Bradley Martin Ball

and that is the Bradley Martin ball. This ball happened in the years following what's been going on in The Gilded Age for anyone that's watching, and it probably, although who knows, falls too late on the timeline for the show to get into it in any upcoming seasons. I've also debated about doing one on Lord McAllister, but I I just don't know if I want to. I mean, he's fabulously interesting, but a lot of people have covered him in a lot of ways, so that's really more

of the hold up there than anything else. But the Bradley Martin Ball, which has not been on the show, and I don't know if it will make it there, because it happens I feel like a decade after. What's going on in the main plot right now. Is sometimes referred to as the last big moment of the Gilded Age, and it was very ostentatious. This event sparked so much

debate and in some ways ridicule about it. Some people have said helped usher in the crumbling of New York's Victorian era society culture and it being considered really important. But before we get into the details of this historic ball, we're going to start by talking briefly about its hosts, Bradley and Cornelia Martin, and the social scene of New York at the end of the nineteenth century. Bradley Martin was born December eighteenth, eighteen forty one, in Albany, New York.

His parents were Anne Townshend Martin and Henry Hull Martin. Henry was a prominent banker and both he and Anne were from old money. They were very active in Albany's wealthy social scene. Bradley attended Union University in Albany and served with the Union in the US Civil War was a first lieutenant in the National Guard's ninety third Regiment.

charming girl. Bradley became a very successful lawyer, and he amassed quite a nice fortune. And then when Cornelia's father died, he left a great deal of money that was actually something of a surprise. No one knew he had as much money as he did, but it made the Martins extremely rich. In eighteen eighty one, the Martins started living a multi national life. They leased the estate of Balmacan,

on the shores of Scotland's Loch Ness. This was a haven for wealthy guests who visited the Martins for the hunting season, and they enjoyed Balmacon's twenty eight thousand acre deer forest. Bradley Martin's New York Times obituary said that the Martin's routinely had as many as seventy guests staying with them in Scotland, as well as those guests staff. This estate was described in the US papers as quote

an irregular pile of buildings. Yeah, every time you see someone write about it, they're kind of like, this is interesting in the way that they don't don't want to describe it as like a weird mess. The Martin's daughter, Cornelia Martin, married the Earl of Craven, and that connected the family to London society. While the groom brought a title to the marriage, Cornelia brought the money her father gave her seventy five thousand dollars a year as an

allowance once she was married. This also connected the Martin family to London's social scene, and that gave their state side standing in society a boost. To contextualize the Bradley Martin Ball of eighteen ninety seven, we first need to talk about patriarch's balls. This was essentially a system set up by the infamous society arbiter, Ward McAllister, and many of the wealthiest old money families of New York. So think people like the Astors, the Van Rensselers, Livingstons, and Shermerhorns.

These balls had.

old names were increasingly commingled with new ones. The four Hundred, as they were called, were accustomed to very opulent gatherings, and while the Bradley Martin Ball was in that tradition, it was over the top by any measure.

Suppose we sent out invitations for a concert and pray. What good will that do? Asked my sister in law. The money will only benefit foreigners. No, I've a far better idea. Let us give a costume ball at so short notice that our guests won't have time to get their dresses from Paris. That will give an impetus to trade that nothing else will. Directly missus Martin's plan became known, there was a regular storm of comment, which arose, in the first instance, from the remarks made by a clergyman

who denounced the costume ball from the pulpit. There's also speculation that Missus Martin wanted to throw the most lavish ball ever seen in the city, and in doing so out do her peers in society who'd hosted their own opulent events. This ball was to be huge, too large to be hosted at a home, so the Waldorf was selected for the location. As to the exact number of guests involved, that number fluctuates pretty wildly based on the source.

While some say that Missus Martin would simply not have had more than six hundred, other accounts say she sent out twelve hundred invitations. We'll get to a possible explainer on that discrepancy.

In a quote in The New York Times, Alexander Bremer, president of the Music Mutual Protective Union, said quote, we were all congratulating ourselves over the coming ball of Missus Bradley Martin that is to be given on such a magnificent scale, and which will put money into circulation among

people who need it very badly. We believe in the very wealthy spending their wealth and enjoying themselves, and thus giving hundreds and thousands of working people an opportunity to earn money and maintain their self respect instead of being obliged to accept charity. Now we have in our union in this city about twenty eight hundred musicians who are struggling from day to day to make a living for

themselves and their families. We calculated on getting at least one thousand dollars for our union musicians from this ball. But imagine our disappointment when we were told that missus Bradley Martin had engaged or would engage the Marine Band to play at the ball. Bremmer went on to praise the musicians of New York as being as good as

