What would Mrs. Astor do? : the essential guide to the manners and mores of the Gilded Age /

Tichi, Cecelia, 1942-

What would Mrs. Astor do? : the essential guide to the manners and mores of the Gilded Age / Cecelia Tichi. - New York, NY : Washington Mews Books, an imprint of New York University Press, (c)2018. - 1 online resource.

Includes bibliographies and index.

The splendors of the Gilded Age -- Mrs. Astor speaks -- Millionaires' Row -- Fifth Avenue mansions -- Decoration of houses -- Servants and their duties -- Convenience or contraption -- Electric light -- Elevators -- Telephone -- Competitive consumption -- Ladies mile -- Gentlemen's emporia -- Tea rooms and luncheons -- Best dressed -- The hat makes the man -- The walking stick : the essential gentleman's accessory -- Plume trade, or, decorating with nature -- Color harmony -- For all occasions -- Well behaved -- Ward McAllister, autocrat of conduct -- How to navigate a public encounter -- Correspondence -- Cards, visits, and calls -- Parties and balls -- Gilded Age "Cinderella" -- Seen, but not heard -- What they read -- Dinner is served -- The proper place setting -- New York's elegant restaurants -- Delmonico's -- Sherry's -- The lobster : from prison fare to haute cuisine -- A black tie dinner on horseback -- The grain and the grape -- Mrs. Astor's ball -- The social set -- To see and be seen -- Theater and opera -- Stage door Johnny -- Central Park -- Club life -- Newport -- Slumming it : entertainment on the Lower East Side -- The sporting life -- Boating -- Polo -- Bathing -- Tennis -- Archery and croquet -- Golf -- Cycling -- Getting there -- Horse power -- Motor cars -- Private rail cars -- Steamships -- Yachts -- Money talks -- Gospels of wealth -- Wall Street -- Top drawer schools -- Dollar princesses -- Newspaper wars -- The whiff of scandal -- Divorce and Mrs. Astor -- Inexcusable -- Deadly triangle : Nesbit, White, Thaw -- On the scene : boldface names in New York -- Diamond Jim Brady (1856-1917) -- Nellie Bly (1864-1922) -- Jack London (1876-1916) -- Lillian Russell (1860-1922) -- Buffalo Bill (1846-1917) -- Front-page girls -- Muckrakers -- Funerals.

"Cecilia Tichi invites us on a beautifully illustrated tour of the Gilded Age, transporting readers to New York at its most fashionable. A colorful tapestry of fun facts and true tales, What Would Mrs. Astor Do? presents a vivid portrait of this remarkable time of social metamorphosis, starring Caroline Astor, the ultimate gatekeeper"--



9781479827367


Astor, Caroline Schermerhorn, 1830-1908.


Rich people--New York (State)--New York--Biography.
Wealth--Social aspects--History--New York (State)--New York--19th century.
Etiquette--History.--New York (State)--New York


Electronic Books.

F128 / .W438 2018