davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
The Gerry Menus

Each winter during New York's
old regime Mr.. and Mrs. Elbridge
I. Gerry could be counted upon to
give not only a series of wonderful
dinners, but large ball as we'll,
for, like the late Mrs. Astor and
the dowager Mrs. Vanderbilt, Mrs.
Gerry was always in those days
most lavish in her hospitality and
generous in her invitations, which
included the "4OO" of Ward Nc
Allister and it's many additions from
time to time, as we'll as the dis
tinguished foreigners who happened
to be visiting in this country. The
Gerry dinners were veritable Lucul-
Ian feasts, and Mr.. Gerry, who
always arranged the menus himself,
was past master in the art.
Dinners in those days were
longer, more elaborate and more ex-
travagant than any Of the present
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28

often painted. We danced away late
into the night, then had a glorious
moonlight to drive home BY"
With the increasing popularity Of
cotillions, which gradually became a
feature Of every dance, was ushered
in what might be called an era of
extravaganza in entertaining, for
small fortunes were spent In favors
for these affairs and also for the
floral decorations Of the bathrooms.
and in many cases for the dinners
preceding these brilliant functions.
The success Of the cotillion depended.
of course, largely upon the leader,
and with men like the late Elisha
Dyer jr. and Craig Wadsworth, who
usually led for the late Mrs. Aston;
Worthington Whitehouse, who d.
rected the dance destinies Of the
various Vanderbilt functions, and,
antedating them, the late Harry LIE
Grand Cannon, one of the most pop
ular leaders society has ever known,
brilliant results were only to be ex
pected.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
THE grand ballroom of
the Aston home, auhere
many Of the great cotil2ions
mere QiNen
2Cere green

Teller at his home, 9 East Seventy
second Street, at which Elisha
Dyer jr. led the cotillion with Miss
Rockefeller, now Mrs. Marcellus
Hartley Dodge. In the cotillion two
large apple trees in full bloom were
brought into the ballroom and d.
vested of their foliage and blossoms
in such way as to furnish corsage
bouquets for the women and bou-
tonnieres to match for the men. 1t
was one of the prettiest figures ever
arranged by Thorley.
The other favors included silver
snowballs on sticks, silk sashes with
silver fringes, French bandboxes
and leather jewel cases, Directoire
sticks and petit Caporal" hats, gar
den hats of straw and tulle, fans
and gold stickpins.
Monson Morris was another sue
cessful cotillion leader, and directed
the dance given by Mrs. E. Henry
Hartman in January, 1904, for the
debut of Miss Cornelia Hartman,
now Mrs. Robert L. Gerry. The
same winter Worthington White
house led the cotillion at one of Mrs.
Ogden Mills's dinner dances, which
were features of New York's social
season, with the hostess for his part
her
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28

with much Of the stiff convention
atty pertaining to city entertain
menC.
"After dinner we strolled off in
couples to the shore "a beach three
quarters'of mile in lengthy or sat
under the group Of trees looking on
the beautiful bay. My brother, Colo
mel McAllister, had exercised his
engineering skill in fitting up my
barn with every kind and sort of
light. He improvised chandelier
for the center Of it, adorned the
horse and cattle stalls with vines
and green's, fitted them up with seats
for my guests (all nicely graveled)
and put band Of music in the hay
loft, with the middle part of the
barn floored over for dancing. We
had scene that Teniers has so
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
At Old Delmonico7s

The Patriarchs' balls antedated
the Bachelors and were held at Del.
monico's. Not to be outdone by the
man, some Of the matrons of society
organized what were known as the
Assembly balls and facetiously
dubbed the "Matriarchs. The Pa
triarchs were held in old belmont
co.'s, not the Fourteenth Street es
tablishment, but at that famous
rendezvous Of the 400" when it was
at Fifth Avenue and Twenty-sixth
Street.
Ward McAllister, like the late
Mrs. Aston, directed the destinie.
Of New York society because Of hi.
tact and charm Of manner and won,
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28

