Lives Of Two Prime Ministers

Picking up where we left off yesterday, here are some of the paintings of Josh Silburt, who followed up his editorial cartooning career by focusing on his art. In the days of Laurier and King, these corridors and rooms were servants quarters and offices for staff, and this was my first time back in this area, which has usually been off limits to the public.

This level includes items from both prime ministers, such as these in what was a formal guest room.

The player piano below occupies the Laurier Library. Wilfred used it as his personal office, while King made use of it as a guest room.

Here we have a view of the master bedroom. The Lauriers used it for that, and King did later. It is still decorated much as King would have left it.

Upstairs on the top floor is a room that would have been used by the head housekeeper in the Laurier days, while King turned it into his breakfast room, taking meals in here when he wasn't entertaining. His study was across the hall in a room that Laurier had used for billiards.

This room includes a peculiar set of artifacts- the Liberal Party of Canada gifted these to King. Abraham Lincoln had plaster casts made of his face at the time of the 1860 Republican nomination and his hands before his departure for Washington, done by Leonard Volk. Three copies of the Volk casting exist- one in the Smithsonian, one in a private collection in the United States, and the last one here. 

I headed back downstairs, pausing in the drawing room on the ground floor.

Then I stepped out onto the spacious terrace wrapping around this part of the house.

A Prime Ministerial Home

Picking up where I left off yesterday in Laurier House, here in the Laurier Library, a player piano sits. Parks Canada guides are to be found on each floor, and one started up the piano to play some ragtime- note the depressed keys as the piano plays itself. The boxes you see on top are marked from a company that still makes these scrolls for player pianos.

Across the hall from this room is the master bedroom. The Lauriers slept here, and King did as well when the place became his home.

The top floor takes in this room, a favourite for me in the house. Laurier used this room as a billiards room, and it's easily big enough to fit a table for that, with room to spare around it. King used it for his study, and it has been left that way. He essentially ran the country from this room. Many of his books are in the bookshelves, safely behind glass.

Across the central hall is a room that was used by the head housekeeper in the days of the Lauriers. King turned it into a breakfast room for himself, and had most of his meals here when he wasn't entertaining visitors.

Among the items belonging to King in this room are plaster casts of the hands and face of Abraham Lincoln, done in 1860 at the time of the Republican nomination by artist Leonard Volk. These are one of three or four sets in the world, and how they came into the hands of the Canadian Liberals at the time are a mystery, but they're in a good place- artifacts of one great leader in the home of two other great leaders.

This sculpture has always drawn my eye. How a sculptor could get that veil effect with marble is a mystery.

Here we return to where we started, with the spacious front veranda. If you are ever in Ottawa, I recommend paying a visit to this place.

A Place Of Comfort And History

I have more from Laurier House today, taken during my Doors Open visit. The building has quite a collection of art work, but it also feels comfortable, like a home.

A photograph of King with one of his dogs can also be found here. A lifelong bachelor, King left Laurier House and his estate in the Gatineau Hills to the nation in his will.

This is the master bedroom; both the Lauriers and King made it their own during their time here. 

Coming up to the top floor brings us to a room Laurier and King both made good use of. Laurier turned this into a billiards room, while King made it his office, running the country from here. I find it thoroughly appealing.

Perched at the back of the piano in this room is a crystal ball. King had an interest in spiritualism, and this was his.

This proclamation is a wanted poster that King took pride in. His grandfather, William Lyon Mackenzie,  a prominent journalist and politician, took part in the rebellions of 1837, and for a time was a wanted man.

The Breakfast Room was the housekeeper's room during the Laurier era. King preferred to have most of his meals in this room, right across the hall from his office. A display case here contains plaster casts of the hands and face of Abraham Lincoln, done in 1860, at the time of the Republican nomination, by Leonard Volk. These are one of three or four sets of the casts in the world. 

And this is the room itself.

Coming back out of Laurier House, I paused on the verandah, and then took a shot of the house from the street before crossing to my next destination for Doors Open, which happens to be a neighbour to this place. 

Of Busts And Life Masks

I have switched out my header image for something more fitting for winter. This new header is from last winter at Rideau Falls.

These busts in Laurier House caught my eye as I was visiting.

This room on the top floor was my favourite in the house. Laurier used it for a billiards room. Mackenzie King turned it into his study, and it has been left in that state ever since. He pretty much ran the country from here. There are books on the table registering guests, including Churchill and Roosevelt, who stayed here at various points during the war. Three of Churchill's cigars are in a box on the table as well. There's even a crystal ball in this room, in plain sight, but easily overlooked, as it was the Parks Canada guide who pointed it out to me. Aside from being a Scots Protestant, Mackenzie King had an interest in spiritualism, and was known to try to communicate with the dead. There's a story about him chatting with a visitor in which he mentioned speaking with President Roosevelt the previous evening. The visitor asked, "you mean President Truman?" The Prime Minister smiled and said, "no, President Roosevelt." He'd wanted his personal papers destroyed after his death, but they weren't, and much of his interest in spiritualism was thus revealed to the nation at large. He was a brilliant leader, and something of an eccentric character. I expect I'd have liked him a lot.

King displayed this proclamation with great pride up here- a reward for the arrest of his grandfather, William Lyon Mackenzie, for whom he was named. Mackenzie had been a journalist, politician, and leader of the 1837 rebellions, and for a time he had been a wanted man. 

Churchill's presence can be found on the mantle in the room across the hall. Mackenzie King used this as his breakfast room- and perhaps for all meals when he wasn't entertaining visitors- and the small bust of the great British leader can be seen on the right in this shot. On the radio at the left stands the CBC microphone that was among the many used when Edward VIII announced his abdication. During the Laurier days, this room was quarters to the chief housekeeper.

There's something else in this room that seems an oddity. If you look down from the above view, you find a case containing a plaster life mask and hands of Abraham Lincoln, cast in 1860, before the Republican nomination. It is a remarkable thing, looking at his face in a three dimensional way. This set is one of four known copies- the Smithsonian has one, and one of the others is right here in the home of two prime ministers, having had been in the possession of the Liberal Party of Canada since the latter 19th century. The work was done by artist Leonard Volk, from before Lincoln had a beard. It's a Lincoln whose face is yet untouched by the ravages of four years of civil war, but which lie before him- a stark contrast to another life mask that was done in early 1865. His hands convey strength, which is understandable- though he was years removed from those days, he'd done a lot of physical work in his younger days while learning the law, and that strength never left the Great Emancipator.

A Home For Prime Ministers

Laurier House is a National Historic Site in Sandy Hill, a neighbourhood east of the University of Ottawa. It was home to two of our Prime Ministers, Wilfred Laurier and William Lyon MacKenzie King. It took part in Doors Open once again this year, though it is open to the public throughout the year. However, photographs inside are not permitted; more's the pity.

The house dates back to 1878, and was the residence for Laurier and his wife Zoe from 1897 until their deaths. It was willed to Mackenzie King, who left the house in his will to the nation upon his death. The house is managed by Parks Canada, and contains rooms decorated with personal items and furnishings from the residents, in the fashion of the time.

There are all sorts of unusual things to be found inside, including one of those pianos that plays itself, and a plaster casting of the hands and face of Abraham Lincoln, done in 1860. It's peculiar to look at that face all this time later. One of the staff explained that the casting is one of three copies in the world; another copy is in the Smithsonian, while the last is in a private collection in the United States.

The wraparound porch outside is an ideal place to sit for a spell. In their time, I imagine the Lauriers and Mackenzie King would have made good use of it.