The Gilded Gentleman

XXV. The Merchant's House Museum is one of New York City's most important and cherished historic house museums.  Built in 1832 and still intact to this day, the house was home to patriarch Seabury Tredwell and his family for just about 100 years before opening to the public as a museum in 1933.   Nowhere can one see the antebellum world of Old New York quite as clearly one can see here with much o...

Bertha Palmer was the wife of Potter Palmer whose famous Chicago hotel, the Palmer House, was one of the grandest of the Gilded Age.  Bertha has been compared to the queen of New York society, Mrs. Astor. However, as my guest, historian Tom Miller shares in this week's show, that comparison minimizes who Bertha Palmer truly was.   While both women ran and ruled society in their respective cities,...

Beatrix Farrand , Edith Wharton's niece, was born during New York's Gilded Age and went on to become the first successful female landscape designer of the early 20th century.  Her path was not easy, since any career for a woman held challenges at the time and landscape design was at that point a man's domain.  But her perseverance, determination, business acumen and exceptional talent led her to c...

XXII.Julian Fellowes' new series on HBO " The Gilded Age " fascinated viewers with its complex plotlines and endlessly entertaining characters, some of whom were based on actual historical figures.  The show depicted the enormity of the age in so many of its social, political and cultural layers.   It also raised so many new insights and new viewpoints on this (not always glittering) age.  Tom Mey...

XXI. While the sumptuous dinner parties and grand country house weekends of years past may have vanished, the secrets of elegant entertaining and hospitality live on.   Nancy Lancaster and Nancy Astor , two American born women, entered upper class British society in the early 20th century and brought the traditions of great Southern American hospitality to some of England's greatest estates includ...

XX. Absinthe was one of the most popular and most mysterious drinks that fueled Paris and London's cafe society and artistic circles in the Belle Epoque and late Victorian and Edwardian worlds.  Artists and writers from Henri Toulouse-Lautrec to Marcel Proust and Oscar Wilde were proponents along with members of the upper classes as well as everyday workers. Myths sprang up that the elixir created...

XIX. Edith Wharton 's novels were full of drama of course but so were moments from her own actual life.  Jennie Jerome -- Lady Randolph Churchill,  the mother of Winston Churchill -- also had a life of high drama, public scrutiny and moments of happiness as well as tragedy.   Join Carl and his guest, playwright and actor, Anne Undeland as they discuss how she dramatized the characters of Edith Wha...

XVIII. The enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa has captured the attention of the public for centuries. But even today, few people actually realize that on a warm summer morning in Paris in 1911, the painting was actually stolen.   Press hysteria surrounding this unusual theft made the masterwork of DaVinci's quite simply the most famous painting in the world.  But much is still murky in the story of...

XVII. Gazing up at the dramatic gilded statue of General William Tecumseh Sherman being led into battle by the allegorical figure of Victory in New York's Grand Army Plaza or staring at the mythological figures that are painted on the Rotunda ceiling of Boston's Museum of Fine Arts , one can't help but be struck by the beauty, majesty and power of elements in these works. Sculptor Augustus Saint-G...

XVI. Independent scholar and author Eve Kahn , today's guest on The Gilded Gentleman , calls Mary Rogers Williams  "the Mary Cassatt you never heard of".  While Cassatt and Rogers lives differed and they likely never met, the rediscovered life of Gilded Age painter Mary Rogers Williams is a fascinating tale of late 19th century artistic circles. Originally from the farmlands of Connecticut, Willia...

XVI. Outrageous stories of Gilded Age dinners served on plates of gold, live swans swimming in a lake in the center of your table and yes, even dinners served on horseback are all true.  In this show, find out what some of the actual dishes served really were made and served along with stories of the restaurateurs, chefs and hostesses that created these lavish events.  We'll take a look at some ac...

XV. For fans of the great period television and film dramas Downton Abbey  and Brideshead Revisited ( among many others), one of the great pleasures is seeing the grand, sumptuous, imposing interiors of some of England's greatest homes used as stage sets in the drama.   This week's episode features Nick Dawes , master specialist and appraiser seen regularly on "Antiques Roadshow" who shares some i...

XIV. As writer Edith Wharton began to spend more and more time in Paris during the early years of the 1900s, she made the acquaintance of the American journalist Morton Fullerton.  Their meeting grew into a passionate and complicated love affair combining joy and emotional pain.  Still, the affair led Wharton to some of her greatest creative moments and it wasn't until the 1980's when a long thoug...

