By Tyler R. Morrissey
From the red carpets in Hollywood to star studded events in cities like Paris and Rome, the life of a paparazzi photographer can be glamorous and exciting. In Deep River, Conn. is a magnificent, French-inspired estate built in 1948 by one of the first of the celebrity paparazzi, Jerome Zerbe. The famous photographer and Town & Country society editor was known for traveling the world shooting stars and international society types paparazzi style, including Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, Howard Hughes and more, many of which stayed at the Connecticut house.
He’s also known as the inventor of the vodka martini, and remembered as one of high society’s first men to lead an openly gay lifestyle. Zerbe also worked for the famed Rainbow Room in New York City where he set up fashionable dinner parties and photographed the guests. His nightlife work was eventually interrupted by World War II when Zerbe enlisted in the U.S. Navy. During his tour of duty in the Pacific, Zerbe brought along his camera and he became the official photographer for Admiral Chester Nimitz.
After the war Zerbe traveled the world to shoot “café society” as well as estates and country homes in France. Zerbe’s work, a huge body of photos, memos, invitations and more, was purchased by Frederick R. Koch of the Koch family and donated to the Beinecke Rare Book Library at Yale University.
Zerbe was a Francofile and built this property with the French countryside in mind: “Little by little, I turned my untutored patch of Connecticut woodland into a small French park, with allées, and pleasing weatherworn statues to close the vistas.” The current owners kept in this direction with a significant renovation they completed after purchasing the home in 1998. This renovation added a full second story and a deep water dock. Also there were improvements made to the 2,200-square foot, two-bedroom, and one-bathroom carriage house located on the property.
The home has been remodeled with a French Chateau influence featuring a Versailles style throughout. Some of the notable aspects include: Versailles parquet flooring in the living and dining rooms, Versailles patterned pillowed limestone in the kitchen, an orangerie, black iron railings forming a basket as you might see outside windows in France, French doors and windows throughout, antique brasserie fixtures in the master bedroom, a cobblestone parking area, allee of pear trees leading out to a boar sculpture, balustrades around the porches, limestone terrace with Sphinx sculptures, gardens and much more. Some of the lovely antiques, art and statuary that remain on the property were gifts to Zerbe from the Astors and the Vanderbilts.
The sprawling estate resides at the end of a private cul-de-sac with 260-feet of elevated frontage along the scenic Connecticut River and is located in an exclusive enclave of Deep River near the charming village of Essex.
The property represents the highest priced listing ever in this town, and according to Tim Boyd, the agent representing this home; the estate has served as inspiration for similar properties. As many as eleven replicas of the home have been built around the world by Zerbe’s friends and admirers.
For further listing details, please visit our website here. You can also contact Tim Boyd at 860.304.5524, or by email at tboyd@williampitt.com.
