Item number: PRN601
Genuine Antique Print
1880
Maker: Harper's Weekly
Antique print showing the Newport Casino, now the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island RI. Despite its name, it was never a gambling facility. Per legend, James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the influential publisher of the New York Herald and a summer resident of Newport, bet his polo partner, Captain Henry Augustus Candy, a retired officer of the Queen’s 9th Royal Lancers and skillful British polo player, to ride his horse onto the front porch of the exclusive gentlemen’s-only club, the Newport Reading Room. Candy took the dare one step further and rode straight through the clubrooms, which disturbed the members. After Candy’s guest membership was revoked, Bennett purchased the land across the street from his home, on Bellevue Avenue, and sought to build his own social club. Within a year, Bennett hired the newly formed architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, who designed the U-shaped building for the new club. The Newport Casino was the firm’s first major commission and helped to establish MMW’s national reputation. The building included tennis courts, facilities for other games such as squash and lawn bowling, club rooms for reading, socializing, cards, and billiards, shops, and a convertible theater and ballroom. In the 20th century, the casino was threatened with demolition as Newport began to fall out of fashion as a summer resort. Saviors Candy and Jimmy Van Alen took over operating the club, and by 1954, had established the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the Newport Casino. The combination of prominent headliners at the tennis matches and the museum allowed the building to be saved. The building remains a National Landmark for its connections with gilded age society and possibly the first commission by McKim, Mead and White, who became one of the most prominent architectural firms in American history. (from buildingsofnewengland.com)
Very good overall antique condition with mild toning of the paper and some small tears at the paper edges. Measures approximately 9.25" x 13.75" to the neatline. Note: any "rainbows" or strange patterns in the image are called moire pattern- caused by taking a digital photo or scan of the many parallel lines in the print- these are not in the print and we can try to take more photos if you are concerned.
Item Number: PRN601