any found anywhere, even in Europe. We'll talk more about criticisms of the ball in just a bit, and coming up right after a quick sponsor break, we will dig into the press coverage of the Bradley Martin Ball and all the juicy details of the events planning and how they were shared in the papers. The days leading up to the Bradley Martin Ball were covered in detail in

the press. The New York Times rode on February seventh, quote for nearly three weeks, New York Society has made the coming ball its one topic of discussion, with the result that the usual entertainments of the winter season have sunk into comparative insignificance. English, French and German history of the period from fifteen hundred to nineteen hundred, which has been selected by Missus Martin as that to which the costumes of her guests must conform, has been searched in

quest of facts and information. Old wardrobes have been ransacked, and costumes milliners, dressmakers and wig makers, and even jewelers have been besieged by a small army of people bidden to the ball, and who have labored assiduously to attire themselves. As was ever Solomon in all his glory.

finery was all reserved for the party proper. Some of this was because guests themselves were not expected to arrive party ready in the wintertime. Instead, the Martins had hired a team of hairdressers, milliners, costumers, etc. To help everybody put the finishing touches onto their attire. The accommodations for the guest transformations were spread across fifteen rooms, so the

stylists had plenty of space to prepare everyone. Those dressing rooms also offered spots where, once the party was underway, guests could take breaks.

Martin Ball. All the jewelers who deal in antiques say they have been cleaned out of all they had on hand, and people still keep calling for old buckles, snuffboxes, lorgnettes, diamond or pearl studded girdles, rings, and in fact every conceivable decoration in gems. The rest of the article walks through some of the finery that people would be wearing.

It also notes that a lot of people would be taking their priceless family jewels and heirloom pieces out of storage, and that there was no way to estimate how much all of these were worth. Some had been passed down for hundreds of years from European aristocracy. There was a rumor that some of the guests were so worried about their family jewelry that they were having the real gemstones

from them taken out to be replaced with imitations. A representative from Tiffany's assured the press that this was not the case, stating, quote, it is ridiculous to suppose that the quality of people who have these rare and costly gems whatever, think of attending such a historic function in

sham ornaments. Don't you believe a word of it. So far as we are concerned, we never set bogus jewels at all, and we certainly have not been asked to substitute rhyme stones by any of missus Martin's intended guests. People who are accustomed to these costly things are not afraid to use and display them. According to the Times, there would also be priceless lace everywhere at the ball. Again,

much of it passed down through wealthy families. One expert on textiles that the paper consulted was quoted as saying that replicas of some of the laces would go for fifty dollars a yard. Again, replicas, and then when it came to the originals, quote, you couldn't buy them for five hundred dollars a yard. The papers published lists of who was attending and what they would be wearing. A Brownick was to be attired as George Washington. Missus John

Jacob Aster was going to be Marie Antoinette. She was one of several that was the most popular costume, and there were to be multiple Louis the fourteenths, fifteenth and sixteenths. Bradley Martin was to be one of the many Louis the fifteenths, although sometimes he's listed as having been dressed as Louis the fourteenth though not mentioned in the press beforehand. Missus Martin dressed as Mary Stewart and wore a very old and very valuable necklace as part of that costume.

Some costumes, such as one that was intended to be Pocahontas, would be considered completely inappropriate by today's standards. The most comedic section of the article on what people would be wearing focused on the issues that the gentsleman.

cavaliers must wear. All sort of devices have been attempted, even down to the buckram covered pads that Ward McAllister used to affect. But they will not work, and much lamentation is abroad in the social world. They're at Any manufactured legs will be palpable at sight, but the raw material would be more horrible. Still, many of the cavaliers have not yet finished losing sleep over this problem. Oh no, they'll find out I have skinny quads like I.

at twenty thousand dollars. The largest line item was costumes, which the paper estimated at one hundred and sixty eight thousand dollars. The total the Tribune came up with for everything was two hundred and thirty six thousand, six hundred and twenty five dollars, but the Tribune said this was a conservative figure. The actual cost of the ball is often quoted as having been more like four hundred thousand dollars,

which is already a whole lot of money. In very rough estimates, that would be more like ten million dollars in twenty twenty four. Yeah, and to be clear, that costume line item was not for everyone's costumes. That was like the stuff that the Bradley Martins were providing for people to help with all of their cars. When the evening of February tenth came. The weather didn't really cooperate. There was a massive snowstorm, but the ball went on

as scheduled. This made carriage traffic in New York absolutely awful, according to Robert Mussegrosso writing for New York History in nineteen ninety four, and my apologies if I mispronounced that name. Another thing that literally stopped traffic was people exiting their carriages as they passed by Gilbert's photo studio on the way because they wanted pictures of their attire. Gilberts is said to have stayed open all night, and as a consequence, the upside is that today we have some very good

photographs of the attendees. Arriving at This ball was unlike anything the attendees had ever experienced. Frederick Martin described a scene this way quote The best I can describe the Bradley Martin Ball is to say that it reproduced the splendor of Versailles in New York, and I doubt if even the was solet ever witnessed a more dazzling site.

