The Gilded Gentleman

Weddings in the Gilded Age were certainly grand affairs, with sumptuous decorations, elegant surroundings, and gowns that rivaled even the most elaborate ball gowns of the period.

Art and fashion historian Dr. Elizabeth L. Block, author of "Gilded Age Fashion," returns for an in-depth look at all aspects of Gilded Age weddings — the invitations and attendants, the reception, the gown (of course), accessories, and shoes.

Liz takes us into several weddings of the Astors and Vanderbilts to see all the details, from what the bride wore to, most importantly (in the Gilded Age anyway), just who was there.

This show was edited by Kieran Gannon.

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Outdoing one another was a kind of sport for some in the Gilded Age. Who had the grandest home? Who could throw the most outrageous party? And who could wear the most glamorous gown to Mrs. Astor's annual Opera Ball?

But of all the contenders, the winner, hands down, was Alice Vanderbilt and the gown she wore to Alva Vanderbilt's famous costume party in March 1883. Alice showed up in a gown Charles Worth made in Paris, representing "Electric Light."

Electricity was a new phenomenon at the time, and Alice's stunning gold-and-silver gown, accented with tinsel and rich embroidery, literally sparkled as she walked. The press - and the ball guests - had never seen a costume like it. Astonishingly, Alice's gown still exists, miraculously preserved in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

Join The Gilded Gentleman for the story of this gown, and join Carl for a special visit to see it.

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Well, it’s that spooky time of year once again and no one celebrates it better than the Bowery Boys -- Greg Young and Tom Meyers, who have been exploring 'real' ghost stories of Old New York since their podcast began back in 2007. Join Greg and Tom for this spooky journey back to Old New York, a city lit by gaslights where so much went on in the shadows.

Featuring tales of a haunted library in Astor Place, an abandoned mansion in today's Riverside Park, the Bronx college campus where scenes from The Exorcist were filmed, and many more mysterious stories.

Visit the Bowery Boys website to see images of some of the locations depicted in this show, including the Astor Library, the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage and the photographs of the old Furniss Mansion.

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Returning guest historian and author Connor Williams returns to The Gilded Gentleman table for the in-depth and insightful discussion of the Civil War's influence on the following age of extraordinary wealth and structural advancement for the country.

Connor discusses how America's economic power centers reversed themselves following Emancipation and how the manipulation of wealth fueled the growth and wealth of the Gilded Age. In addition, Connor takes a look at some of the literature of the era including writers such as Mark Twain who captured a very new America in their work.

Connor is the author of the just-published "The Confederacy Myth: How an Insurrection of Slaveholders Tried to Destroy the United States".

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Victoria Woodhull was one of the Gilded Age's most challenging, revolutionary, outspoken, and certainly fascinating figures. Often called the first woman to run for president of the United States, Woodhull worked as a spiritualist and newspaper publisher. She and her sister also became the first female Wall Street stockbrokers.

But Woodhull's life, as biographers have struggled to capture, was a mix of paradoxes, contradictions, and challenges that easily defy simple definition.

The Gilded Gentleman takes a look at who Victoria Woodhull was and her lasting influence, as well as how the creative team behind "A Simple Herstory,” an audio fiction podcast series, has raised the bar for narrative history.

Creator, actor and producer Jocylyn Kuritsky and writer and executive producer Jonathan Goldberg discuss the complexities of Woodhull's life and how they chose to present her in a mix of political commentary, theater, audio drama, and podcast.

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The Gilded Age was not limited to New York. Other cities developed differently during the 19th century and responded uniquely to this period of great technological and economic growth. Boston, Massachusetts, the heart of New England, had a very different story than that of New York. Boston had wealth and a sharp social divide; the Boston elite, known as the "Brahmins," were quite different from the Astors and Vanderbilts of New York.

Boston channeled its money into education, social reform, and cultural expansion. Indeed, during the 19th century, the city was a center for abolitionists and the women's suffrage movement. Boston's story includes not only the Brahmins but also waves of immigrants from Europe, a Black population with longstanding roots in New England, and those arriving from the South.

Author and historian R. Tripp Evans (last heard on the Bachelor Pad episode) returns to the Gilded Gentleman Podcast to chat about Boston's fascinating 19th-century cultural life and history.

This show was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon.

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Join The Gilded Gentleman andMichael Morganthal, a veteran journalist and professional tour guide, for this journey through the news process in late 19th-century New York.

Michael shares how the Gilded Age gave rise to a nearly 24-hour news cycle and how news was reported and transmitted.

In addition, he discusses the rise of sensational "yellow journalism" and the intense competition among titans such as Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst as the Gilded Age set the stage for the modern news machine we know today.

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In 1894, Madeline Pollard was the most famous woman in America. Her name was splashed across newspaper headlines, and the public hung on every word she said and waited to see and discuss every article of clothing she wore.

Pollard was suing a well-known Kentucky Congressman, William Breckenridge, for breach of promise. He had promised to marry her upon his wife's death - but chose another woman instead. The courtroom drama unfolded like the best page-turning novel.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, an unassuming young woman from Maine, Jane Tucker, was working furtively under an assumed identity - Agnes Parker - to discover the truth of Madeline's background.