made most wonderful bags Of ex-
quisite tapestry, which were pre-
sented to the women. The dance
for the debut Of his elder daughter.
Pauline, afterward Mrs. Almertc
Paget, who died few years ago.
was held in the old Whitney resi-
dence at Fifth avenue and Fifty
seventh street, and was one of the
notable affairs Of the winter. for
Mr.. Whitney was then Secretary Of
the Navy in President Cleveland's
Cabinet, and he and his wife. the
first Mrs. Whitney, always gathered
at their entertainments the official
and diplomatic set of Washington.
as we'll as the leaders Of New York
society. 1t was from this old, pic
turesque residence, rambling
chateau-like structure of brick over
run with vines, that suggested a bit
of the Old World rather than the
New, that Miss Whitney was married
to Almeric Paget, now Lord Queen
borough, who is now visiting the
United States and taking part in
many of the entertainments at Palm
Beach.
The balls given by Mr.. Whitney
for his nieces, Mrs. Courtlandt
Dixon Barnes miss Katharine l..
Barney and Mrs. Frederic N.
Watriss (Helen T. Barney, daugh-
ters of Mrs. Charles T. Barney,
were given at his later home, 871
Fifth Avenue, and were red letter
events Of their seasons.
The late James Stillman gave a
dinner dance for Miss Ethel Rookie
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
When the Cotillion Was in Vogue
Entertaining Was an Elab-
crate Affair

Mrs. Whitney Warren, Mrs. George
Jay Gould and Mrs. Pembroke Jones.
all Of whom have wonderfully bril-
liant entertainments to their credit.
COtillion Gone Forever
No dance Of to-day can compare
in picturesqueness and dignity with
the cotiilion, which has now passed
into history. 1t probably never will
be revived, for it calls not only for
a wonderful dancer, but great gen.
eralship to take ballroom crowded
with dancers through the intricate
figures without break. There were
not more than half a dozen men in
New York in the old days who could
do it, and to-day the one-step, fox
trot and waltz do not bring out
these qualifications.
Ward McAllister in his book on
Society as I Have Found 1t" de-
scribes the introduction Of cotillion
dinners as follows:
"a friend thought they were i'm
practicable on account of the ex-
pense, but had remembered talk
ing to the proprietor Of the famous
Restaurant Philippe, in Paris, as
to the cost Of a dinner, he assuring
me that its cost depended entirely
on what he called les primeurs, i. e.,
things out of season, and said that
he could give me, for napolean a
head, an excellent dinner if would
leave out les pgimemys. Including
them, the same dinner would cost
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
Cotillion the Climax

The cotillion was always the eli.
max of ball and was danced after
supper, except at the affairs for the
younger set. Following informal
dancing, an elaborate seated supper
was the order of the evening in the
old days, and then came the cotil-
hon, which in many cases was fol
lowed by second supper.
The Patriarchs' balls were prob
ably the most famous subscription af-
fairs New York has ever known, and
were organized by Ward McAllister.
The subscribing members, or Patri-
archs, numbered twenty-five, and
each man had the privilege Of ask
ing four women and five men, in
Guiding himself and family, to the
dances. It was also q rule of the
organization that all distinguished
strangers up to the number of fifty
should be asked.
The original Patriarchs were John
Jacob Astor, William Astor, De Lam
cey A. Kane, Ward McAllister,
George Henry Warren, Eugene A.
Livingston, Royal Phelps, Edwin A.
Post, William Butler Duncan, Fred
erick Sheldon, Benjamin S. Welles,
John W. Hamersley, Lewis Col
ford Jones, E. 1empleton Smelling,
A. Oracle King, Eugene A. Living
ston, Lewis M. Rutherfurd, William
R. Travers, Robert G. Remsen, Will
liam c. Schermerhorn, C. C. Good
hue, Francis R. Rives, Maturin Liv-
ingston, F. G. d'Hauteville, Walter
Langdon and Alexander Van Rens-
selaer.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
Duck Our Emblem

Duck Our Emblem
No dinner was complete without
canvasback ducks and terrapin, and
a menu of the supper served at one
of the balls given by the Bachelors
in the early part of this century is a
fair sample of what those who
danced in the famous cotillions en-
joyed afterward. 1t was as follows:
Bouillon
Te7rapin Canard Cnnvasbock
Hominy
Jambom de Virginie d la Diable
Salade
Geldtine de Dinde
Choudjroid Regence
Pate de Foie Gras
Glace Gateouu Cats
Of course, there was champagne
and everything else Of a liquid ma
ture necessary for such a banquet.
The ball was given at Sherry's by
number of unmarried men, who
took this opportunity of canceling
some Of their social obligations. The
hosts included some of the best
known bachelors of their day, some
Of whom have since died. They
were Bronson Winthrop, Goold
Hoyt, Winthrop Rutherfurd, Center
Hitchcock, Francis c. Bishop, Frank
L. Polk, Louis F. Holbrook Belts,
Charles D. Wetmore, r. Livingston
Beeckman, now Governor of Rhode
Island; George S. Brewster, Alfonso
de Navarro, James Henry Smith,
Cambridge Livingston, Henry w.
Bergman, Woodbury. Kane, Charles
A. Mum, Robert B. Van Cortlandt,
Barton Willing, Lloyd Warren,
Philip M. Lydig, William Cutting,
Henry w. Bull, Gordon Fellowes, H.
Ray Miller, R. D. Winthrop, James
W. Appleton, R. T. Wilson jr., Reg
inald Ronalds, Ralph N. Ellis and
Craig Wadsworth.
The guests were received by Mrs.
John Jacob Aston, now Lady Rib
blesdale; Mrs. Ogden Mills, Mrs.
Cornelius Vanderbilt and the for
mer Mrs. Clarence Il. Mackay.
The cotillion started about 2
o'clock in the morning and was led
by Craig Wadswurth and Elisha
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
Valuable Favors