The interior of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel was transformed into a replica of Versailles, and rare tapestries, beautiful flowers, and countless sits made an effective background for the wonderful gowns and their wearers. I do not think there has ever been a greater display of jewels before or since. 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 the power of wealth,

with its refinement and vulgarity, was everywhere. It gleamed from countless jewels, and it was proclaimed by the thousands of orchids and roses, whose fragrance that night was like incense burnt on the altar of the golden calf.

It also stated that the six hundred in attendance was a much lower number than hoped for, and this may be part of the confusion over how many invites were sent out. It's not clear if maybe there was a retrofit of how many they had invited to make it look like less people had declined than had actually done so. But it also describes this whole affair, This New York Times write up as quote the climax in this form

of entertainment thus far reached in the metropolis. Coming up, we'll talk about the various opinions that religious leaders and everyday people and even tax assessors had of this whole event, and we will get to it after we hear from the sponsors that keep the show going. Bradley Martin Ball quickly became a flash point in public perception of how

rich people operated. Cornelia Martin's intentions may have been good, and the ball certainly did help bolster trades people in the costuming, catering, and related business sectors, but that was just a small slice of the population of New York. To most people, the whole thing just looked wasteful and

decadent and self indulgent. Given how many attendees had chosen to look to the court of seventeenth century France for costume inspiration, it became a sort of fitting echo of out of touch wealthy people thinking they were helping the lower classes by having fun instead of engaging in more

meaningful charitable works. The press wasn't all bad, though. The Boston Daily Globe ran a commentary about the ball on the front page two weeks before the event, under the headline on Volcano's Edge, where some think the Bradley Martin guests will dance, it ran information that had been collected regarding the actual impact the ball was having to working people in New York. One costume shop had reported that they had so many orders it had created work for

one hundred and eighty seamstresses. The shop owner is quoted as telling Bradley Martin of their staff quote, they are happy because they need work, and your ball has furnished it. Every woman probably represents a family and maybe its chief breadwinner. So the good does not end with these one hundred and eighty people, but in many cases benefits two and

three times that number. The write up also explains that many of the attendees purchased art reproductions so that costumers could copy the clothing in them, hinting that the art market also saw some movement because of the ball. The opening of this.

result of normalizing such events. Mister Edwin D. Mead stated to the Globe, quote, wicked, wasteful, and wanton luxury is one of the greatest sins and dangers in our American life today. And I repeat it with emphasis now when such an illustration of it is proposed.

spend that money throughout their communities. One of the lengthier responses from Rabbi Charles Fleischer examined more deeply the ethical issues of the money that the Martins were spending. He spoke to the paper about every man having the right to himself and that not being something other people should infringe upon. He then continued, quote, I am not blind to the fact that these expensive functions give employment to

quite a little army of workers. If I thought that the question had only this temporary interest, perhaps I would not hesitate to say, eat, drink, and be merrier than usual, dress and entertain more lavishly than ever. For every unusual extravagance puts more money into circulation and gives added opportunity of employment. Your indulgence in luxuries will enable many a wretch to earn the bare necessities. But my view of

the question is a large one. Even in these times, we must not expect to revive business and set the wheels of industry in motion by artificial means. You might as reasonably expect to sail a boat when becomed by

the wind which results from your whistling for it. After being questioned for clarity, the rabbi responded, if the fortune that will be spent and wasted at the ball was put into some permanent investment that would continue to give employment and to yield returns, the gain to the world's wealth and the benefit to labor would be incalculably larger. Even before the ball happened, According to Bradley's brother Frederick,

there was criticism from the city's religious leaders. He quoted one minister who included mention of the ball in his Sunday sermon, quote, you rich people put next to nothing in the collection plate, and yet you'll spend thousands of dollars on Missus Bradley Martin's ball.

would make them look really bad to attend. When he was questioned by a New York Times reporter about the sermon, he stated that what he said in his church was between him and his parishioners, But he also noted to the reporter that while spending for the ball quote, might benefit a large number of well to do people, and through them the poorer people. He thought such benefit was overbalanced by the discord which would or might be created.

