Philanthropy and the Gilded Age
As the HBO series The Gilded Age suggests, charity allowed wealthy women to play a visible role in public life. It was also a site of inter-class animosity.
The Social Responsibility of American Industrialists
In the 1890s, the first public relations professionals began advising the wealthy on how to use philanthropy to placate the public.
Why We Obsess Over Other People’s Mansions
Gilded Age mansions were remarkably public places. Newspapers breathlessly followed their construction and the social lives that happened within them
The Real Reason Fine Art Costs So Much
To outsiders, art auctions can seem like a parody of bizarre spending by wealthy people. The origins of ultra-expensive art lies in the nineteenth-century.
A Critical Look at Gilded Age Philanthropy
The 125th anniversary of the opening of Carnegie Hall on May 5th provides an opportunity to examine Andrew Carnegie's legacy and philanthropy.
Privacy, Journalism, and the Gilded Age
The interview is now such a standard part of journalism that it may come as a surprise to read that the New York Times editorialized against it in 1874.