The Gilded Gentleman

Historian Dr. Elizabeth L. Block , author of "Beyond Vanity: The History and Power of Hairdressing," returns to the show for an insightful and fascinating look at hair and hairdressing in the Gilded Age.   Hairstyles and the methods of hairdressing evolved dramatically over the 19th century from an "at home" activity shared by sisters and female relatives to salons opening often with female entrep...

To ring in the new year, join Carl and listener favorite guest Don Spiro for an encore presentation of the history of champagne.  Don, vintage beverage specialist and former professional bartender, looks at just how champagne first came to be, how its style evolved over time and just what contemporary champagne makers are offering today.  So pop a cork and enjoy the fizz as Don and Carl go back in...

Grace Church , a soaring neo-Gothic church built in 1846, still sits today at the famous bend in Broadway at 11th Street.  Throughout the 19th century it was the most fashionable church for old New York society, even when the elite moved up the island of Manhattan.    Grace represented the early world of the Astors, the Schermerhorns and other families who had their beginnings in the neighborhood ...

The world of Vienna at the end of the 19th century was a world of change.  New design, new fashion and new philosophy  -- and new music.   But amidst sweeping change, the Viennese drank champagne and were swept along by the works of the great Johann Strauss II , known appropriately as the "Waltz King". One of his greatest works is the operetta megahit  Die Fledermaus  which, beneath its frivolity...

Join Carl and Dr. MIchael Carter, Senior Properties Historian for English Heritage, to celebrate an English country Christmas.   Carl and Michael center their discussion on Wrest Park, home to the De Grey family for over 600 years.  In the 19th century, the original house was torn down and a French inspired mansion rose in its place, still surrounded by the 18th century gardens which guests can st...

This new Broadway season includes the revival of the classic musical GYPSY: A Musical Fable  by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents. This new revival stars Audra McDonald as the irrepressible Mama Rose,in this iconic show based on the memoirs of burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee .    To celebrate the revival and to take us back into the world of vaudeville and burlesque, listen favor...

David Belasco -- playwright, producer, impresario, theatre manager, and theatrical visionary -- was one of the most important names in the world of the Gilded Age stage. Beginning his life and career in San Francisco following the Gold Rush years, Belasco moved to New York to revolutionize how theatre was seen and produced in the last years of the 19th and into the 20th century.  In addition to wr...

Along with their acclaimed novels and short works of fiction, Henry James and Edith Wharton both extensively explored the genre of the ghost story, enormously popular throughout much of the 19th century. In nearly all of their ghostly tales, James and Wharton explore the inner depths of the human psyche and the all-too-human emotions of fear, abandonment, passion and loss.  Carl is joined by retur...

Stories of the Gilded Age so often focus on the world of adults and more often on the highest layer of elite society.  Of course, there was much, much more to the story of America's social and economic growth  at the end of the 19tth century that involved those of the middle and lower classes - and also included children.  Listener favorite Esther Crain, author and creator of Ephemeral New York ,...

Elizabeth Wharton Drexel was a quintessential ingenue of the Gilded Age. Eventual heiress to the Drexel banking fortune, elegant and sophisticated, Elizabeth married but was widowed unexpectedly. But she married again, this time to Harry Symes Lehr, a bon vivant and social playboy.   But she soon learned her life was to become a reality far from what she ever expected.  This episode tells the stor...

Just the name "Tiffany" evokes the glamour and elegance of the Gilded Age. But there is much more to the story than just the eponymous retailer who continues to sell fine jewelry and decorative objects today.  Carl is joined by Lindsy R. Parrott , the Executive Director of The Neustadt Collection , one of the country's most important collections of Tiffany glass and archival materials, to discuss...

It’s nearly the end of the summer but there's still time for one more visit to the seashore and, in particular, one place that was so very popular in the Gilded Age -- Coney Island.   Join Carl and guest Esther Crain for an encore presentation of “In the Good Old Summertime: Where the Gilded Age Played.”  And coming soon -- Esther will be joining Carl this fall for a brand new episode – “Children...

In this special episode created in partnership with English Heritage , Carl is joined by curator Christopher Warleigh-Lack for a look at the once royal residence of Osborne House on England's Isle of Wight.    Christopher guides us through inside the grand estate where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert spent summer and Christmas holidays.  Following Albert's sudden death, Victoria continued to come...

