Olmsted's Vision

As significant as the mansion of a great Gilded Age estate like Florham, the New Jersey country home of Florence Vanderbilt Twombly, was its landscape. This book explores how that greatest of all landscape architects, Frederick Law Olmsted, visualized 1,200 acres of woodlands and scrub growth and swamps and transformed them into a magical country retreat for a family which could afford, and demanded, "the best of the best." The book includes planning drawings that illustrate specific concepts for the development of the estate and many paste and present photographs that show what was and what is.This historical record describes the origins of the estate and the people involved--from the landscape architects of Olmsted's firm to the men who dug and planted.

"Explores how that greatest of all landscape architects, Frederick Law Olmsted, visualized 1,200 acres of woodlands and scrub growth and swamps and transformed them into Florham, the New Jersey country home of Florence Vanderbilt Twombly"--Publisher marketing.
Walter Cummins began teaching on the Florham campus in 1965. Now an emeritus professor of English, he is on the faculty of the MFA in creative writing and the MA in creative writing and literature. In addition to being the co-author of three previous books about Florham, he has published seven short story collections and a collection of essays and reviews titled Knowing Writers.
Arthur T. Vanderbilt II, a graduate of Wesleyan University and the University of Virginia School of Law, is the author of many books of history, biography, memoirs and essays. He became fascinated with Florham while researching and writing his book Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt, now being made into a television series by HBO. He is an Honorary Trustee of the Friends of Florham and has written many articles for the Friends of Florham publication. He wrote an introduction for Florham: The Lives of an American Estate, and is one of the authors of Florham: An American Treasure, and of The Richest and Most Famous Private Chef in the World: Joseph Donon. He appeared in the New Jersey TV documentary about Florham in its Treasures of New Jersey series.