The Marble House Collection is comprised of photographs, correspondence, documents and a separate photo album. The objects date from 1892-1990, and formats include photographic prints, postcards, correspondence, documents, and diaries. The photographs depict the exterior and the interior of the house under various periods of ownership, as well as the various people who resided there throughout its time as a family home. The correspondence and diaries document much about the running of the house and the album holds more recent photographs, taken after the house was acquired by the Preservation Society of Newport County.
This collection has been mostly digitized and is available for viewing online at
All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the PSNC Archives and Special Collections are requested to contact the archivist, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although the Preservation Society has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim copyright ownership. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the copyright and to obtain any necessary permission from them.
The collection is open to the public, and there are no restrictions on access. However, the collection can only be seen by scheduled appointment.
"The Preservation Society of Newport County"
This collection is arranged by type of materials and subject matter in nine containers. The collection has been divided into four series:
The Vanderbilt Family:
The original Breakers was purchased in 1885 by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, as a summer home for his family. Cornelius II was the grandson of the great Commodore Vanderbilt and the son of William Henry Vanderbilt. After working upwards from the position of bank messenger and clerk, he became the treasurer and then the head of the Harlem Railroad. He then succeeded his father and grandfather as the Chairman of the Board of the New York Central Railroad. Cornelius was married to Alice Claypoole Gwynne in 1867, and by all accounts it was a good match. The couple had seven children together. Their firstborn, Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt, died at the age of five from a childhood illness, while the eldest son, William Henry Vanderbilt II died of typhoid fever while attending Yale University.
Of the surviving children, Cornelius “Neily” Vanderbilt III became the eldest. He was a graduate of Yale University and the Sheffield Scientific School, and also went on to work with the New York Central Railroad. Neily was disinherited by his father after eloping with Grace Vanderbilt Wilson, a well-known socialite, in 1896. The disagreement lasted many years, but softened somewhat just before his father’s death in 1899. Cornelius and Grace remained married for the rest of their lives. The next child, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, became a great sculptor, collector, and patron of the arts with her husband, Harry Payne Whitney. In 1931, Gertrude founded the Whitney Museum of American Art as a repository for her enormous collection of American modern art pieces. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, two years younger than Gertrude, was another Yale graduate who became heavily involved in the family railroad business after the death of his father in 1899. He was married twice, first to Miss Ellen Tuck French, and later to Miss Margaret Mary Emerson. Alfred was also well known for being a sportsman, and his interest in coaching. In 1915, at age 37, he was lost aboard the RMS Lusitania when it was sunk off the coast of Ireland.
Reginald Claypoole Vanderbilt was the youngest son of the family. He attended Yale University, and was a self-styled “investor,” as well as a director for several railway lines. Reginald was married twice, had two children, and maintained residences in both New York and at Sandy Point Farm in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. He died in 1925 at the age of 45. Finally, the youngest child, Gladys Moore Vanderbilt Széchenyi inherited The Breakers upon the death of her mother. In 1908, she married Hungarian Count, László Széchenyi, and the couple had five daughters. It was with Countess Széchenyi that the Preservation Society of Newport County developed a relationship around the preservation of historic properties on Aquidneck Island. In 1948, the Countess graciously leased The Breakers to the Preservation Society for one dollar per year until, in 1972, the PSNC purchased the property from her descendants.
Some architectural photographs were taken by the Preservation Society of Newport County, some by Hopf Photography; The Breakers Construction Album was a gift of the Estate of Countess László Széchényi; some family photographs were gifts of Ms. Elizabeth Henry, Mrs. Karl B. Smith, and Mrs. Madeleine Souza; some postcards were gifted by Arnold Art; other family materials were gifts of Mr. Donald Magee, Mrs. William Souza, Mrs. Irene Hallowell, or were purchased from Gustave J.S. White Auction.