gives it away. A man who spends ten thousand a year will do more good than a man who spends two thousand and gives away eight. Public opinion about the Martins and their massive ball had become so vitriolic in the days leading up to it that there was concern there might be a riot outside of it, or even

a violent attack on the attendees invit. Theodore Roosevelt, who was on the board of Police Commissioners in New York at the time, skipped the ball while his wife attended because he wanted to be outside with his police force ready to lead them in case something happened. I read one theory that he didn't really want to go to the ball, and this was a good excuse, but we don't know.

their way. This was presumably also a security measure, given the large number of valuables that were walking in and out of the event. The sent a message that rich people were more important to the city than average citizens. Roosevelt, because of his.

any event, regardless of the grandeur. As for Frederick Martin's account, though he did mention the combination of refinement and vulgarity in his description, he also said to the ball, quote I cannot conceive why this entertainment should have been condemned. We Americans are so accustomed to display that I should have thought the ball would not have been regarded as

anything very unusual. Everyone said it was the most brilliant function of the kind ever seen in America, and it certainly was the most talked about, not just talked about, but also satirized. On March twenty sixth, just forty five days after the Ball, a new burlesque musical opened at the Olympia Music Hall titled Missus Radley Barton's Ball in

Greater New York. This work, created by Oscar Hammerstein, got mixed reviews, while one syndicated review said, quote all the manifold resources of the Olympia were concentrated in the music Hall with a superb production. In the opinion of competent critics, the production equals in splendor anything of the kind ever seen in New York. Other critics were far less kind, with one commentator noting quote on the whole it was without a redeeming feature, and Hammerstein got embroiled in a

back and forth with the press about it. Alas, the libretto to this has not survived and there seems to be no real information about the contents of the play itself. Yeah, even historians of Hammerstein are like, we don't know, we don't know what was in it.

retribution for the Ball. This led to a lengthy dispute with New York authorities and large tax sums being paid by the Martins. And having that issue after also having endured constant criticism from the press, really soured Bradley and

Cornelia Martin on New York society life. In the spring of eighteen ninety nine, Martin sold his home in New York with the address twenty and twenty two West twentieth Street, that is in the Flatiron District, and he hosted a much smaller farewell dinner for their closest friends, eighty six of them, before leaving the US for good. They purchased a home at for Chesterfields Gardens in London, and from that point on Bradley and Cornelia lived exclusively in the

British Isles. They continued to spend summers at their Scotland estate. Bradley Martin died in London on February fifth, nineteen thirteen, after a short case of pneumonia which developed at the tail end of about of the flu. Even then, sixteen years after the Ball, his obituaries ran with subtitles like

gave great Ball in eighteen ninety seven. When he died, he left his entire estate, which was valued at between ten and fifteen million dollars, to his wife, Cornelia, much to the chagran of American tax assessors, because he had established legal residency in England that massive accumulation of assets, which consisted of railroad bonds, stock and cash, was not taxable in New York according to newspaper records of the time.

His wife, Cornelia died seven years later. Yeah, and all of that bad press, some people have said, kind of harkened the of New York society. I could talk about this ball forever because it fascinates me. It's such a weird and sort of wonderful. But also what kind of situation in the meantime? Listener mail? I have delightful listener mail.

Oh good our listener Jen who writes Hi, guys, longtime listener here And whilst I've threatened to write in before the episode on Margaret E. Knight tipped me over the edge. You speak about industrial mill accidents and I specialize in Lancashire dialect weaving songs and ballads from Manchester and Lancashire, UK from the nineteenth century. Shuttles were certainly dangerous and

this is reflected in the songs. In Poverty Knock there's a verse about a shuttle flying out and giving a weaver a clout, and Sam Fitten of Oldham caricaturist and weaver drew an image of a weaver being hit in the head with a shuttle and a caption of e how nice, Oh, how nice in the cotton factory times.

I have dedicated my life to making the songs relevant to a modern popular to keep the flame of local history lit, and most recently have written a manuscript using the songs to understand the contemporary garment industry in Bangladesh today. My work is here. You can go to Jennifer Ballads dot com if you want to check that out. Jennifer also writes, keep up the good work. I love driving the van and listening to you both. I don't have a pet, but here's a picture of my boyfriend and Puffin.

She also answers to Tiffin and she has the sweetest heart. Puffin looks like a husky or malamute and is gorgeous and looks like a big baby, which I love all the best, And she writes all my best, Jen, thank

you so much. I love knowing that there's someone out there working to make sure this stuff, which we talk about as historical past events, yes, stays relevant to people and is easy to draw the line from things that happen in history to things that are happening today, because that's really kind of our whole jam and it's cool and I love it. I haven't gotten to go check out your work kitchen, but I will after this.