This serpentine-front, mahogany-veneer, inlaid shaving stand is the latest addition to George Bartow’s bedchamber.
Although the piece predates the Bartow mansion by a few decades (as does the nearby breakfast table), outdated furniture was probably relegated to secondary bedchambers, just as it is today.
George (1828–1875) was the eldest Bartow son. He was a man of leisure and probably an avid fan of horse racing like his Lorillard relatives, who owned Thoroughbreds. As a young boy, he is mentioned in a letter from his tutor, Augustus Moore, who says that George is “a pleasant little boy but does not like to study very well.” He is the only Bartow son who did not graduate from Columbia College. George never married and lived at the mansion as an adult. He died in 1875 at the age of 47 in St. Augustine, Florida, where his cousin George Lorillard had a winter home. George L. Bartow is buried in the family plot at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Westchester Square.
Margaret Highland, Education Director and Curator