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Living Room

By far the largest room in the Mansion, besides the Ballroom, was the Living Room Library. The Living Room Library served a dual purpose in the Mansion, being both the formal living room and the Mansion's library. The Living Room Library contained 26 book cases made of oak, one bookcase for each letter of the alphabet. These glass door book cases contain 20,000 volumes. This view is looking directly south at the central fireplace as if you had just walked straight into the Living Room Library throught the double doors of the front hallway. This is a gold marble fireplace which shares the same chimney as the fireplace with is directly due south of it on the Solarium. This fireplace, was unused in Mr. Barber's time and upon the mantle sits a gold Louis XIV sunburst clock. The rugs on the floor represent an American Grizzly bear and an African tiger. To the right of the photo you will see a Victrola, invented by Thomas Edison, a personal friend of Mr. Barber.

This is a view of the Living Room Library looking toward the north west. The fireplace you saw in the previous photo is just out of the picture to the left. The doors on the far right of the photo open up into the main hallway of the Mansion. In the distance on the walls of this hallway you can see the Bucher murals. The flat top desk you see in the center of this photo was used by Mrs. Barber. A French roll top desk can be seen in the distance in the far corner. The bear skin rug has now been moved out into the doorway going into the main hallway.

We have now walked back toward the east in the Living Room Library and we are now looking near due west. Notice the fireplace with the Louis the XIV clock is shown on the left side of the photo. The desk in the middle of the picture is Mr. Barber's writing desk and is a copy of the desk of Louis XIV from the Palace of Versailles in France. The first floor hallway doors still remain on the far right side of the photo. The ceiling in this room was gold leaf on canvas and glued to the plaster. All of the main lighting for this room is indirect lighting in the crown molding above the book cases. The wood work of the book cases and the pillars and trim in this room is oak.

This revealing morning view of the Living Room Library looking almost due west. Next to the tiger skin rug at the bottom of the photo you see Mrs. Barber's desk which was directly opposite of O. C. Barber's desk is in the background. Mr. Barber's desk was a copy of the Louis XIV desk from the Palace of Versailles. Notice around the room are the 26 book cases in the Living Room Library and to the right of the photo you see the fireplace in the Living Room Library. More in the center of the photo and to the right of Mr. Barber's desk you see the Mansion's grand piano.

This view of the Living Room Library is looking at the South wall slightly to the West. Two of the twenty-six fantastic oak bookcases are seen in this photo along with the gold marble fireplace and the Louis XIV Sunburst Clock. The Chairs are Mr. and Mrs. chairs in the William and Mary style and are made of walnut.

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  Copyright 2001 Barberton Historical Society.  Anna Dean Farm is a registered Trade Mark TM of the Barberton Historical Society, all rights reserved.