The gorgeous favors contributed
in no small way to the success of
some Of the great balls. There were
often gold and silver figures in which
card cases and similar trinkets were
presented to the women and ciga-
rette and match boxes to the men.
When Mrs. Anthony j. Drexel jr.,
then Miss Marjorie Gould, made her
debut in January, 1910, and an
nounced her engagement simultane-
ously, there was one figure in the
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
At the Whitney Mansion

Gold souvenirs were usually a
feature of the dances givef. by the
late William C. Whitney at his home,
at Fifth Avenue and Sixty-eighth
Street, now the residence of his son,
Harry Payne Whitney. Mrs. Col
Inns practically had full charge of
all the favors and for one affair
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
Mrs. Fish's Dinners

Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish in the first
part of the present century was one
OF the most original hostesses in
New York, and her entertainments
have never been equaled since her
death. She alwa ys gave series Of
dinners followed by various diver
easements at her house, Is East
Seventy-eighth Street. All sorts Of
novelties were lHtl cd seed FOR the
amusement of her guests. She was
the FIRST to have japanese dancers
and later had Ruth ST. 0~uss and
her Indian dancers.
Two of her most notable enter
talnments were given at Newport
the flower bal: and her most
original enterta nment of all. a
Mother Goose bah, when the guests
appeared as TIE characters in
Mother Goose. She herself was tho
Fairy Queer. Harry Lehr ALWAYS
led her cotili!ons, and at one Of these
Il. her New Jrk house small papier-
lnache fian were presented as
favors, each coatainiag sonis humor-
GUS verse.
The advent or the tango and
dances of chat character caused the
passing of the cotillion and also
marked the entra.ce of a less ex-
travagant era in soesety, for with
the dispensing of favor entertain
ments became less and less elaborate
until those given in the early years
fof the war were distinguished by
simplicity in every detail. AS much
would be spent in the ola cays for
the flowers at some big dnner as an
entire entertainment would cost in
1914. and while, since the ar,nistice.
the affairs have been much more
elaborate than before, it is doubtful
whether the leaders of the social set
will ever return to the elaborate
functions which formerly charac.
terized New York season.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
HE ate Mrs Astor acknowledged leader of Nee0 York
society of her day. olsUoys Stood aUhen receiving be-
meath this portrait OF herself painted By Caro4s

three napoleons. I can give you,
for instance he said, a FLEET de
bgsf aar cepes at half the cost Of a
flet au1 trufee, and so on through
out the dinner can reduce the ex-
pense.'
Ward McAllister's Dinner
Submitting all this to my friend
Delmonico, suggested similar in
expensive dinner and figured the
whole expense down until I reduced
the cost Of cotillion dinner for
seventy-five or hundred people to
$40 each person, music and every
expense included.
Calling on my friends, they Sec
onded me, and we then had winter
Of successful cotillion dinners. It
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
WORTHINGTON WHITE
- HOUSE, another noted
cotillion leader, qUho usually
led for Mrs. Vanderbilt

dyer jr. There was a tennis figure
in which electric balls of variegated
colors were thrown over a tennis
net, also lighted by electricity and
temporarily stretched across the
ballroom, all the other lights in
which were extinguished.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
cotillion at her coming-out ball, led
by Phoenix Ingraham, that will long

