Bradley-Martin Ball
Encyclopedia
The Bradley-Martin Ball was a lavish costume ball
at the Waldorf Hotel
in New York City
on the night of February 10, 1897. Mrs. Cornelia Bradley-Martin organized the ball, with the intention of making it "the greatest party in the history of the city". Eight hundred socialite
s spent about $400,000 imitating kings and queens. Mrs. Bradley-Martin's stated intention was to create an economic stimulus for New York City, which was at the end of the Long Depression
which began in 1873 and included the Panic of 1893
. Across the country, preachers and editorial writers argued over the propriety of a party that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the end, the ball was a social triumph but created negative publicity.
as Henry IV of France
and his wife as Marie Antoinette
, Mr. James L. Breese as the Duc de Guise, Mrs. Charles Childs as Lady Teazle, Mr. Hermann Oelrichs
as a Dutch Bergomaster, Mrs. Charles Post as Mme. de Maintenon, Stanford White
in a Court costume of black velvet and white satin, the artist Adolfo Müller-Ury
as a Spanish toreador, Miss Pierpont Morgan as Queen Louise of Prussia, and Mrs. Hamilton Fish Webster as Maria Theresa.
, and instead support local businesses. This overlapped with the idea that it was much better for the laboring people if the wealthy spent their money locally instead of taking it to Europe
.
The Reverend Dr. Rainsford believed in the rich giving money to be distributed as charity, whereas others, including the members of the Musical Mutual Protective Union (MMPU), disagreed. They believed in the wealthy spending their wealth in enjoying themselves, and thus giving hundreds and thousands of working people an opportunity to earn money and maintain their self-respect instead of having to accept charity. The MMPU became indignant when they heard that the Marine Band was to be at the ball instead of musicians from their union. The members of the Marine Band did not urgently need the money that they were going to receive from the ball.
s by the old families of New York were taken from safety vaults. Laces that had been locked away in family chests or in safe deposit vaults for long years had been retrieved.
Twelve hundred invitations were issued for the event, and more than half of those invited were in attendance. Some who did come also left early, seeming to have made an appearance out of curiosity.
Police officers stood guard at the entrance to the Waldorf. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley-Martin arrived first at 10:15 pm. At half past 10 a group of carriages arrived and before 11 the stream of guests had become continuous. The guests were ushered in to the Waldorf, whereupon they ascended to the corridors on the second floor where 15 dressing rooms were available for the use and comfort of the guests. Some guests, preferring not to expose themselves on the street while wearing tempting fortunes in jewels and laces, changed into their costumes at this point. This wasn’t done through any feeling of fear, but merely as a wise precaution. Wigmakers and make-up artists were available in these rooms. When leaving the dressing rooms the guests headed to the smaller ballroom. It was here where Mrs. Bradley-Martin received her guests. A lackey announced the guests’ names and the characters they impersonated to her. This stream of guests poured by her for nearly 90 minutes and it was after midnight before she was able to enter the main ballroom to take her place in the opening quadrille d’honneur.
, a Japanese nobleman, an Egyptian princess and Pocahontas
. A list was compiled and published in the New York Times three days prior to the event, listing guests and the historical characters they were going to impersonate and what costumes they were going to wear. Mrs. Bradley-Martin "personated Mary Stuart, and her gold embroidered gown was trimmed with pearls and precious stones worth more than $60,000.http://www.oldandsold.com/articles08/waldorf-astoria-10.shtml Bradley (Martin), as Louis XV, wore a Court suit of brocade". "In many cases the diamond buttons worn by the men represented thousands of dollars, and the value of the historic gems worn by the ladies baffles description." Otto Cushing, a young artist from Boston, created quite a stir when he appeared as an Italian falconer's costume which consisted of full body tights, a short jacket and a cap with a stuffed falcon on one arm. "The costume left little to the imagination as far as the figure was concerned, and, although historically correct in every detail, was so decidedly pronounced that he made a sensation wherever he moved."
were hurled en masse against the draperies and let remain where they landed. The side of the room, where the Hungarian band was placed, was concealed by long-stemmed roses and garlands were dropped from the center to each side and over the mirrors. The Hungarian Band, under the leadership of Carl Berlinger, played 12 concert selections, chosen by Mrs. Bradley-Martin, throughout the evening.
