{"product_id":"gilded-finale-isbn-9781493095162","title":"Gilded Finale","description":"\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNever-before-published photos take you inside the nineteenth century’s most expensive party, which attracted an exclusive guest list of costumed society attendees and ultimately marked the end of Gilded Age excess.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor almost a century, the Bradley Martin Ball of 1897 held pride of place as the most expensive private party ever given in America (more than fourteen million dollars in today’s equivalent, not counting attendees’ costumes and jewelry). The guest list, representing the epitome of social and economic classes, was stellar and despite a major snowstorm that evening almost 900 of the invited 1,200 guests attended. Old family jewels were taken out of storage and worn conspicuously. Thousands of roses and out-of-season orchids were shipped from Florida to the Waldorf-Astoria’s ballroom, which was transformed into a replica of Versailles. Liveried servants announced each guest by name and the historical figures they were dressed as. The opening \u003ci\u003edanse d’honneur\u003c\/i\u003e was arranged by “the” Mrs. Astor. Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt oversaw heavy security outside the hotel while his wife was a guest inside.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe event, held in the final years of the Gilded Age during an economic recession in New York City, was envisioned to give immediate patronage to out-of-work dressmakers, tailors, milliners, shoemakers, costumers, wigmakers, and seamstresses. The ball was, for its supporters, a sincere attempt to boost the sagging economy. But all the glamor and mystique of the evening were appropriated by the media to paint the Martins in the harshest light and the ball as an obscene display of wealth. The City of New York promptly doubled the residential property tax of the Martins, Astors, and other attendees. Public opinion about wealthy society patrons was regrettably transformed from admiration and appreciation to criticism and condemnation.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUltimately, the Bradley Martin Ball is best remembered as the end of Gilded Age excess. The great majority of photos of the attendees have never been published and reveal a fascinating cross-section of nineteenth-century society, including actors, artists, and authors who were not normally on the “A” list. There would be one more attempt to surpass the ball but it failed miserably. The Gilded Age was by then only a memory and the Bradley Martin Ball its pinnacle.","brand":"Lyons Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48683056988389,"sku":"NP9781493095162","price":34.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/O_0c293f4e-ea8f-4f8b-964d-162072e675a9.jpg?v=1775169101","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/gilded-finale-isbn-9781493095162","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}