F Holland Day House Tour-Mrs. Anna Smith Day’s Bedroom

(“Yellow Room” in 1893 inventory)

• Anna (Smith) Day was born 1836 and died in 1922.  The painting shows her at 4 or 5 years old.  Her silk gown and jewelry illustrate the Smith family’s wealth.  The cradle beneath the portrait was Mrs. Day’s childhood cradle.

• Photographs taken during Anna Day’s lifetime show her room furnished in a delightfully feminine fashion, with a set of painted furniture. The brass bed, hung with flowered draperies, stood to the left of the fireplace. 

• The unusual long, narrow yellow fireplace tiles are Arts & Crafts in design. Locking glass cabinets were built over the fireplace to display and protect small, treasured objects.

• The “balcony” was a bright, pleasant sitting area with a view of the town. Mrs. Day often breakfasted there.

• Mrs. Day’s adjoining lavatory has a window overlooking the Great Hall. 

• Mrs. Day was ill for several years. In 1916, Fred Day returned from Maine to be in the house with her. He visited her in this room often until her death on July 1, 1922 when he wrote in his diary: “A very peaceful end came to mother this morning during a gentle rain.”

The room currently houses the Historical Society’s collection of antique dolls, children’s and doll’s furniture, and playthings of the past.