The Gilded Gentleman

It's ball season! Time to call the carriage for your visit to the Gilded Age's greatest parties.Balls were the most lavish entertainment one could attend in the Gilded Age -- from Mrs. Astor's annual Opera Ball for around 400 guests to smaller affairs for only 200 or 300 hundred. But that ball was far more than an elegant night out. Being invited signaled that you were "in" society. Who you saw there often determined how you navigated society, and whom you could introduce your daughter to indicated possible prospects for the marriage market. Your every move was being watched, cataloged, and judged.  Venture back to the Gilded Age to revisit ball season in this classic Gilded Gentleman episode - find out what you had to wear, how you had to behave, what you had to eat, and even how to interpret the secret language of a lady's fan. Visit the website for more images and information

Viewers were introduced to Emily Roebling on the second season of The Gilded Age. Now learn the entire story of the Roebling family -- father, son, wife -- the engineers responsible for the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. As a special bonus episode to end the year, enjoy this 2023 show from the Bowery Boys podcast archives, looking at the extraordinary individuals responsible for this 19th century marvel. Greg and Tom walk through the history, then chat with Kriss Roebling, Washington and Emily Roebling's great-great grandson, who leads specialty tours of the bridge today. The construction of the Brooklyn Bridge was a technological wonder when it opened in 1883.  The story of its construction, which took over 14 years, is an odyssey of passion, ingenuity and tragedy.   In the end, it was Emily Roebling, wife of Washington Roebling who, in the face of her husband's debilitating illness, dedicated herself to completing the project in the male dominated world of engineers and contractors. Visit the Bowery Boys website for images and other information

Delmonico's began as the dream of two Swiss immigrants in the 1820's and grew to be a social center of the Gilded Age.  Prohibition shuttered Delmonico's along with other great New York restaurants. Italian immigrant Oscar Tucci looked at the closed great brownstone former restaurant at 56 Beaver St and decided to reopen it - first as a speakeasy, then as a full continental restaurant that went on to welcome the famous, not-so-famous, and never famous to dine side by side and celebrate tradition and connection. Max Tucci, Oscar Tucci's grandson, has returned as part of the team to reopen Delmonico's and carry on his family's traditions.  Max's story, which he shares in today's show recorded at Delmonico's, is about great food, but also about something more: It's about honoring tradition and one's ancestors.  Related episode:  The Delmonico Way: A Conversation with Max Tucci

Carl is joined by actor Simon Jones, whose distinguished career has included King George V on "Downton Abbey", stage productions on Broadway and the West End,  and his current role as Bannister on HBO's "The Gilded Age".Simon takes us backstage as he discusses his career from his earliest roles, including in the radio drama version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and film version, his role as Brideshead in the iconic 1981 adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited", and his work with John Cleese and "the Pythons" among others.  Simon also discusses his experiences with his many well-known co-stars and colleagues over the years, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Dame Maggie Smith,  Lauren Bacall, Penelope Keith and Angela Lansbury.  In addition, Simon takes us behind the cameras and shares some fascinating insight on creating the role of Bannister on HBO's "The Gilded Age". 

Ulysses Dietz, noted curator, author, and historian is the great-great grandson of President Ulysses S. Grant.  In this unique and very special show, Ulysses takes us behind the doors of several of Newport's great mansions to understand how architecture, design and decorative arts all combine to tell the story of how this social community came to be and grew during the Gilded Age.  Ulysses shares insight into some of the famous personalities of the Gilded Age, including Alva Vanderbilt, and the architects Richard Morris Hunt and Ogden Codman, Jr., as well offering a look at several mansions, including Chateau-sur-Mer, the Breakers and Marble House.  Ulysses also discusses several objects he included in an exhibition he curated in Newport last year that tell the behind-the-scenes tale of aspects of the Gilded Age and its personalities that we perhaps never knew. Related shows:Architect of the Gilded Age: The Triumphant Tale of Richard Morris Hunt  Social Climber: The Iron Will and Determined Rise of Alva Vanderbilt  

