Social status listing
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]
The Four Hundred was a list of New York society during the Gilded Age , a group that was led by Caroline Schermerhorn Astor , the "Mrs. Astor", for many years. After her death, her role in society was filled by three women: Mamie Fish , Theresa Fair Oelrichs , and Alva Belmont ,[ 2] known as the "triumvirate" of American society.[ 3]
On February 16, 1892, The New York Times published the "official" list of those included in the Four Hundred as dictated by social arbiter Ward McAllister , Astor's friend and confidant, in response to lists proffered by others, and after years of clamoring by the press to know who was on it.[ 4] [ 5]
^ "Mrs. William Astor (Caroline Webster Schermerhorn, 1831-1908)" . www.metmuseum.org . Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved February 3, 2019 .
^ MacColl, Gail; Wallace, Carol McD (2012). To Marry an English Lord: Tales of Wealth and Marriage, Sex and Snobbery in the Gilded Age . Workman Publishing. ISBN 9780761171980 . Retrieved February 3, 2019 .
^ Columbia, David Patrick (August 30, 2007). "The Adventures of Tessie" . New York Social Diary . Retrieved September 10, 2018 .
^ McAllister, Ward (February 16, 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF) . The New York Times . Retrieved March 26, 2017 .
^ Burrows, Edwin G.; Wallace, Mike (1998). Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 . Oxford University Press . p. 1072. ISBN 9780199729104 . Retrieved February 3, 2019 .