Upon entering the grand ballroom the guests faced a wall in which 15 mirrors were imbedded. The far side of the room, the musicians’ balcony, was concealed by pink roses, with garlands also hanging from above. There were over 5,000 roses and 3,000 orchids in these various groupings.
The café and the court were also decorated, with a desired homelike effect. 125 tables were set up, each to accommodate six guests, with a centerpiece of Beauty roses.
. When they formed for the minuet the orchestra struck into Mozart’s dance music out of "Don Giovanni
". The dance of the debutantes was next, and it was livelier than the others and the most difficult of all. The members of this set, organized by Mrs. Frederic Bronson, danced a Hungarian Court quadrille, the Kormagyar, in music arranged by Allen Dodworth. This quadrille ended the exhibition dances. General dancing followed the three quadrilles until supper time.
commenced at three, and spectators found amusement as the gentlemen danced it with swords at their sides. Swords got tangled in gowns and laces, and courtiers tripped over them, to the delight of the spectators. Elisha Dyer, Jr. led the cotillion.
Mrs. Bradley-Martin selected small silver figures and a staff as “favors” for each of the guests of the ball. The “favors” were awarded by Elisha Dyer, Jr. as leader of the cotillion.
Although historians have repeated oft-told half-truths without conducting primary research, the Bradley-Martin ball is perhaps best-remembered as the end of the excesses of the Gilded Age.
Costume party
A fancy dress party or a costume party , mainly in contemporary Western culture, is a type of party where guests dress up in a costume.-Fancy dress parties in Britain:...
at the Waldorf Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on the night of February 10, 1897. Mrs. Cornelia Bradley-Martin organized the ball, with the intention of making it "the greatest party in the history of the city". Eight hundred socialite
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
s spent about $400,000 imitating kings and queens. Mrs. Bradley-Martin's stated intention was to create an economic stimulus for New York City, which was at the end of the Long Depression
Long Depression
The Long Depression was a worldwide economic crisis, felt most heavily in Europe and the United States, which had been experiencing strong economic growth fueled by the Second Industrial Revolution in the decade following the American Civil War. At the time, the episode was labeled the Great...
which began in 1873 and included the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. Across the country, preachers and editorial writers argued over the propriety of a party that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the end, the ball was a social triumph but created negative publicity.
Before the Ball
In the three weeks leading up to it, New York society made the ball its one topic of discussion. The Commercial Advertiser exclaimed: "There is a great stir today in fashionable circles and even in public circles. The cause of it all is the Bradley Martin ball, beside which the arbitration treaty, the Cuban question, and the Lexow investigation seem to have become secondary matters of public interest." The Bradley-Martins drew fire from all directions, as newspapers criticized its extravagance and during their sermons, clergymen urged their congregations not to attend. One clergyman denounced the ball by saying “you rich people put next to nothing in the collection plate, and yet you’ll spend thousands of dollars on Mrs. Bradley-Martin’s ball”. The New York World said, in the group of guests were eighty-six persons whose total wealth was "more than most men can grasp." There were a dozen men who had $10,000,000 or more, and twice as many with $5,000,000. Of the forty men present, said the World, not half a dozen were not millionaires. The guests included: John Jacob AstorJohn Jacob Astor IV
John Jacob Astor IV was an American businessman, real estate builder, investor, inventor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish-American War and a member of the prominent Astor family...
as Henry IV of France
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
and his wife as Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, Mr. James L. Breese as the Duc de Guise, Mrs. Charles Childs as Lady Teazle, Mr. Hermann Oelrichs
Hermann Oelrichs
Hermann Oelrichs , was an American businessman, multimillionaire, and owner of Norddeutsche Lloyd shipping. The grandson of a German immigrant, Oelrichs was married in 1890 to Teresa Alice Fair, daughter of United States Senator and Comstock Lode millionaire James Graham Fair...
as a Dutch Bergomaster, Mrs. Charles Post as Mme. de Maintenon, Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
in a Court costume of black velvet and white satin, the artist Adolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Müller-Ury
Adolfo Muller-Ury was a Swiss-born American portrait painter and impressionistic painter of roses and still life.-Heritage and early life in Switzerland:...
as a Spanish toreador, Miss Pierpont Morgan as Queen Louise of Prussia, and Mrs. Hamilton Fish Webster as Maria Theresa.
