CHELSEA HOTEL: The First One Hundred Years

Myerson, Bess; Edinger, Claudio; New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission

Published by New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, [New York], 1984

About this Item

Scarce commemorative publication recognizing the Chelsea Hotel's "service to artists and other rare individuals," spotlighting the long-term residents who made their home a legend. A brief introduction from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission duly notes the Chelsea Hotel's Victorian Gothic architectural features, but the reason for its enduring fame was always the "safe haven" it provided to the artists and eccentrics who lived in it. The booklet's partial list of famous residents ranges from Dylan Thomas and Thomas Wolfe to Viva and Sid Vicious, and Edinger's photographs show Virgil Thomson in pajamas, composing in bed; George Kleinsinger with lizard; Arthur C. Clarke thinking about space odysseys; and three-piece-suited painter Alphaeus Cole well on his way to becoming the world's oldest living man, a distinction he would lose upon his 1988 death at age 112. Other notable figures shown but not listed include Robert Motherwell; photographer Inge Morath, pictured with husband Arthur Miller; and pianist-composer Gerald Busby, who owed his home to a helpful word from Thomson: "He picked up the phone and called Stanley Bard and said, 'This is the kind of person you're supposed to have here.' And I was in." 11'' x 9''. Original black saddle-stapled wrappers. Illustrated with black and white photographs by Claudio Edinger. [12] pages. Scuffing and edgewear to wrappers.

Seller Inventory # 49831

Bibliographic Details

• Title: CHELSEA HOTEL: The First One Hundred Years
• Publisher: New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, [New York]
• Publication Date: 1984
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very good plus.
• Seller catalogs:
  • Architecture & Design