The Four Hundred (Gilded Age)

[6] Aided by McAllister, Astor[a] attempted to codify proper behavior and etiquette, as well as determine who was acceptable among the arrivistes,[8] as champions of old money and tradition.

[6] Reportedly, Ward McAllister coined the phrase "the Four Hundred" by declaring that there were "only 400 people in fashionable New York Society.

"[11] While the number four hundred has popularly been linked to the capacity of Caroline Schermerhorn Astor's ballroom at her large brownstone home at 350 Fifth Avenue and East 34th Street (today the site of the Empire State Building),[12][13] the exact origins remain unknown.

[4]The list, purported to include the crème de la crème of New York society, consisted largely of "bankers, lawyers, brokers, real estate men, and railroaders, with one editor (Paul Dana of The New York Sun), one publisher, one artist, and two architects.

[15] William d'Alton Mann, who owned Town Topics, a gossip magazine, considered it his duty to expose the sins of society and regularly criticized the Four Hundred.

[19] Several years later, author O. Henry released a collection of short stories, entitled The Four Million, a reaction to this phrase, expressing his opinion that every human being in New York was worthy of notice.

"[22] Besides containing far fewer than 400 people, McAllister's list "abounded in inaccuracies: names were misspelled or incomplete and many spouses omitted or included although they were dead.

Portrait of Mrs. Astor by Carolus-Duran , in Paris 1890. This painting was placed prominently in Astor's house; she would stand in front of it when receiving guests for receptions. Today, it is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art . [ 1 ]
"Snobbish Society's Schoolmaster." Caricature of Ward McAllister as an ass telling Uncle Sam he must imitate "an English snob of the 19th century" or he "will nevah be a gentleman". Published in Judge , November 8, 1890.
"The European Svengali and the trilbys of the 'Four Hundred' – He hypnotizes 'em every time!" Illustration published in Puck , October 2, 1895.
Photograph of Alva Smith Vanderbilt at her 1883 Ball as "Venetian Renaissance Lady". Alva, the first wife of William Kissam Vanderbilt and second wife of Oliver Belmont , was one of Astor's successors. Photographed by José Maria Mora .
Photograph of Mamie Fish , the wife of Stuyvesant Fish , and one of Astor's successors.
Portrait of Elizabeth Astor Winthrop Chanler , by John Singer Sargent , 1893.
Photograph of Chauncey Depew , U.S. Senator and president of the Vanderbilt's New York Central Railroad , c. 1908 .
Frank Gray Griswold , financier and writer, 1908.
Julia Dent Grant , who married Prince Mikhail Cantacuzène in 1899, was the daughter of Frederick Dent Grant and granddaughter of U.S. President Ulysses S Grant . Photo taken in 1904.
Photograph of William Kissam Vanderbilt , first husband of Alva Smith Vanderbilt .
Photograph of Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt , wife of Cornelius Vanderbilt II , at Alva's 1883 Ball as 'Electric Light'. Gown by Charles Frederick Worth . Photographed by José Maria Mora .
Portrait of Cornelius Vanderbilt II , husband of Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt , by John Singer Sargent , 1890.
Portrait of Ruth Livingston Mills , wife of Ogden Mills , by Francois Glamony.
A miniature portrait of Cornelia Sherman Martin , wife of Bradley Martin , who threw the infamous Bradley-Martin Ball in 1897.
Photograph of Frances Ellen Work , the former wife of James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy , c. 1910–1915.
Portrait of Emily Thorn Vanderbilt , wife of businessman William Douglas Sloane , by Benjamin Curtis Porter , 1888.
Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Anson Phelps Stokes , a merchant and banker, by Cecilia Beaux c. 1898 .
Portrait of Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly , wife of Hamilton McKown Twombly , by John Singer Sargent , 1890.
Portrait of George Washington Vanderbilt II , builder of the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, by John Singer Sargent , 1890.
Photograph of William Collins Whitney , former U.S. Secretary of the Navy (during the Cleveland administration), c. 1892 photographed by Charles Milton Bell .
Mrs. Henry Isaac Lorillard Barbey . By Wilhelm Heinrich Funk , 1904.