Correspondence, 1912-1913: Design and construction

Letter from  William Gray Purcell to George Grant Elmslie (September 10, 1913)

Dear George:-

Some of the matters of immediate necessity on the little joker are wrapped up with the decorative scheme and I must have your comment at once.

In the first place, we like our present gray walls so well that I want to keep the new scheme in generally light, soft tones. In the second place, it is our intention to use our present living room rug, the blue one, in the dining room. In the living room we had thought of using the same sort of a plain rug in a fine green - one of the kind you have always had in mind. Don't you think that is a nice basis to build upon? Please amplify.

Now comes the question of fireplace stone. I have an opportunity to get the last piece of raindrop in the State of Minnesota from Jones & Hartley at absolute cost. Will that raindrop color go with my proposed light system of decorations? I am inclined to think it will. The color of Decker's [1] big mantle shelf is gorgeous and it goes beautifully with the Oriental brick.

This piece of stone has some long striae (is that how you spell it?) in it in addition to the raindrops. Now would you use the Oriental selected for as even values as possible, or would you use the bright red culls from the Oriental or the dark burnt ones which I can get out at Deckers picked out just as I want them at cost; otherwise I pay 10 cents each for an even selection. You know the raindrop well enough so you will not need a sample in hand and you know what the brighter reds and the darker burnts in the Oriental look like. Or had I better try and get some "bloomy" ones and forget the culls, or what, or what, OR WHAT?

(Whee)

Please let us have your comeback on this as Jones & Hartley are waiting to saw (see) the stone. If you have been dreaming over the little joker as you ought to have been you will be able to sit down and write me three pages not only with reference to the living room but with reference to all the other parts of the house as to decorations. But just remember that we want to use our brown hall runner on the stairs and we want to use Grandmother's little rosebud bedroom set, and that is about as far as we have gone.

The pink Kasota with honed surface, as per enclosed flake will cost me $33, the raindrop cost $58. The pink is pretty fairly pink in large surfaces and might be too aggressive. Maybe not. You can undoubtedly see some of it in some marble place along the street when you are out to lunch.

Yours, W.P.

[1] The Edward W. Decker summer residence at Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota.

research courtesy mark hammons