Monday, September 19, 2011

Society As I Have Found It - Ward Mcallister

society as i have found it - ward mcallister
society as i have found it - ward mcallister

Written and Published in New York in 1890. (469 pages)

About the Author from Wikipedia:
Born Samuel Ward McAllister to a socially prominent Savannah, Georgia judicial family, established himself as a successful attorney in California during the Gold Rush. He used the earnings from his legal prowess to journey throughout Europe's great cities and spas—Bath, Pau, Bad Nauheim, and the like-—where he observed the mannerisms of the titled nobility. Upon his return to the United States, McAllister settled in New York City and married heiress Sarah Taintor Gibbons. Using his wife's wealth and his own social connections (he was related to lobbyist Samuel Cutler Ward, who had married a granddaughter of John Jacob Astor), McAllister sought to become a tastemaker amongst New York's "Knickerbocracy", a collection of old merchant and landowning families who traced their lineage back to the days of colonial New Amsterdam. Above all in McAllister's life, it was his desire for social recognition and what he termed "Tong", the cream of society.
Although purported to be an index of New York's best families, McAllister's list was suspiciously top-heavy with nouveau riche industrialists and McAllister's southern allies, seeking a new start in the nation's financial capital after the American Civil War. In his glory, McAllister referred to his patroness, Mrs. Caroline Astor (The Mrs. Astor), as his "Mystic Rose." He was largely responsible for turning the simple seaside resort of Newport, Rhode Island into a mecca for the pleasure-seeking, status-conscious rich of the Gilded Age. Among the undesirables McAllister endeavored to exclude from the charmed circle of the Four Hundred were the many nouveau riche Midwesterners who poured into New York seeking social recognition.
McAllister's downfall came when he published a book of memoirs entitled "Society as I Have Found It" in 1890. The book, and his hunger for media attention, did little to endear him to the old guard, who valued their privacy in an era when millionaires were the equivalent of modern movie stars.
McAllister died in disgrace while dining alone at New York's Union Club, in January 1895. His funeral, held on February 5, 1895, was well attended by many society figures of the day, including Chauncey Depew and Cornelius Vanderbilt II.

CONTENTS:

Chapter I. MY FAMILY — Chapter II. LAW AND HOUSEKEEPING — Chapter III. INTRODUCTION TO LONDON SPORTS — Chapter IV. A WINTER IN ITALY — Chapter V. GERMANY AND THE ALPS — Chapter VI. WINTER IN PAU — Chapter VII. HOME AGAIN — Chapter VIII. MERRYMAKING IN THE SOUTH — Chapter IX. LIFE AT NEWPORT — Chapter X. SOCIETY'S LEADERS — Chapter XI. DELIGHTS OF COUNTRY LIFE — Chapter XII. FASHIONABLE PEOPLE — Chapter XIII. COTILLIONS, INDOORS AND OUT — Chapter XIV. AN ERA OF GREAT EXTRAVAGANCE — Chapter XV. ON THE BOX SEAT AT NEWPORT — Chapter XVI. SOCIAL UNITY — Chapter XVII. A GOLDEN AGE OF FEASTING — Chapter XVIII. ENTERING SOCIETY — Chapter XIX. ENTERTAINING — Chapter XX. MADEIRAS — Chapter XXI. CHAMPAGNES AND OTHER WINES — Chapter XXII. DINNERS — Chapter XXIII. COOKS AND CATERING — Chapter XXIV. BALLS — Chapter XXV. FAMOUS NEWPORT BALLS — Chapter XXVI. AN ERA OF EXTRAVAGANCE — Chapter XXVII. WASHINGTON DINNERS AND NEW YORK BALLS

EXCERPT:

......THE first object to be aimed at is to make your dinners so charming and agreeable that invitations to them are eagerly sought for, and to let all feel that it is a great privilege to dine at your house, where they are sure they will meet only those whom they wish to meet. You cannot instruct people by a book how to entertain. Success in entertaining is accomplished by magnetism and tact, which combined constitute social genius. It is the ladder to social success. If successfully done, it naturally creates jealousy. I have known a family who for years outdid every one in giving exquisite dinners — driven to Europe for the rest of their days, on finding a neighbor outdoing them.

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