cotillion at her coming-out ball, led
by Phoenix Ingraham, that will long
be remembered. Gold favors were
presented to the guests, these includ-
ing enameled bar pins and horse
shoe pins, charms and rings for the
women, rings for the men, who also
received scarf pins, scarf holders
and similar trinkets The signif-
canoe Of the ring giving was real
lied when the announcement of Miss
Gould's engagement was made.
Guests From Europe
The late Mrs. Astor, who was al
ways recognized es the leader of
society in her day, seldom had less
than six hundred at her dances, to
which fully eight hundred invita-
tons were sent out. Guests came
from all over the United States
and, perhaps, it is not stretch
ing the truth too far to say
in some cases from Europe, to at
tend one Of her balls, which had the
wonderful picture gallery in her
residence, at S42 Fifth Avenue, for
it's setting.
Mrs. Astor always chose a Mon
day night for her ball, and as near
the first Of January each winter as
possible. At the one which she gave
/ in 1904 Elisha Dyer jr. led with
the hostess's daughter, Mrs. NJ
Orme Wilson, from one end of the
ballroom, and Harry Lehr from the
opposite side with Mrs. Cornelius
Vanderbilt.
The favors included jeweled belt
pins, fans, Louis XIV canes and nc
end of charming conceits furnished
by Mrs. Collins, who was always
called in as the advising genius for
affairs Of this kind and who sue
ceeded in furnishing different novel.
ties for each dance which she helped
make a success. In her field she
was what Sherry, Delmonico and
Thorley were and still are in their
1}ro
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28

time, and Ward McAllister quotes
the Earl Of Rosebery as saying:
"You Americans have made a
mistake; your emblematic bird
should have been the canvasback,
not an eagle"
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
Started Brilliantly

The brilliant promises the open
ING season held for a renewal of the
''a-tlme social glories. were far from
realized, and while It must be ad-
nltted that the season was gayer
man any since before the World
War, it would be difficult to con-
'ihce the women who came out ten,
4''een or twenty years ago, and the
''uef matrons Of society, that it was
anything approximating brilliant.
except the Rogers dance, where the
sSsSts numbered about a thousand,
@@' one or two others, the entertain
nents of the last winter were COM
F''auVeiy small, and there were no
VARS like the cotillions given in
winner years by the late Mrs. Astor,
- aowager Mrs. Vanderbilt, Mrs.
@O''oge I. Gerry and other pillars
society such as Mrs. Ogden Mills,
rs William Douglas Sloane, Mrs.
!. Seward Webb, Mrs. Cornelius
vanderbilt Mrs m;n; xy
~ Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt jr., Mrs.
ssnann oelrichs, Mrs. Charles
alexander, Mrs. John r. Drexel,
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28

II s ;;. s;+,: ;': :;::: ::
the premiere at the Met
rpolitan Opera House and the
Horse Show at Madison Square Gar
den, has undergone many remark
able changes in recent years, and it
!, doubtful if anything has been
more startling than the manner Of
entertaining in the winter which
came to close a week ago. The
season which has just ended has
been said by some to be the most
brilliant New York has ever known.
TO those who have followed New
yssk social history, nothing could
be further from the truth.
The season of 1920 started
Of with a wild rush Of entertain
ments, beginning with the ball given
On November 80 by Mr.. and Mrs.
Henry NJ. Rogers for their debu-
tant daughter, Miss M. Millicent
Rogers, with whom the Prince of
Wales danced q number Of times in
Washington.
From then on there WIS a con-
shnt round Of entertaining until
January for the "buds," who always
hold sway from mid-November I'M
Il after the holidays. According
to the social calendars Of other
days the formal season always be-
gan in January with balls by the
leaders of the fashionable set, which
gathered together young and old.
Debutantes Only
This year, however, the dances
we're almost exclusively for the
debutantes, even after the New
Year, and the few given were in
significant in number compared to
those Of prewar days, and lacked
in brilliancy many of the affairs
held for charity.
Instead of attending dance
every night, as their mothers did,
many Of the most prominent young
women appeared before the foot
lights on Broadway for a week for
charity; others played opposite pro-
fessional talent in one of Oscar
Wilde's comedies, "The Importance
Of Being Earnest" and some ap-
peared as Shakespeare heroines,
while others revived the songs and
dances of twenty-five years ago, in
Guiding the famous Florodora Sex
4 ht Many served as mattresses at
the recent flower show, others sold
hats and frocks in one of the depart
ment stores--all in the name Of char
8 Ky-and the most interesting thing
about this transformation Of social
q lie is the fact that these same young
women would probably admit, II
Questioned, that they had far bet
tar time helping others than they
could possibly imagine having at
any entertainment given for them
selves.
B There was a time when the an
nual charity ball was the. one great
charitable feature Of the season,
nlylng together all the social clans,
she various sets and cliques, for the
benefit Of the Nursery and Child's
Hospital. znis year more than
malt of the affairs were benefit en-
'erta|pments, dances, theatrical per-
iormances and concerts.
Started Brilliantly
The brilliant promises the Open
@g season held for a renewal of the
"a-tlme social glories. were far from
realized, and while It must be ad-
mitted that the season was gayer
'nan any since before the World
war, 1t would be difficult to con-
vince the women who capa o,,t tep
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28

