Images from the Biltmore Estate – Part 5

My apologies… It has taken awhile for me to publish this latest Biltmore post.

Until now, the photographs I made at the Biltmore House, in Asheville, N.C., focused on the ornate and luxurious appointments that were enjoyed by the Vanderbilts and their guests.

In this post, we take a look at the “downstairs”, the behind-the-scenes areas where the staff prepared food and did the more mundane tasks like cleaning the laundry.

The Brown Laundry was just a small part of the large laundry complex at the Biltmore House. There was a tremendous amount of laundry generated not only by the Vanderbilt’s, but by the large number of servants, as well as guests.

This particular room was shot during the day, and the house tour was still going on. We heard the funniest comments as the visitors looked in to see what I was doing:

“Look… he is checking for plumbing leaks” and “The electricity failed in that room”

Also: “He is looking for ghosts” and with my small LED panel in hand: “He’s ironing”.

Needless to say we got a chuckle from these comments.

In the Brown Laundry, hand washables and staff laundry were laboriously cleaned on tin washboards in the brown enameled basins. In the foreground is a ridged roller for crimping pleats.

Photograph by Harold Ross

The wooden “cradle”, a hand-agitated mechanical washing machine from the early 1900s.

 Photograph by Harold Ross

In this video you can see the lighting of the sinks:

The canning Pantry is just one of several pantries in the kitchen complex. The pantries were used for production and storage of various goods used in cooking for the Vanderbilts and their guests.

 Photograph by Harold Ross

The lid press:

 Photograph by Harold Ross

Photographing at the Biltmore House was an honor and a rewarding experience.

A huge THANKS to Jim Ryan, who made this project possible, and who spent many late hours with me shooting and doing post production.

And, for logistical help on the shoot, thanks to Laura Overbey, Collections Manager at the Biltmore, who helped us coordinate everything, and stayed late for us while we photographed the Biltmore House.

Thanks to Cindy Bradley of Museum Services, who assisted us in the photography of the Brown Laundry and Canning Pantry.

And, of course, thanks to my wife Vera for, as always, helping me every step of the way!

All material in this post © Harold Ross 2015

~ by Harold Ross on June 26, 2015.