If you were a member of a rich family from the Gilded Age, you would have lived an unimaginable life of excess. You’d have an ostentatious and luxurious mansion too costly to maintain as private residences today.
The Gilded Age wealth disparity was so lavish and extreme that those privileged enough literally had servants to do everything for them.
Rich Women’s Demand For Snowy Egret Feathers Caused Near Extinction For The Bird
The filthy rich of the Gilded Age only cared about themselves. The extinction of one of the world’s most beautiful animals didn’t matter if it meant their fashion sense and flair were up to date.
In the late 19th century, fashionable women were enchanted with the luminous, wispy, gorgeous feathers of the snowy egret.
Not just any feathers, but the ones that grew during breeding season, when the birds were preparing to give birth.
Egret hunters would kill and skin the mother right in front of their recently hatched young, so the babies were left to fend for themselves.
But the women needed those feathers for their hats, dresses, and fans. Even their home decor demanded for the feathers.
The demand was such that the snowy egret soon became endangered and neared extinction status.
But to the credit of at least two women of the time, the species was saved. A campaign was launched to protect the Snowy Egret and other birds resulting in the Migratory Bird Act of 1913.
Tricked Out, Private Railroad Cars Were Must-Haves
During the Gilded Age, one had to be seen in the most luxurious ways possible, as far as their money could take them.
The arrival of the age of rail was no different, so by the 1870s, private railroad cars were the most fashionable way to travel for them.
No humble wooden coach seats either as each was opulently decorated.
The very rich had their own entire rail cars, with walls lined in velvet, plush upholstery, and the decor like a parlor at home.
These private cars had bedrooms, running water, and even a private water closet.
The Only Known Solid-Gold Toilet In The US Adorned A Robber Baron’s Mansion
There were actual toilet seats of solid gold, so the Robber Baron families had to be among the owners of the same.
The Garretts, a railroad tycoon family, bought the palatial Evergreen estate near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1878. They remodeled the place making it even grander than before.
This involved building a theater complete with a stage, seating, and ticket window, for the matron of the house to perform for her guests in.
But the most ostentatious update was a golden bathroom, which still exists to this day. The bathtub itself is covered in 23-carat gold leaf.
It’s the only confirmed toilet seat of gold in the entire United States to date.
Dinner Parties Involved Dogs In $15k Collars And Lakes Inside Restaurants
Much of the 19th century saw Delmonico’s in New York City as the go-to restaurant for showing off.
Endless lavish parties and dinners were held there, with courses going from the late afternoon into the early hours of the next morning.
One of the grandest shows put on at Delmonico’s was the construction of an indoor, landscaped garden, finished with a $10,000 lake in the middle.
Swans were brought in to swim and glide through the lake as the guests enjoyed their meal.
At a different, though equally opulent, dinner party, Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish’s guest of honor was her dog, adorned in a $15,000 collar.
Extreme Dining Sometimes Took Place On Horseback
Most Gilded Age meals were elaborate affairs held indoors, but there were notable exceptions. The more outlandish, elaborate, and expensive, the better.
Dining could also take place on horseback.
So imagine feasting on those endless, rich courses, while steadying your mount and juggling china, crystal, and silver.
Some guests reported the experience as the worst sort of tortures they’ve experienced.
A millionaire, C.K.G. Billing, hosted a horseback dinner at a fancy New York restaurant. The horses were treated like millionaires, provided with their own individual bags of oats.
Billing’s bill came to $50,000, an amount unimaginable to most of us, but for Billing, he was just showing off.
Sheets Were Changed Twice A Day And Outfits At Least Thrice
The very rich were into showing off of as many elaborate outfits as possible, with the presence of as many servants performing specific tasks.
A Gilded Age household required the family to change their clothing up to several times or more in a day. So morning suits and dresses were essential until before lunch.
Then something lighter for the afternoon, before changing into something more formal for supper. And then comes the evening social activities at home or outside.
Plans for hunting, hawking, or riding during the day means additional outfits would be required. One must keep up with appearances.
As a result, family members or guests would nap or rest during different times of the day.
Which meant bed sheets would need changing at least twice a day.
So the poor, overworked staff labored all day without electric washing machines and dryers.
Diamond Jim And Lillian Russell Had Gourmet Eating Contests
The Gilded Age had folks with enormous appetites, and the the waistlines to prove it. It wasn’t a big deal in those days as prosperous men were expected to appear portly as a symbol of their status, and the women were encouraged to display their bountiful figures.
As for the people going hungry around the country everyday, it is doubtful that the rich even gave them thought.
Two standout eaters included railroad tycoon “Diamond” Jim Brady and then-A-list actress Lillian Russell.
Brady’s contemporary, restaurant owner George Rector, claimed that Brady was “the best 25 customers I ever had.”
Brady started early with an elaborate lunch everyday, which usually started with two lobsters, deviled crabs, clams, oysters, and even beef, though he seems to have loved seafood.
Dinner may include more than lunch. According to author H. Paul Jeffers, Brady’s dinners usually consisted of,
“…a couple dozen oysters, six crabs, and bowls of green turtle soup. The main course was likely to be two whole ducks, six or seven lobsters, a sirloin steak, two servings of terrapin, and a variety of vegetables.”