was no easy task, however. How
was beset by the men to give them
the women Of their choice to take
into dinner. And, in turn, by the
ladies not to infiict on them un-
congenial partners. The largest Of
these dinners, consisting Of more
than one hundred people, we gave
at Delmonico's, corner Of Fifth Ave
nue. and Fourteenth Street, In the
large ballroom. The table was in
the shape Of horseshoe. I stood at
the door Of the salon, naming to
each man tho lady he was to take
in to dinner, and we'll remember one
OF them positively refusing to &C.
cept and take in lady assigned to
him, and she, just entering, heard
the dispute, and in consequence
would never again attend one of
these dinners.
Cotillion i'm a Barn
"The first cotillion dinner ever
given at Newport I gave at my
Bayside Farm. I chose a night
when the moon would be at the full.
and invited guests enough to make
up a cotillion. We dined in the open
air at 6 p. M, in the garden adjoin-
ing the farmhouse, having the gable
end Of the house to protect US from
the southerly sea breeze. In this
way we avoided flies, the pest Of
Newport.
"Men and women enjoyed a free
dom that their rural surroundings
permitted and, like the lambs gam
boiling in the fields next them, they
frisked about, and thus did away
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28
A Special Play

Then Nine. Rejane, the star Of
the evening, made her appearance
in sedan chair carried by lackeys.
She and her company appeared in
piece written especially FOR the occa-
sion by M. Dario Niccodemi, q rep.
resentative Of the paris Figaro"
After the play supper was served,
the ballroom being transformed into
a beautiful lawn Of old Versailles,
upon which was a marquee. Over
each Of sixty tables a rose in full
bloom reared itself and through
thousands Of blooms shone light
bulbs Of all colors. There were two
large tables, over one Of which Mr..
Hyde presided, with Nine. Rejane at
his right, and over the other Mrs.
Sidney Dillon Ripley, now Mrs.
Charles R. Scott, who before her
marriage was Miss Mary B. Hyde.
1t surpassed anything ever given
in New York before or since.
The dinner dance given by Lloyd
Warren in his studio, at his home.
1041 Fifth Avenue, in the winter Of
1904, for his niece, Miss Charlotte
Warren, now Mrs. William Green
ough, will remain an iner!aceable
memory to those who went dressed
as the Queen of Sheba and Cleo
patra, Chinese mandarins, Moorish
ladies Of rank and Oriental poten-
tates. for 1t was an Eastern enter
talnment, Oriental in it's splendor
and luxury.
New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-03-28

derful ability to organize and dis
criminate in the matter Of invita-
tions to the big functions Of which
he was the presiding genius. His
mantle fell on the late Frederick
Townsend Martin, whose wonderful
tact easily made for him place in
the foremost ranks Of the leaders OF
society, who sought his judgment on
all occasions and matters.
Period entertainments and cos
tune affairs were features Of New
York's entertaining some years ago.
The Hyde Ball
Undoubtedly, the most talked OF
affair ever given in New York was
the fancy dress ball by James
Hazen Hyde at Sherry's in January,
1905, which nearly disrupted one Of
the greatest financial institutions in
the world, the Equitable Life AS
surance Society. It was this French
ball, which it was said cost $780,
900, that precipitated the crisis in
the great insurance company found
ed by Mr.. Hyde's father by provok-
ing criticisms Of lack of seriousness
on the part of the owner of the con-
trolling interest.
Sherry's was transformed until
its every corner smacked of Yer
sailles and the 400 guests enjoyed
one of the most unusual and elab-
crate entertainments ever given.
Countless lackeys in costumes of
olden days, scarlet coats and pow
dered wigs, satin breeches and silk
stockings, were the first Of success
sion Of surprises planned by Mr.
Hyde that greeted his guests. To
go into details would be to describe
an affair as elaborate as ever given
at French court. Even the pro-
grams were Of most beautiful de-
sign, done on heavy parchment. The
guests heard the orchestra Of the
Metropolitan play a minuet of the
olden days and saw eight of the
prettiest girls in society, powdered,
painted and In satin, appear, at
tended by eight young New York
ers, all sixteen being socially we'll
known, who danced amid storm Of
applause.