Clars Auction Gallery
Lot 6126
(lot of 2) American Victorian Pottier and Stymus lounge chair and sofa comissioned for James Clair Floods` `London Towers`, original to the Billiard Room, 1878, the oversize sofa with a floral relief carved crest surmounting the bolster form arms centered with a carved lion mount and rising on casters, marked Flood and Billiard Room, together with number on frame, 47"h x 97"w x 34"d, the armchair with a conforming finial capped crest , the inswept arms with spherical acanthus decorated returns, and rising on carved legs ending on casters, 46"h x 30"w x 28"d, Linden Towers, a most impressive and massive estate built by 19th century San Francisco millionaire James C. Flood, was, at the time, regarded as the most elaborate country estate of the period in the San Francisco Bay Area. With an estimated worth of $18 million in the 1870s, Flood spared no expense in building and furnishing his Menlo Park mansion, commissioning artisans from around the world and using only the finest materials and furnishings obtainable. The décor in each of the over 40 rooms was personally selected by Flood. The Flood Mansion “Linden Towers” was torn down in 1934 and all of the extravagant contents were sold. Provenance: purchased at the 1934 auction and removed from Linden Towers, thence by family descent Starting Price $2500