When it came to beverages, Brady abstained from alcohol, preferring to wash down with a river of orange juice.
Lillian Russell was also a big eater, so on at least one recorded occasion, the two had a corn-cob eating competition.
Jewels Were In-Demand And Over The Top
When Gilded Age wives were furious over their husband’s activities in upscale brothels, they had their husband’s money to comfort them.
After all, no self-respecting gentleman would want his woman going around looking shabby.
The ladies literally dripped in jewels and other finery. Famous jewelers, including Marcus & Co. and Tiffany & Co., designed and provided them with a myriad of stunning works of art using rare materials, from ebony to diamonds, sapphires, pearls, emeralds, aquamarines, enamels, and a lot of silver and gold.
Those precious metals and stones fashioned tiaras, pendants, elaborate necklaces, watches, dresser sets, earrings and bracelets, and more.
More than enough to keep a lonely wife warm at night.
Marble House Was Designed To ‘Outstaff, Outdress, And Outparty’ The Competition
Many Americans and Europeans struggled to make basic ends meet, but the Gilded Age elite struggled with competing over who had the biggest, the most, and the best everything.
Chief among these were their houses. Newport, Rhode Island was a prime spot for the 19th-century one-percenters, and some families worked hard to outdo their neighbors.
For example, when Cornelius Vanderbilt built his famous home, The Breakers, it was to one-up his brother, William K. Vanderbilt’s latest showplace, Marble House.
The latter designed and planned his Marble House to “outstaff, outdress, and outparty” his brother and other men of the time.
The competition was so fierce among them that home construction was covered in the local newspapers on a daily basis.
The Newport Mercury reported that Marble House had 500,000 cubic feet of imported marble, with paneled walls portraying gods from the Classical age.
Some walls were coated in 22-carat gold leaf, painstakingly applied by hand.
Talk about ridiculously extreme.
But Gilded Age families merely followed surviving Roman villas, the Versailles palace in France, and the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The powerful always feel compelled to put on a display, to make sure other powerful people know they can keep up.
Even The Prostitution Was Excessive
Not all Gilded Age activities were put on display or written about in the newspapers. After all, there was no better way to express one’s manly prowess than in the bedroom.
Nineteenth-century wives may not have approved but, women were still considered property of their men, so there wasn’t much they could say or do.
Not to mention prostitution was effectively legal at the time.
There were many brothels to pick from in the large, northern cities, but the créme de la créme working gals were in New York City’s Tenderloin District.
One street was remarkable for quality and variety: 39th Street, west of Seventh Avenue, known familiarly as “Soubrette Row” (soubrette is the French term for a saucy, flirtatious girl).
This region was located around the corner from the Metropolitan Opera House.
All sorts of indecencies were on offer at the fancier brothels, with practices so scandalous that girls who engaged in them were shunned by their sisters involved in more traditional sexual activities.
But in the Gilded Age, money talked. So for the right price, a man could have his every fantasy fulfilled and satisfied.
Lavish Costume Balls And Theme Parties Were The Standard
The rich had more money than they knew what to do with so they were always finding new and interesting ways to spend their wealth.
Costume balls and theme parties were a favorite, and a prime way to not only display wealth, but also to show off great spending on items that would be used for just one occasion and then thrown out or closeted away.
One of the most famous balls of the age was held on March 26, 1883.
An extremely elaborate costume ball was planned mark the housewarming of Cornelius and Alva Vanderbilt’s New York townhouse, built in the design of a French chateau.
But the Vanderbilts were “new money” and not yet established in New York society.
This was humiliating, especially to Alva, pictured above in her ball costume. So, she planned the party of all parties, even inviting the media inside to tour the new house and see the fancy party decor.
She also made sure not to send out invitations to certain old money families.
The Grande Dame of New York society, Mrs. Astor, whose daughter was dying for an invitation, was forced to drop off her calling card at the Vanderbilt house, signifying that the Vanderbilts had at last arrived.
Alva was delighted, and so was Mrs. Astor’s daughter. But not Mrs. Astor.
The party boasted of costumes custom-made and imported from Europe, featuring figures real and mythological from throughout European history.
The house, decorated in silver and gold finery, had colorful flowers abundant on each floor. One floor was even transformed into a tropical garden, with rooms lit by Japanese lanterns.
Thankfully, Alva hired professional photographers, so many of the photos taken that evening proved that such a ball really took place.
The Biltmore Estate Stretched Across Nearly 200,000 Square Feet Of Luxury
While many of the great estates of the Gilded Age were in New York City or Newport, Rhode Island, northern winter climates also had the super rich building homes in the south for their winter abodes and festivities.
This is the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina, constructed by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1896.
The enormous estate covers nearly 11 miles.
The building project of the main house, with nearly 200,000 square feet, had an entire working village constructed near the site to house the workers, manufacturers, and supplies.
A three-mile railroad spur was also built to transport building supplies to the construction site. More than 1,000 workers were hired.
The Biltmore is still under the ownership of the Vanderbilt family, and is the largest privately owned home in the United States.
The high cost of modern maintenance and expenses have the house and grounds open to the public for a price, while a number of ticketed events are also held on the site throughout the year.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
