$6.95 Million Dollar UWS Duplex Complete With Packed Library (PHOTOS)

It isn't unusual for luxury Manhattan apartments to feature libraries. One such place, a duplex for sale in the legendary Upper West Side Hotel Des Artistes building, comes with a library and over 2,500 books including rare first editions and signed copies.

The nine room duplex has the building's signature 'great room' with dramatic, double height windows and warm, oak wood paneling. It also has a media room with a wine cave, a formal dining room and an upper mezzanine level that connects the the two bedroom wings.

The property is currently selling for $6,950,000 and Nikkie Field and Patricia Wheatley of Sotheby's International Realty hold the listing.

Images courtesy of VHT

Check out photos of the impressive apartment here:

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Comments

[Tulka2]

12:48 AM on 02/21/2011

If they didn't take the books, the books are unloved.  It is a hostage situation.  I suppose i will have to buy the place.  (snark)

[jefke]

02:16 PM on 01/20/2011

The appointments may be nice (if you like that style) but the rooms are small and claustrophobic. Would drive me nuts to live there. And I certainly would not want someone else's library. I have the books I have because I chose them over decades.

[jessicajuliette]

12:49 PM on 01/20/2011

i'm not the only bibliophile around...

to quote Rachel Zoe, i die...,

at only 6.5 it's a steal...

the quality of the library makes it compelling...no Harlequin romances in the lot...

[seehowtheyrun]

12:25 PM on 01/20/2011

Beautiful !

[Montana 123]

11:49 AM on 01/20/2011

Holy cow!

[maxfax]

11:30 AM on 01/20/2011

Some Wall Streeter is salivating over the prospect to use his 6month bonus.

[jozzie]

10:27 AM on 01/20/2011

Another proof, if you need it, that you've got to be crazy to want to live in NYC.

[artist-53]

08:37 AM on 01/20/2011

The woodwork is fabulous. I would love to sit in the library for a winter and do nothing but read.

Call me boring, but I do appreciate the craftsmanship,and the distinct qualities of period artisans.

I also have a huge respect for books as well as the beauty of the shelves that house them. It must have been fun collecting all those books.

I don't suppose the owner would want to do a house swap. 2 story fl. home for theirs? :-)

Where I live, it seems they tear down anything that is older than 15 years old.Keep it new and tacky and tourists will come principle. Which in my view is a shame.

[monique rn]

12:31 PM on 01/20/2011

Artist, I agree. Really lovely. And after you move in you can go on a treasure hunt of first editions and signed copies. I don't understand why they would be left behind.

[artist-53]

03:28 PM on 01/20/2011

Maybe they collected books the way some people in the Victorian era displayed them, as a statement proclaiming their financial status / class? To be collected and displayed, not read?? :-)

It would be a wonderful treasure hunt , both in an historical and literary sense.

[JhNyc]

04:32 AM on 01/21/2011

Antique books are sometimes purchased in quantity by decorators, strictly for the way they look -- not unlike ancestral paintings of other people's ancestors. Complete pretense. No clue if it was the case here, but maybe, since they are included in the sale.

[lbcyclist]

04:18 PM on 01/19/2011

I think it is truly revolting. The decor is disgustingly old-fashioned, the "connoisseur's tasting room" is a pretentious f@rt, and selling the books with the house as if they are wallpaper is, to me, unthinkable.

[time2impeach]

12:17 PM on 01/19/2011

For me, the real question is: Do New Yorkers want books or do they not want them?

[wackette]

07:43 AM on 01/19/2011

The only great part of the house is the library... is that a window a/c unit in the bedroom?

[Grada3784]

10:12 AM on 01/19/2011

That's exactly what it was.

[time2impeach]

12:16 PM on 01/19/2011

It is, and there's no way you could get permission to install a thru-wall sleeve in this building. So, window units are the only option to supplement what is part of the building-wide system.

[Skiwee]

10:57 PM on 01/18/2011

Sold!

[Theatrixnyc]

06:14 PM on 01/17/2011

Hmmm, I like it. A mini-version of the Morgan Library.

[Nikki Field]

02:15 PM on 01/17/2011

Thank you all for the interest in the Hotel des Artistes. I am one of the Sotheby's brokers representing the property. The owners do indeed have an over 2500 volume "real" book collection; from their children's favorites to many volumes refelecting their own interests and passions as well as an impressive number of complete works by significant authors. They have a great appreciation for their lifetime "well read" collection and plan to bring all or most of it with them if their new space permits. If not, the new owner may have the option to purchase much of the valuable collection. Also please know that all the woodwork is either original to the 1916 building or antique french oak replacements. Interestingly, the owner's designed their "well used" kitchen to complement the architectually stunning green bronze cupola on the church viewed just outside the large kitchen window. This extraodinery home is the real thing.

[jefke]

02:18 PM on 01/20/2011

I thought Coke was the real thing.

[nybirdcalls]

08:31 AM on 01/16/2011

Why would one want to leave books behind?
I move, my books move with me.

[gypsynomad]

08:35 AM on 01/16/2011

Good Morning...NBCalls..... ;)

[nybirdcalls]

10:28 AM on 01/17/2011

Hi gypsy. Have missed you, just got back over the weekend. Happy New Year to you!