In her recent book, "Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy," author and scholar Elizabeth DeWolfe spins a true tale that centers on how Gilded Age women found power and used it to ensure their agency, strength, and equality. Part courtroom drama, part tale of espionage, part old-fashioned mystery, we now have the full story of Madeline Pollard and Jane Tucker for the very first time.

This podcast was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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An isolated house, creaky staircases, hidden passages and often a dead body in the Library. These are the elements of the classic British murder mystery, particularly those written by the queen of all mysteries, Agatha Christie.

Returning guest and English country house expert Curt DiCamillo joins the Gilded Gentleman table to discuss the origin of the British fascination with murder, some of the very first popular mysteries, and how the golden age of the murder mystery novel in the 1920s and 1930s came to be.

In addition, Curt discusses several English country houses, ranging from those that actually inspired Christie herself to a selection of those used as filming locations for many of the beloved television and film adaptations of her novels. As an added bit of intrigue, Curt shares the details of a real-life murder that took place in the early 19th century in an actual English country house.

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Louis Comfort Tiffany truly gave the Gilded Age a new way to see the world, showing a talent for innovation, extraordinary artistic vision and the empowerment of those with whom he collaborated and hired. He was also known for employing and developing opportunities for women as not only creators but also as skilled managers.

This episode focuses on the work of the women of Tiffany, highlighting two of the most famous: Agnes Northrop, known for her stunning landscape windows, and Clara Driscoll, known for her innovation in lamp design, including the "dragonfly," one of Tiffany's most emblematic designs.

Joining the Gilded Gentleman table are two undisputed experts in the work of Louis C. Tiffany - Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lindsy Parrott, Executive Director of The Neustadt Collection.

Produced and edited by Kieran Gannon.

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As Netflix launches a new adaptation of the beloved Laura Ingalls Wilder series "Little House on the Prairie" this summer, fans new and old cannot help be enchanted by the iconic 1970s television adaptation as well—written, directed, and produced by Michael Landon, who played the role of "Pa".

Joining The Gilded Gentleman table for a look back at the series is original cast memberAlison Arngrim, who played the role of Nellie Oleson, the bratty, selfish daughter of mercantile owners Nels and Harriet Oleson, and became a character we all just loved to hate.

Alison discusses what it was like behind-the-scenes on the show as well as her life now. She currently tours internationally with her one-woman show "Confessions of a Prairie Bitch," playing to sell-out audiences, and is a New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and actor.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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It's easy to conjure images of the high Gilded Age when seeing the great mansions of Newport or elsewhere, but the origins of that grand, flamboyant style began elsewhere.

The idea of a modern French-inspired mansion with Renaissance influences was new when LeGrand Lockwood commissioned his estate in Norwalk, Connecticut, in the mid-1860s. For a time, it was the grandest home in America, exceeding even the opulence and elegance of the White House. Architects and designers who would later put their stamp on the palaces of the Gilded Age, such as the Herter Brothers,Leon Marcotte, and George Platt, all contributed to the creation of Lockwood's own vision.

Passing to the Mathew family upon Lockwood's untimely death, it remained a private home until the 1930s. Today, it has been painstakingly restored as a historic house museum and National Historic Landmark. Astonishingly, the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion contains much of its original furniture and details, so visitors today can really imagine a lifestyle and style that truly launched the Gilded Age.

Join The Gilded Gentleman for this very special on-location episode recorded at the Mansion with a walkthrough by decorative arts historian Ulysses Dietz and a talk with Executive Director Dr. Susan Gilgore.

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

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As grand mansions and country houses were built during America's Gilded Age, an integral part of any estate design was an equally grand and impressive garden. Drawing on European traditions, great Gilded Age gardens ranged from the very formal to a more natural style that incorporated the surrounding countryside.

The most successful garden designer of the late 19th century was the extraordinary Beatrix Farrand. Establishing herself as a designer with exceptional talent and a unique point of view, she competed in a profession largely dominated by men.

Her designs, a few of which can still be seen today, including the gardens at Washington, DC's Dumbarton Oaks, revolutionized American garden design and showed her talent not only as a landscape architect but as a true artist.

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Historian and academic Nancy Unger joins The Gilded Gentleman to delve into the social politics of divorce in the Gilded Age. She discusses several high-profile cases of the 19th century; even the Astors and Vanderbilts were not immune.

Throughout history, marriage has functioned as a prerequisite for one's role in an accepted society and have also served as business deals, empire-building, and, in some cases, actual love matches. Thus -- they were often very difficult to end.

Throughout much of the 19th century, the idea of dissolving a marriage through divorce was nearly unthinkable for many and certainly caused the wife to be excluded from society as a pariah. Yet, some women fought against the constraints of an unacceptable marriage and the judgments of an unforgiving society.

NOTE: This show has one reference to self-harm.

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon

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Have you ever wondered how many of the famous Gilded Age families kept cats as pets? The answer may surprise you. Cats were a constant presence in the lives of New Yorkers of the era and often served very specific, even professional roles.