Concept
Mrs. Bradley-Martin’s idea was to give a costume ball at so short notice that her guests would not have time to get their dresses from ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and instead support local businesses. This overlapped with the idea that it was much better for the laboring people if the wealthy spent their money locally instead of taking it to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The Reverend Dr. Rainsford believed in the rich giving money to be distributed as charity, whereas others, including the members of the Musical Mutual Protective Union (MMPU), disagreed. They believed in the wealthy spending their wealth in enjoying themselves, and thus giving hundreds and thousands of working people an opportunity to earn money and maintain their self-respect instead of having to accept charity. The MMPU became indignant when they heard that the Marine Band was to be at the ball instead of musicians from their union. The members of the Marine Band did not urgently need the money that they were going to receive from the ball.
Preparations
Florist Small was in charge of the decorations for the Bradley-Martin ball. Decorating the Waldorf began on the morning of February 9 by A.W. Merritt, Small’s colleague. In the days leading up to the event, dealers’ stocks and household stores were ransacked to supply the demand for ornaments and historical accuracy. All the jewelers who dealt in antiques were cleaned out of all they had on hand. Jewels held as heirloomHeirloom
In popular usage, an heirloom is something, perhaps an antique or some kind of jewelry, that has been passed down for generations through family members....
s by the old families of New York were taken from safety vaults. Laces that had been locked away in family chests or in safe deposit vaults for long years had been retrieved.
Twelve hundred invitations were issued for the event, and more than half of those invited were in attendance. Some who did come also left early, seeming to have made an appearance out of curiosity.
The Waldorf
"The interior of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was transformed into a replica of Versailles, and rare tapestries, beautiful flowers and countless lights made an effective background for the wonderful gowns and their wearers."Police officers stood guard at the entrance to the Waldorf. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley-Martin arrived first at 10:15 pm. At half past 10 a group of carriages arrived and before 11 the stream of guests had become continuous. The guests were ushered in to the Waldorf, whereupon they ascended to the corridors on the second floor where 15 dressing rooms were available for the use and comfort of the guests. Some guests, preferring not to expose themselves on the street while wearing tempting fortunes in jewels and laces, changed into their costumes at this point. This wasn’t done through any feeling of fear, but merely as a wise precaution. Wigmakers and make-up artists were available in these rooms. When leaving the dressing rooms the guests headed to the smaller ballroom. It was here where Mrs. Bradley-Martin received her guests. A lackey announced the guests’ names and the characters they impersonated to her. This stream of guests poured by her for nearly 90 minutes and it was after midnight before she was able to enter the main ballroom to take her place in the opening quadrille d’honneur.
Costumes
Mrs. Bradley-Martin requested her guests to pick something from the 16th, 17th, or 18th centuries, and some came dressed as George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, a Japanese nobleman, an Egyptian princess and Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
. A list was compiled and published in the New York Times three days prior to the event, listing guests and the historical characters they were going to impersonate and what costumes they were going to wear. Mrs. Bradley-Martin "personated Mary Stuart, and her gold embroidered gown was trimmed with pearls and precious stones worth more than $60,000.http://www.oldandsold.com/articles08/waldorf-astoria-10.shtml Bradley (Martin), as Louis XV, wore a Court suit of brocade". "In many cases the diamond buttons worn by the men represented thousands of dollars, and the value of the historic gems worn by the ladies baffles description." Otto Cushing, a young artist from Boston, created quite a stir when he appeared as an Italian falconer's costume which consisted of full body tights, a short jacket and a cap with a stuffed falcon on one arm. "The costume left little to the imagination as far as the figure was concerned, and, although historically correct in every detail, was so decidedly pronounced that he made a sensation wherever he moved."
Decorations
The smaller ballroom was set throughout with furniture of the Louis XV period, and the walls were hung with tapestry draperies. RosesRose
A rose is a woody perennial of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae. There are over 100 species. They form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Flowers are large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows...
were hurled en masse against the draperies and let remain where they landed. The side of the room, where the Hungarian band was placed, was concealed by long-stemmed roses and garlands were dropped from the center to each side and over the mirrors. The Hungarian Band, under the leadership of Carl Berlinger, played 12 concert selections, chosen by Mrs. Bradley-Martin, throughout the evening.
