D. Freuler, Holyrood, 124, avenue de Wagram, Paris, circa 1870-1879

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Summary

Creators:

Abstract:

The album of twenty albumen photographs by D. Freuler documents Holyrood, an opulent Parisian townhouse on Avenue de Wagram designed by Charles des Anges, that was home to Marie Sinclair, Lady Caithness and duchesse de Pomár, the second wife of James Sinclair, Earl of Caithness.

Extent:

1 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language:

Collection material is in French.

Preferred citation:

D. Freuler, Holyrood, 124 Avenue de Wagram, Paris, circa 1870-1879, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 90.R.72.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa90r72

Background

Scope and content:

The album of twenty albumen photographs documents Holyrood, an opulent Parisian townhouse on Avenue de Wagram designed by Charles des Anges, that was home to Marie Sinclair, Lady Caithness and duchesse de Pomár. Marie Sinclair (1830-1895) née de Mariategui, the daughter of a Spanish nobleman and an English aristocrat, was the widow of General le Comte de Medina Pomár and the second wife of James Sinclair, Earl of Caithness. After the earl's death in 1881 she took the house on the Avenue de Wagram as her primary residence, naming it Holyrood and modeling its rooms on those of Holyrood Palace in recognition of the spiritual connection she felt to Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Lady Caithness was a theosophist who quietly funded the Theosophical Society and was instrumental in establishing theosophy in France, where she founded and later became President of the Société Théosophique d'Orient et d'Occident. Her Holyrood was the scene of many theosophical soirées.

Included in the album are three exterior views of the Renaissance style house, several views of the grand staircase and a painted portrait of Lady Caithness. Notable rooms depicted include the salle des fêtes, (sculpture, several tiers of paintings, decorative arts); the salon vénetien; the chapelle royale; the grand salon; the chambre de la duchesse (with several religious paintings); the salon du duc (featuring porcelain); and the salon des gardes (armor).

The album has red cloth covers with its title debossed in gilt on the front cover. French captions are printed on the mounts below the photographs. The architect's name is printed below the lower left corner of the photograph on 14 mounts: Chles. des Agnes, Arch. The photographer's imprint appears on the verso of the last photograph in the album: D. Freuler, Phot. / 195, rue de Vaugirard, 195 - Paris.

Sources consulted:

___, "Marie, Duchess de Pomár, Countess of Caithness," ipernity. http://www.ipernity.com/doc/302051/29856141

Henderson, Thomas Finlayson, "Sinclair, James (1821-1881)," Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 52. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1897.

Johnson, K. Paul, The Masters Revealed: Madame Blavatsky and the Myth of the Great White Lodge. SUNY Press, 1994.

Biographical / historical:

D. Freuler was a photographer active in Paris during the last decades of the nineteenth century. He had studios successively at 8, rue Barbouillère; 195,rue de Vaugirard; and 169, rue de Vaugirard.

Sources consulted:

____, "D. Frueler," BnF Data. https://data.bnf.fr/fr/15613918/d__freuler/

Acquisition information:

Acquired in 1990.

Processing information:

The finding aid was written by Beth Ann Guynn and Nieves Maria Rocha in 2019.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in a single series: Series I. D. Freuler, Holyrood, 124 Avenue de Wagram, Paris, circa 1870-1879.

Physical location:

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Rules or conventions: