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FROM THE BRYANT ROOM ARCHIVES
By Myrna Sloam ©May/June 2009
A View of the Mackay Estate, Part 20: Sunday Outings and the Mackay Armor Collection,
by Stewart Donaldson
Note: The following article is part 20 of a continuing series taken from the memoirs of Stewart W. Donaldson (1907-1994) who grew up on the Clarence H. Mackay estate in what is now East Hills. These memoirs were written in the 1950s recalling the estate in the 1910s and 1920s. Stewart’s father, William, was a coachman/chauffeur on the estate, and Stewart was born and raised there.
Every Sunday afternoon [in the 1920s] during the Spring and Fall, when Mr. Mackay was at Roslyn, Mr. Adam (the chef on the Mackay estate) would like to visit the chefs at other estates. Maybe Marshall Fields in Lloyds Neck, the Phipps estate in Wheatley, or maybe we would go to Harry Payne Whitney in Manhasset. There were many estates we could go to where he knew the chefs, and believe me, he went to these places. It was usually the same routine. I would pick him up at Mackay’s mansion after the midday meal, help him put on his coat and scarf, if it was nippy out. Then he would take his small briefcase, check everything in the kitchen, give some orders in French to the second chef (Gaston LaVanche) and then we were ready to leave. We’d go down to the old Dodge touring car, I would help him in, [and] then [I’d go] around to the drivers side and start out.
After we left the estate, say we were going to Marshall Fields, we would probably get to somewhere like Syosset and he would say, as he tapped me on the shoulder, “Stewy, do you know a nice side road, where we can stop for a few moments?” I would say, “yes, sir, I do.” So, after turning into some unknown side-road and stopping, Mr. Adam would get out, take his briefcase, open it, take out a clean linen napkin, spread it out on the running board (oh, yes, we had running boards on the cars in those days) [and] take out two small glasses and then a bottle of cognac. He’d pour each of us a drink, pack the things back in the bag, and we would again proceed. Then, [he’d ask again] “Stewy, do you know a little side road?” And, the same routine [would start] over again. It was fun, but boy did we get drunk before this ordeal was over….
On other occasions, Mr. and Mrs. Adam (and myself driving the car) would go to Mr. Tachaux in Roslyn Heights. Mr. Tachaux was in charge of the armor and antiques at the Mackay estate. Being French, he was very friendly with the Adams [who were also French.] Boy, this would be a day! We would get there about 3:30 PM, sit down—the women together and the men together-- and there would be others besides us. They would talk in French and apologize to me every now and then for not speaking English. But, as we were sipping wine, I didn’t care if they talked Chinese, and didn’t worry about what they were saying. Then a delicious supper would be served. When we got back to Harbor Hill (the Mackay estate) Mr. Adam usually gave me a $10 bill. The next week it would be someone else’s house, so I went and enjoyed it….
Mr. Mackay had, I think, 8 suits of armor standing on pedestals around the sides of the main ballroom, as well as huge tapestries, which were old, rare and expensive. He had a very expensive collection of antiques, which is why he employed Mr. Tachaux to care for them. Mr. Tachaux at one time, worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York [City.] The armor was old and was complete suits. A suit consisted of a helmut, gorget, shoulder-piece, palette, breastplate, elbow piece, skirt of tasses, tuille, gauntlet, cuisse, kneepiece, jambout and solleret. As you entered the front hall, or corridor, and went to your left, at the end of the hall and at the base of the great stairway, stood a full sized stuffed horse with genuine black hair. Astride the horse was a full suit of armor crouched forward with a long spear under his right arm, as if going into battle…. There were [also] many expensive paintings throughout the house which Mr. Tachaux and his men took care of. Mr. Tachaux was a very pleasant person. I used to cut the lawn at his home in Roslyn Heights and did other odd jobs for him. He lived with his daughter and her son….
End Note: Clarence Mackay was well known as an avid art collector. After his death in 1938 many of his art treasures, which once adorned the mansion, were sold at auction and some of his armor and tapestry collection became part of the holdings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Other parts of his armor collection are in the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA.
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