you become design obsessed. Or maybe that's design possessed.




According to Lewis' book, the sofa and club chair were upholstered in pale blue leather. The curtains were white satin handpainted with dancing figures.




Have you noticed that in today's quest for perfection, we no longer see visible cords and electrical outlets in interior photos? This photo is a breath of fresh air. That, and it makes me feel better about the cords and outlets that are rather prominent looking in my own home.




I believe that this might be a bedroom.




Billy Baldwin's bathroom. Does that swag look like it's painted on the wall? A little odd, but kind of charming at the same time.



All photos: Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc., Residence of Wm. W. Baldwin, 2 Sutton Place. 1939. From the Collections of the Museum of the City of New York.