Carl is joined by Cornelia Brooke Gilder, noted Berkshire historian, author and Lenox native, for this special show which delves into the artistic and literary life of the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts as well as its role as a Gilded Age summer enclave.  From the early 19th century the lush, green landscape of the Berkshire mountain inspired writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and artists su...

Historian and scholar Connor Williams joins Carl for this look at the Gilded Age retreat of the Adirondacks.  A number of Gilded Age families came to this leafy paradise despite the dusty two day journey in an attempt to escape the city and recharge in nature.   The Gilded Age saw the rise of the "great camps" -- extensive properties owned by families such as the Vanderbilts and the Morgans. While...

Carl is joined by curator Frank Futral for a special on-location visit to the Vanderbilt Mansion in New York's Hudson Valley.   Built for Frederick Vanderbil tand his wife Lousie by legendary firm  McKim, Mead and White , the mansion is a work of art itself combining classic Beaux Arts style with unique and rare architectural elements brought from Europe.   Frank takes Carl on a room by room tour...

To celebrate a month of diversity, courage and pride, we are rereleasing this episode which continues to be one of the most talked about shows on The Gilded Gentleman so far.  The story of Murray Hall -- a Gilded Age bail bondsman, Tammany Hall representative and loving and devoted father -- is one that few know. It's a story that leaves you inspired and one that is impossible to forget and one th...

Carl is joined by veteran journalist, writer and tour guide Michael Morgenthal for a journey through the pages of 19th century newspapers.   Michael traces the history of several of our most well known newspapers today including the New York Post and the New York Times as well as how Gilded Age journalists and readers had - in their way - the (nearly) 24 hour news cycle that we are so accustomed t...

Carl visits the Museum of the City of New York where he's joined by Collections Manager for Costumes and Textiles, Elizabeth Randolph, to discuss the famous dress Alice Vanderbilt wore to her sister-in-law Alva'a ball, while inspecting the original dress itself.  On the evening of March 26, 1883, Alva Vanderbilt threw her famous costume ball to officially open her new "Petit Chateau" on Fifth Aven...

Renowned historian and author Richard Jones delves deeply into one of the world's most fascinating unsolved series of murders.  True crime fans may think they know the major elements of the grisly set of Jack the Ripper murders and the resulting investigation, but this show uncovers some angles and aspects that shine a wider light into these horrors of late Victorian London .  Carl and guest Richa...

Royal historian and author Tracy Borman returns to The Gilded Gentleman following her appearance on Crown & Scepter: The Coronation Show last year.   Tracy is a noted historian and a frequent guest and commentator on the BBC as well as many documentaries and programs internationally.   Tracy's most recent book "Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I: The Mother and Daughter That Changed History" serves as th...

Just over a year ago, as Broadway opened a revival of the classic Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd , The Gilded Gentleman was honored to sit down with one of the stars of the original 1979 Broadway production. Sarah Rice , who went on to a distinguished career in opera as well as leading roles in musical theatre, originated the role of Johanna playing opposite such Broadway legends as Angela...

Join Carl and  British country house historian Curt DiCamillo for a look into the world of the Edwardian country house.  Audiences became fascinated in these houses through the blockbuster Julian Fellowes series "Downton Abbey" and his earlier film "Gosford Park",  with their colliding worlds of upstairs and downstairs and interlocking social dramas.  Curt discusses this fascinating period in Brit...

Fashion historian and author, Dr. Elizabeth L. Block returns to The Gilded Gentleman for a truly "undercover" investigation.  This time, Liz joins Carl to discuss the world of corsets, bustles, straps and stockings, all of which comprised the undergarment engineering that helped make the glorious gowns by Worth and other designers appear as glamorous as they did.  In addition to the architecture a...

 The small two acre square known since the 1830's as Gramercy Park has also been called "America's Bloomsbury". Taking the reference from London's famous neighborhood once home to many great writers and artists, New York's Gramercy Park has similarly included noted cultural icons from architect  Stanford White to actor  Edwin Booth to the great politician Samual  Tilden .   Wandering along the par...