Christmas traditions evolved over the 19th century, combining influences from the days of the Dutch settlers with British practices inspired by the work of Dickens, and along the way, they became something truly American.  In this special holiday episode,  the Gilded Gentleman visits with Ann Haddad, House Historian of New York's 1832 Merchant's House Museum, and takes a look at how the well-to-do Tredwell family and their servants would have celebrated the holiday around mid-century.  We then travel outside the city up to the Hudson Valley for a visit with Maria Reynolds, curator of the Mills Mansion in Staatsburgh, New York,  a grand Stanford White designed country house right out of the Gilded Age. For the Mills family, the holidays of 1899 and 1900 in the country included many outdoor winter activities, including sledding and skating and even, with a great greenhouse on the estate, some special items served on holiday tables.  And through some unique archival material, we'll even get a sense of just who may have come to visit for a holiday dinner. 

Financier Jay Gould was one of the most famous — and infamous — of the Gilded Age robber barons. He was ruthless in his business dealings, tangled with the Vanderbilts for control of the railroads and fought battle after battle on Wall Street. But there was a less contentious side to him as well. Gould sought respite from New York City with his family at his country home, Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, a rolling estate where instead of Wall St. warrior he could be father and husband. Lyndhurst may be familiar to viewers of the HBO series The Gilded Age since a number of its rooms served as filming locations in the show.  The mansion and estate are owned and managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and visitors are welcomed year-round. In this unique episode, The Gilded Gentleman travels to Lyndhurst for a look inside both the Mansion and the life of Jay Gould. Howard Zar, executive director of Lyndhurst, joins Carl for a fascinating interview recorded in the picture gallery in Jay Gould's own mansion. Surrounded by Gould's precious hand-chosen art collection (still hung as Gould intended), Howard and Carl delve into what life was like at the Mansion and what visitors can see today. As a special treat, follow along with Howard and Carl on a tour through the Mansion visiting Gould's reception room, library, private office and dining room. 

The Gilded Age was a period of rapid industrialization and innovation - and that was abundantly true in terms of what was happening in the kitchen.  New marvels like refrigeration, the availability of ingredients like baking powder, and new tools from egg beaters to meat slicers, all made creating over-the-top meals much easier than ever before.  Becky Libourel Diamond, food historian and author of the just published Gilded Age Cookbook, shares some rich insights into a number of these kitchen innovations, along with stories of recipes and dishes that defined grand Gilded Age dining.  In this season of holiday entertaining, Becky even shares some ideas from her book on how to create your own Gilded Age-inspired holiday dinner. 

One of the most fascinating story lines in Season One of the HBO series "The Gilded Age" was that of the young black writer Peggy Scott and her Brooklyn family.  Elements of Peggy's father's character were based on scholar Dr. Carla Peterson's own ancestral family.   In her groundbreaking book, Black Gotham: A Family History of African-Americans in Nineteenth Century New York City, Dr. Peterson sheds light on how this community grew, how diverse the community actually was, and she provides insight into leading figures and their contributions often missing in standard accounts of the period.   In this episode Dr. Peterson discusses the path of her own research, which ultimately revealed a richer, deeper sense of community and identity than many realized. 

Celebrate the opening of the opera season Gilded Age style!  In this encore episode, Carl delves into how the Metropolitan Opera came to be and what it meant to those bejewelled Gilded Age audiences.  Most of the drama took place in the audience - and not so much on the stage. On the night of October 22, 1883, the brand new Metropolitan Opera House opened its doors.  The new theater was able to accommodate many more prime seats than the old Academy of Music, and as a result, "new money" socialites like Alva Vanderbuilt could finally get their dream - a private box at the opera.  But most of these opera goers weren't there for the music. They were there to jockey for social position, play the game of "see and be seen" and hopefully get one's daughter married off to an appropriate fortune.  This episode goes in to the drama -- on stage and off -- that accompanied that first opera season at the net Met - so put on your favorite gown from Paris, don your top hat and cane and join The Gilded Gentleman for a Gilded Age night at the opera. Visit the website for images related to this subject. And check out the whole list of episodes from the Gilded Gentleman here.