Upon entering the grand ballroom the guests faced a wall in which 15 mirrors were imbedded. The far side of the room, the musicians’ balcony, was concealed by pink roses, with garlands also hanging from above. There were over 5,000 roses and 3,000 orchids in these various groupings.
The café and the court were also decorated, with a desired homelike effect. 125 tables were set up, each to accommodate six guests, with a centerpiece of Beauty roses.
Music
The danse d’honneur, arranged by Mrs. Astor Sr., opened the ball. The company was led by Mrs. Bradley-Martin, in the role of the Queen, escorted by Mr. John Jacob Astor as the King. For this danse d’honneur, the orchestra played music composed by Beethoven. Following this, the orchestra started playing one of Chopin’s polonaises announcing the approach of Mrs. Edmund L. Baylies and her associates for the minuetMinuet
A minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
. When they formed for the minuet the orchestra struck into Mozart’s dance music out of "Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
". The dance of the debutantes was next, and it was livelier than the others and the most difficult of all. The members of this set, organized by Mrs. Frederic Bronson, danced a Hungarian Court quadrille, the Kormagyar, in music arranged by Allen Dodworth. This quadrille ended the exhibition dances. General dancing followed the three quadrilles until supper time.
Supper
"Between the grand ballroom and the cafe, used on this occasion for the supper room, is a barricade of windows, which were thrown open about 1 o'clock in the morning, and the guests were then at liberty to enjoy the delights of the cuisine. The menu was as follows:- CHAUD
- Consommé de Volaille
- Bouillon de Clovis
- Homard à la Newburg
- Huitres à la Viennoise
- Poularde farcie aux truffes
- Filet de Boeuf Jardinière
- Terrapene désossée à la Baltimore
- Canard canvasback
- FROID
- Galantine à la Victoria
- Terrine de Foie Gras
- Cailles piquées à la Gelce
- Chaud-froid de Pluviers
- Jambon en Danier
- Mayonnaise de Volaille
- ENTREMETS DE DOUCEUR
- Gelée aux Fruits
- Gauffres Chantilly
- Gâteaux Madeleine
- Biscuits glacés, Fatma
- Sorbet fin de Siècle
- Tutti-Frutti
- Café Parfait
- Plombière aux Marrons
- Glaces de Fantaisie
- Petits Fours. Fruits, Bonbons
- Café"http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city/society/articles/nycity_society_balls_dances_article00236.htm
Entertainment and Favors
The cotillionCotillion
In American usage, a cotillion is a formal ball and social gathering, often the venue for presenting débutantes during the débutante season – usually May through December. Cotillions are also used as classes to teach social etiquette, respect and common morals for the younger ages with the...
commenced at three, and spectators found amusement as the gentlemen danced it with swords at their sides. Swords got tangled in gowns and laces, and courtiers tripped over them, to the delight of the spectators. Elisha Dyer, Jr. led the cotillion.
Mrs. Bradley-Martin selected small silver figures and a staff as “favors” for each of the guests of the ball. The “favors” were awarded by Elisha Dyer, Jr. as leader of the cotillion.
Reaction and Controversy
After the ball many ministers preached against its excessive consumption and the authorities promptly raised Bradley-Martin’s taxes (as well as those of their friends and fellow-attendees the Astors) quite out of proportion to those paid by anyone else. The Bradley-Martins returned to England, where they had owned a home for several years, and Scotland, where they leased a 65000 acres (263 km²) estate, Balmacaan.Although historians have repeated oft-told half-truths without conducting primary research, the Bradley-Martin ball is perhaps best-remembered as the end of the excesses of the Gilded Age.
External links
- The Bradley Martin Ball 2-10-1897, TheHistoryBox.com, Source: The New York Times, February 11, 1897 http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city/society/articles/nycity_society_balls_dances_article00236.htm
- Waldorf-Astoria- Famous Dinners and Balls http://www.oldandsold.com/articles08/waldorf-astoria-10.shtml