Adjacent to the Mercer Museum (
BU43) is the original seed of the collection, whose understated elegance and miniature scale contrast with the boldness of Henry Mercer's vision a decade later. Ironically, unlike the powerful place centeredness of Mercer's mania, this brick Colonial Revival house is based loosely on Charles Carroll's “Homewood” in Baltimore. Horace Trumbauer competed with others, including William L. Price, for this commission and his connections to the prime donor, Philadelphia financier and traction magnate William Elkins, proved decisive.