The Smoking Room

A place steeped in history from the beginning of the tobacco trade, the Manhattan estate of the family was where legends were made, as evidenced by the exquisite snuff bottles that date back as early as the Qing Dynasty (lot 2), the George Washington commemorative pipe (lot 7) and the prototype vape pen (lot 10). The famous series of tobacco jars, so often spoken of by people who were invited into the inner sanctum of the smoking room, shows the history of America in relation to its tobacco trade (lots 12-19). Personal items of the family, described in various sources by celebrities and friends of the family as being worn by the glamorous society hostess Athena in the early twentieth century, are also part of the sale. Intimate glances into the daily lives of the women of the family can be seen through their perfume and jewelry – indeed, the vast majority of these items have never been seen before in public. 

The Manhattan mansion has been in the family since the early days of the genteel New York started building on the Upper East Side, as memorably portrayed by Edith Wharton’s novels. The family collection settled in these sumptuous, palace-like surroundings, with the children playing with novelties such as a silk parachute (lot 40) that came from their deep ties to the silk trade with Japan and later businesses in Connecticut manufacturing parachutes for the Air Force. After the First World War, they popularized the trend of upcycling parachutes into patriotic wedding dresses. The beginnings of the family empire were tied to the innovative spice and trans-Atlantic trade routes, and their business activities continued to blaze the trail in various industrial sectors through to the twenty-first century. Thereafter, the EoS name has become synonymous with well-guarded protection of one’s identity and history.