Gilded New York

This dazzling illustrated history of New York’s Gilded Age captures the era’s glamour while uncovering the social and economic upheavals that lay beneath its glittering surfaceAs the 19th Century ended, the Gilded Age was a coming-of-age moment for New York City. The wealthiest American families sought to solidify their power, while newly arrived immigrants sought a foothold in an emerging modern society. This was the age made famous by the Astors, Vanderbilts, and Rockefellers; by Maison Worth, Tiffany & Co., Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Stanford White. Mere blocks from the Fifth Avenue mansions, the newly established Metropolitan Opera, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, were the tenements where Jacob Riis and Lewis Hines made their enduring visual record of lower-class New Yorkers. Our modern fascination with the Gilded Age shows no sign of abating, as evidenced by the ongoing popularity of Julian Fellowes’s lavish period drama The Gilded Age.Co-published with the Museum of the City of New York, Gilded New York: Design, Fashion, Society immerses readers in this period of extraordinary economic and social transformation in America through gorgeous, evocative imagery and compelling writing. Richly illustrated pages feature contemporary photography of the 1890s and early 1900s, enchanting ephemera, artwork, and objects, including jaw-dropping fashion and jewelry.With its opulent golden accents on the cover and throughout the pages, and its essays on topics including design, architecture, fashion, jewelry, media, and social change, this new edition of Gilded New York is a must-have for everyone curious about this turning point in American history.