With walls covered in silk damask, the Library wallpaper incorporates a lattice design with the motif, or dominant feature, being a pineapple. In the 1870s, the pineapple was actually the symbol of hospitality.
On display are photographs of Governor Brown and First Lady Brown. They were the first family to reside in the new Governor’s Mansion 150 years ago in 1871. The Brown’s granddaughter, Margaret Wise Brown wrote the award-winning children’s book, Goodnight Moon.
On the mantle sits the Black Forest clock and vases purchased by Governor Marmaduke as he traveled throughout the Tyrol Black Forest area of Austria. Governor Marmaduke had these items shipped back to Missouri as his gift to the Mansion before his passing at age 54 from pneumonia.
Did you know that the small chairs found in the Library are surprisingly not miniature chairs for children, but rather salesman samples demonstrating the skills of a craftsman?
When First Lady Parson moved into the People’s House, one of the first projects she worked on was the restoration of the green sofa. The first Capitol building in Jefferson City burned down in 1837. The second Capitol was struck by lightning on February 5, 1911, and also burned to the ground. This sofa was actually carried out from the burning Capitol and fully restored in 2018. Behind the green sofa is a sculpture, also known as a maquette that depicts explorers Captain Lewis and Captain Clark, their assistant York, Shoshone native American guide Sacagawea with her baby Jean Baptiste (nicknamed “Pomp”) and Lewis’ Newfoundland dog Seaman (pronounced “Shay-mus”). Renowned American sculptor Eugene Daub was commissioned to create a monument to explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for the bicentennial of the Corps of Discovery, founded in 1803.Following the example of portrait artists who often create a sketch before they actually paint on canvas or paper, Daub produced this small model of his sculpture. The full-sized 20-foot bronze sculpture sits in Case Park in downtown Kansas City, Missouri at Eighth and Jefferson Streets, strategically situated on the peak of a bluff overlooking the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri Rivers.”
A gift to the Mansion from Governor Bond, the exquisite over-mantle mirror dates back to March 30, 1870. Mirrors were often used to make a room look larger, while also reflecting light from the large windows and gasoliers.