XIII. To viewers of the first season of HBO's The Gilded Age , New York City itself became one of the show's most fascinating characters. In this episode, join master tour guides Emma Guest-Consales, PhD. and Jeff Dobbins for a unique look at the architecture, neighborhoods and landmarks that we see portrayed in the show.   Tune in for a look deep inside the Gilded Age metropolis with a perspectiv...

XII. The fight for social dominance and acceptance was a battle fought by many Gilded Age wives along with their financial warrior husbands.  One of the most famous was Alva Vanderbilt who rose to finally make it through the golden portals into Mrs. Astor's social circle.   Her iron determination resulted in her daughter Consuelo's seemingly fairytale marriage to a British aristocrat in 1895 - but...

XI. The New York restaurant Delmonico's became famous for bringing elegant, luxurious dining and sophisticated French dishes to American tables.  The culinary genius behind these dramatic dishes was Delmonico's celebrity chef -- the Frenchman Charles Ranhofer -- who guided their kitchens from 1862 to 1896. Ranhofer left us with his extraordinary cookbook published at the height of the Gilded Age i...

X. Join The Gilded Gentleman for a look below stairs!  Carl is joined by Esther Crain , author of The Gilded Age in New York 1870-1914 , to look at the various roles and responsibilities of domestic staff in grand mansions and even in more modest homes.   Carl and Esther explore what servants did and most importantly who they really were.  This show pays tribute to the vast numbers of "invisible m...

IV.  The famous Mrs. Astor was credited with building and shaping the Gilded Age elite. But at her side and combining forces with her to create "the 400" was the controversial Ward McAllister .   McAllister was originally a Southerner who himself developed a complex persona as the most socially knowledgeable and refined gentleman of the New York elite.  Join me for a look into who Ward McAllister...

VIII.  During the 1870's and 1880's New York's famous Ladies' Mile shopping district took hold along Broadway, and grand palaces of retail grew, filled with splendors and luxuries to tempt the glittering clientele that swept through their doors. Join me and my guest, art historian and master guide, Emma Guest-Consales , PhD for a unique and fascinating Gilded Age shopping trip. Visit The Gilded Ge...

VII.  Many people throughout the 19th century were fascinated with the idea of connecting with the beyond. Even the famous 'Commodore' Cornelius Vanderbilt was intrigued with the notion. Historian Anthony Bellov joins Carl this week on The Gilded Gentleman for a look into some rather strange phenomena and the story of Vanderbilt and one of the most famous spiritualists of the period -- the captiva...

VI.  New York Times bestselling author Carol Wallace discusses her just published novel of the Gilded Age called Our Kind of People as well as shares insights on her book To Marry an English Lord which served as an inspiration for Downton Abbey .  Visit The Gilded Gentleman website for more information on Carl Raymond and the podcast. Rate and review The Gilded Gentleman podcast on Apple Podcasts...

V.   Grace Kelly captured the attention of the world when she married Prince Rainier III and became Princess of Monaco in 1956.  Few people realize that she wasn't the first American born princess to hold the title.   Travel back to the Belle Epoque and discover the story of Alice Heine , a New Orleans beauty who captured the heart of a prince nearly 100 years before.  Visit The Gilded Gentleman w...

IV. When Tammany Hall campaigner and popular Greenwich Village resident Murray Hall died in 1901, his death produced a shock to his friends, colleagues and family and even the general public.  What had Murray hidden for so much of his life - and what tremendous impact did his story have that we feel its importance even today?  This show features an interview with Ken Lustbader from the NYC LGBT Hi...

III. Caroline Astor was the undisputed queen of New York's Gilded Age elite, but what lay behind her imperious image? Historian Tom Miller (from Daytonian in Manhattan ) joins The Gilded Gentleman to talk about some aspects of Mrs. Astor and shares insights into her character we may not have known.  Visit The Gilded Gentleman website for more information on Carl Raymond and the podcast. Rate and r...

II. Join the Gilded Gentleman for a night at the opera! The glittering, glamorous opening night of New York’s new opera house at the height of the Gilded Age had perhaps more drama going on in the audience than on the stage. Visit The Gilded Gentleman website for more information on Carl Raymond and the podcast. Rate and review The Gilded Gentleman podcast on Apple Podcasts Hosted by Simplecast, a...