Author and “cat historian” Peggy Gavan joins the Gilded Gentleman for a delightful exploration of some of the Gilded Age’s most notable felines — from Nicodemus, the scrappy star of New York’s first cat show in 1895, to Buzzer, America’s most photographed cat, and several others.

She also traces the emergence of crucial institutions dedicated to feline welfare, including the ASPCA, other humane societies, and the development of widespread veterinary care to protect our feline friends.

Peggy Gavan is the creator of the website The Hatching Cat of Gotham and also leads historical cat-themed tours of New York City.

This show was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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Founded in Milan in 1913 by the Italian brothers Mario and Martino Prada, the original business focused on producing and selling luxury leather goods to an aristocratic and royal elite.

With the advent of ready-to-wear and the expansion of fashion retail in the 1970s, Prada entered the global market under the direction of the founder's granddaughter, Miuccia Prada. The now iconic black nylon backpack featuring the silver Prada logo became one of the most sought-after fashion accessories as the brand expanded into women's and men's wear lines.

Fashion historian Natalie Nudell joins the Gilded Gentleman table to discuss the evolution of the brand and how the influences of Fashion Week, retail boutique expansion and the launch of sub-brand Miu Miu all contributed to a modern fashion brand projecting style, power, and authority.

Natalie Nudell is the author of "In American Fashion: Ruth Finley's Fashion Calendar."

This show was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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The late 19th century in America saw the emergence of a new social phenomenon —perhaps not entirely new— a class of young men who chose not to follow a traditional path to marriage. They were the bachelors.

The choice was driven by a number of reasons and the social image of many of these men ranged from "rake" to "artiste" and many variations in between. Literature and the media all attempted to characterize the curious, mysterious, yet often dramatic lives of this new social class.

Author and historian R. Tripp Evans joins the Gilded Gentleman to examine Gilded Age bachelor culture, specifically focusing on several of the most famous, notably Ogden Codman, Jr., and Henry Davis Sleeper, who pursued careers in interior design. In doing so, they not only helped to define a new style for a growing modern America but also defined their own personal legacies.

The legacies they left are now historic house museums open to the public, where today's visitors can see their vision and begin to understand their legacies.

R. Tripp Evans is the author of "The Importance of Being Furnished: Four Bachelors at Home".

This episode was edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.

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On the morning of November 7, 1878, it was discovered that the tomb of wealthy Gilded Age merchant A. T. Stewart had been opened and his body taken.

Although this was shocking, the idea of graves being opened and bodies stolen was not new, and in fact, it became a fairly common occurrence during the 19th century and before. Bodies were snatched for a variety of reasons, including ransom, but more often to serve as specimens for the expanding medical profession to use in research and training.

In this episode, cemetery historian and tour guide James Henry takes us on a journey through the 19th century, sharing tales of the most infamous bodysnatchers, Burke and Hare in 1820s Scotland, the attempted body snatching of President Abraham Lincoln, and the lengths 19th-century folk went to to ensure their loved ones' graves were safe from criminals.

Additionally, we'll examine how the practice of body snatching influenced writers such as Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Charles Dickens.

And James shares the mysterious ending of the curious tale of just what happened to the body of A.T. Stewart.

This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

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Celebrities ranging from Oscar Wilde andSarah Bernhardt to Mark Twain and Walt Whitman all made their way to the top-floor studio in Manhattan’s Union Square—with its tiny elevator—to have their images immortalized by Napoleon Sarony, America's most famous photographer during the Gilded Age.

Sarony’s genius lay in his ability to stage a photograph using poses, costumes, and makeshift sets, all designed to allow the essence of his subject to emerge. As a result, the portraits he created of so many of the era’s leading figures have become their defining, iconic images.

But who was Napoleon Sarony himself? In this episode, Dr. Erin Pauwels, author and scholar, joins The Gilded Gentleman at the table to discuss the subject of her latest book Napoleon Sarony’s Living Pictures and to delve into Sarony’s eccentricities and genius. The show also explores questions of copyright and branding, revealing how, largely through Sarony’s work, the modern media celebrity image factory was born."

This show was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon.

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In honor of Women's History Month -- a classic episode from the Bowery Boys! Within just a few decades – between the 1880s and the 1920s – so much social change occurred within American life, upending so many cultural norms and advancing so many important social issues, that these years became known as the Progressive Era. And at the forefront of many of these changes were women.

In this show, Greg Young visits two important New York City social landmarks of this era —Henry Street Settlement, founded by Lillian Wald on the Lower East Side, and the Cabrini Shrine, where Mother Frances X. Cabrini continued her work with New York’s Italian American population.

Featuring special guests Tanya Bielski-Braham, Beckett Graham,Julie Golia, Cherie Sprosty and Katie Vogel.

This episode originally ran in 2019 in the Bowery Boys Podcast feed as 'Saving the City: Women of the Progresive Era' .

The exhibitionTaking Care of Brooklyn: Stories of Sickness and Health ran from May 31, 2019 to June 05, 2020 at The Brooklyn Historical Society (now The Center for Brooklyn History).

Visit the Bowery Boys website to see images from this show..

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