Bradley-Martin Ball
[1] Bradley-Martin's stated intention was to create an economic stimulus for New York City, which was at the end of the Long Depression which began in 1873 and included the Panic of 1893.
The cause of it all is the Bradley Martin ball, beside which the arbitration treaty, the Cuban question, and the Lexow investigation seem to have become secondary matters of public interest.
"[3] The guests included: Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, known simply as Mrs. Astor, costumed as Mary, Queen of Scots, her son John Jacob Astor as Henry IV of France and his wife as Marie Antoinette,[4] James L. Breese as the Duke of Guise, Charles Childs as Lady Teazle, Hermann Oelrichs as a Dutch Burgomaster, Charles Post as Madame de Maintenon, Stanford White in a court costume of black velvet and white satin, the artist Adolfo Müller-Ury as a Spanish toreador, and Hamilton Fish Webster as Maria Theresa of Austria.
[5] Cornelia Bradley-Martin's idea was to give a costume ball at so short notice that her guests would not have time to get their dresses from Paris, and instead support local businesses.
[6] The Reverend Dr. Rainsford believed in the rich giving money to be distributed as charity, whereas others, including the members of the Musical Mutual Protective Union (MMPU), disagreed.
They believed in the wealthy spending their wealth in enjoying themselves, and thus giving hundreds and thousands of working people an opportunity to earn money and maintain their self-respect instead of having to accept charity.
In the days leading up to the event, dealers’ stocks and household stores were ransacked to supply the demand for ornaments and historical accuracy.
[9] "The interior of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was transformed into a replica of Versailles, and rare tapestries, beautiful flowers and countless lights made an effective background for the wonderful gowns and their wearers.
This stream of guests poured by her for nearly 90 minutes and it was after midnight before she was able to enter the main ballroom to take her place in the opening quadrille d’honneur.
[9] Cornelia Bradley-Martin requested her guests to pick something from the 16th, 17th, or 18th century, and some came dressed as George Washington, a Japanese nobleman, an Egyptian princess and Pocahontas.
[5] Bradley-Martin "personated Mary Stuart, and her gold embroidered gown was trimmed with pearls and precious stones worth more than $60,000.
"The costume left little to the imagination as far as the figure was concerned, and, although historically correct in every detail, was so decidedly pronounced that he made a sensation wherever he moved.
The members of this set, organized by the wife of Frederic Bronson, danced a Hungarian Court quadrille, the Kormagyar, in music arranged by Allen Dodworth.
[9] Before the Ball took place, the Bradley-Martins drew fire from all directions, as newspapers criticized its extravagance and clergymen urged their congregations not to attend.
[1] After the ball many ministers preached against its excessive consumption and the authorities promptly raised Bradley-Martin's taxes (as well as those of their friends and fellow-attendees the Astors) quite out of proportion to those paid by anyone else.
