This unique servant’s indicator board was used at Whitehall, the summer home of Captain Isaac E. Emerson, inventor of the headache remedy Bromo-Seltzer. Mr. Emerson built the 32 room house in Narragansett, Rhode Island in 1917 as a summer villa to entertain their many rich and notable guests.
Mr. Emerson was one of the wealthiest men in America during the gilded age. His great wealth was accumulated from the manufacture of a headache powder, Bromo-seltzer, the formula for which he worked out and patented when he was a young chemist in the late 1800s. He and his second wife, Anne Preston McCormack were widely known in American society and also in the capitols of Europe. Mr. Emerson was known as a lavish entertainer at his Narragansett summer estate, where he entertained many social leaders of the Atlantic seaboard cities.
Emerson’s daughter Margaret was married to Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt I, great grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the famous railroad baron. Alfred is considered a hero. He was aboard the Lusitania when it was torpedoed in 1915. He helped women and children into the boats and then, when no more life vests could be found, gave the one he was wearing to a young woman holding her infant. He perished along with his valet and 1198 passengers. His fate was ironic, as 3 years earlier he made a last minute decision not to board the Titanic.
The board, which hung in Whitehall’s pantry, would activate when Mr. Emerson, his wife, children or guests, would press a button. The board would ring and a white marker would appear above the name of the room which to which service was required.
The front of the board consists of a plate of glass painted black with a wooden frame. The name of each room is labeled in gold paint, such as “South Porch,” “Dining Room,” and “Ladie’s Toilet.” The second floor contains unique room names including “Mrs. Emerson’s Bath,” “Master Fred,” and “Mrs. McAdoo’s Bed R’M”. These customized names lend uniqueness to this indicator board as it was built only for the Emerson estate. An almost identical type of board hangs in the pantry of the Vanderbilt mansion, “The Breakers" in Newport, RI.
