Mrs. Charlotte M. Tytus Residence

10 East 77th Street
New York, N.Y. 10075



Mrs. Charlotte Mathilde Tytus, nee Davies, was the daughter of John M. Davies, Esq., of New Haven Conn. On June 24, 1874, she married Edward Jefferson Tytus, son of Francis J. and Sarah (Butler) Tytus, of Middletown, Ohio, who had received his B.A. from Yale in 1868. In 1875, Edward (and presumably Charlotte) sailed to Europe, and while there he was warned of serious trouble in his lungs. On the advice of his physicians he returned to this country in November 1875 and spent that winter and the following in Asheville, N.C. Their only child, Robb DePeyster Tytus, was born in Asheville on February 2, 1876. Edward spent the two succeeding years, both summer and winter, in the Adirondack woods. On May 19, 1881, Edward died at the age of 34 of pulmonary tuberculosis at Saranac Lake, N.Y. Their son, Robb, was an artist and explorer, and while traveling with his mother in the East, became engaged in drawing for magazines. From 1899 to 1903 he became interested in archaeology, and with Percy E. Newbury, the English archaeologist, made a number of excavations, including a concession to make explorations at Luxor. Robb also attended Yale, his father's alma mater, earning a B.A. in 1897 and an M.A. in 1903. He was married on May 10, 1903, to Grace Seeley Henop of New Haven, and they had two daughters. While on their honeymoon, Robb purchased 1,500 acres of land in Tyringham, Mass., and became deeply interested in practical farming. He was twice elected to be a Representative in the Massachusetts legislature. Like his father, he died of pulmonary tuberculosis at Saranac Lake, N.Y., on August 15, 1913, at the age of 32. As a memorial to her son, Mrs. Charlotte M. Tytus donated $75,000—$15,000 a year for five years—to the Egyptian Department of the Metropolitan Art Museum (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Mrs. Tytus died in 1936 at the age of 86.

It would seem that Mrs. Charlotte M. Tytus acquired or built the town house at 10 East 77th Street before or about 1896, and lived there until 1904. About 1904, the residence was sold to J. Horace Harding (1864-1929), a banker and chairman of the board of the American Express Company, and a trustee of the Frick Art Collection. In 1908, Harding moved to 955 Fifth Avenue where he had installed a III/31 Aeolian Organ, Op. 1067 (1908).

The third owner of this residence was Edmund J. Trowbridge, of Trowbridge & Co., a stock exchange firm. In 1950, the town house was purchased by Daniel Saidenberg, the Canadian cellist and conductor, and his wife, Eleanore Block, and here they established the Saidenberg Gallery. Five years later, Daniel Henry Kahnweiller, Picasso's dealer in Paris, appointed them Picasso's representative in North America.

In January, 1964, the former town house at 10 East 77th Street was purchased for $300,000 from Mrs. Saidenberg by the Government of the Union of Burma for occupancy by its consultate and mission to the United Nations. Today, it is known as the Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations.
           
Aeolian Company
New York City – Opus 963 (1896)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 19 stops, 18 ranks


The Aeolian organ installed in Mrs. Charlotte M. Tytus's residence was built by the Farrand & Votey Company of Detroit in 1897 at a cost of $5,200. Farrand & Votey Factory Specifications, dated December 16, 1896, state that Farrand & Votey employed "Roosevelt Patent Pneumatic Windchests" and Farrand & Votey's "Patent Electric Action Throughout." On June 6, 1904, a Letter of Confirmation with J. Horace Harding states that, at a cost of $3,400, the organ was moved from upper floor to first floor and reconstructed in closets under the stairs, but the console remained on the second floor. The organ was equipped with an Aeolienne player. The fate of this organ is unknown.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, partially enclosed with Swell
8
   Open Diapason
61
4
   Octave *
61
8
   Dulciana *
61
4
   Hohl Flöte *
61
8
   Viol di Gamba *
61
8
   Clarinet *
61
8
   Doppel Flöte *
61
  * enclosed in Swell box

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon
61
8
   Quintadena
61
8
   Violin Diapason
61
4
   Flute Harmonique
61
8
   Salicional
49
2
   Flageolet
61
8
   Aeoline
61
8
   Oboe
61
8
   Stopped Diapason
61
     Tremulant  
               
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Bourdon
30
8
   Violoncello
30
16
   Lieblich Gedeckt
SW
   
               
Couplers
    Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'     Swell to Pedal
    Swell Octaves     Great to Pedal 8', 4'
    Great Octaves    
               
Accessories
    Swell Tremulant       Wind Indicator  
    Bellows Signal          
               
Pedal Movements (Roosevelt Patent Automatic Adjustable Combination Pistons)
    Two affecting Great and Pedal Stops
    Two affecting Swell and Pedal Stops
    Great to Pedal Reversing Pedal
    Full Organ and Crescendo Pedal
    Balanced Swell Pedal    
           
Sources:
     "E.B. Saidenberg," Artnet News: August 24, 1999. http://www.artnet.com
     "Burma Acquires East Side House," The New York Times (Jan. 3, 1964).
     The Class of 1868, Yale College. New Haven: Yale University, 1868.
     "J. Horace Harding, Banker, Dies at 65," The New York Times (Jan. 5, 1929).
     "Mrs. Tytus Give $75,000 to Museum," The New York Times (Oct. 8, 1914).
     "Mrs. Tytus: Founder of Blackfriars, Oxford," Blackwell Synergy - New Blackfriars, Vol. 87, Issue 1007.
     "Robb De Peyster Tytus," The New York Times (Aug. 16, 1913).
     Smith, Rollin. The Aeolian Pipe Organ and its Music. Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1998.
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Specification for Aeolian (Farrand & Votey) Organ, Op. 963 (1896).