The Christmas season is always a grand affair at Staatsburgh! The site has elaborate decorations that evoke the decadence and over-the-top nature of the Gilded Age. Quite often, the holiday decorations are aligned with a theme and in 2022 that theme was masquerade. Masks adorned various Christmas trees and tables throughout the mansion and the strains of Phantom of the Opera's 'Masquerade' could be heard in the dining room (hence the borrowed lyric in the title of this essay.) Masquerade balls evoke a sense of mystery and opulence that was most commonly associated with 16th-century Venice and the Carnival. Since wearing a mask could act as a disguise, there was an element of thrill and intrigue about not knowing the identity of your dance partner. Although masquerade balls fell out of fashion the following century, they became popular again in 18th-century Europe. Given that Gilded Age décor frequently copied 18th-century European tastes and styles, it was only natural that masquerade balls were once again part of entertaining .
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| Banquet table in the Dining Room, December 2022 |
It is quite difficult to find masquerade balls described in great detail from the era, and even more difficult to find photographs of masked guests. Many Gilded Age balls were costumed balls, and photographs exist of attendees at those events, but most of the photographs from those events showcase the costumes without masks. While many balls in New York involved costumes, they did not always include masks. One such ball, the infamous James Hazen Hyde ball of 1905, had a Versailles theme and guests wore their 18th-century best. According to the guest list in the New York Tribune, Ruth & Ogden Mills and their three children were in attendance. Although newspapers referred to the ball as a masquerade, the only photographs of actual masks are below. The ball began with an 18th-century contra dance performed by debutantes and young society men. The men were dressed as pantomime character Pierrot, but their costuming also included masks. The Museum of the City of New York has a large collection of photos from the ball, which can be seen here.
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| Hyde Ball, January 31, 1905, Photo: Museum of the City of New York |
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| Unidentified woman and man dressed as in a pierrot costume, Hyde Ball Photo: Museum of the City of New York |
The ball was infamous for many reasons, but primarily because it ended Hyde's career. At the young age of 23, Hyde inherited his father's billion dollar company, the Equitable Life Assurance Society. The company's board doubted Hyde's ability to run company, and they accused him of spending $200,000 ($6 million today) of company funds to hold the 1905 ball. At the time, that was a huge sum of money to spend on a single evening! Even though Hyde was falsely accused, the smear campaign worked and he resigned from the company and moved to France. Perhaps Hyde should have thought twice about using a Versailles theme given the result of Louis XVI's over the top excess.
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| The New York Times (New York, New York), July 24, 1910 |
Masquerade balls were also popular in several large Catskill resorts. Many of these resorts were summer getaways for Jewish families who were excluded from most entertainments and invitations in Gilded Age high society. Fleischmanns in Delaware County was home to serval resorts including the St. Regis and the Hotel Switzerland. Both resorts held multiple masquerade balls during the season and they were very popular.
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| Hotel Switzerland, Fleischmanns, NY, circa 1920 |
In Hudson Valley area, one local cultural group held a masquerade ball in for many decades. The local German cultural association hosted the Germania Masquerade at a variety of different locales. One of the group's early events was the third event to be held at the new Collingwood Opera House in Poughkeepsie, which opened in 1869. Today the Collingwood Opera House continues to operate, but it is now known as the Bardavon Theater.
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| Collingwood Opera House, Image: Bardavon Collection |
At this 1869 event, only masked guests could dance the first three dances, but guests were able to remove their masks later in the evening. There were rules about who could attend (no solo children!), but there was an admission charge, which made it available to a broader public. It was not the type of event that Ruth & Ogden Mills or their peers would have attended because grand balls hosted by upper class Gilded Age society matrons were invitation only. The ball appealed to the middle class and the 1869 Germania masquerade was a success with over 2000 attendees reported by the newspaper. However, a letter to the editor in the Poughkeepsie News Press from a local clergyman, shows that there was some pushback. Since masquerade balls could be a place to act out anonymously, there was often a worry that masquerade balls may invite immorality, debauchery, and persons of ill repute. The letter alleged that, "certain persons of known disreputable character were admitted to the floor of the Opera House at the Germania Masquerade." The following year, attendees were asked to temporarily remove their masks at the door to make sure there were no known criminals or individuals with unmentionable vocations attempting entry. The masquerade continued, albeit in a different location, and newspaper articles advertising the event continued into the 1950s.
Despite the lack of photos from Gilded Age masquerade balls, the San Francisco Examiner included this drawing in an article from February 1898. At the Heber Bishop ball in 1898, Ruth Mills and William K. Vanderbilt entered wearing a cat and dog mask. At both dinner parties and balls in the Gilded Age, it was common to escort others who were not your spouse. In this instance, everyone else at the ball knew who was behind the masks and they weren't truly anonymous. It was an opportunity, however brief, to assume another identity, which is one of the primary thrills of a masquerade ball!
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| The San Francisco Examiner, February 16, 1898 |
Resources:
https://poklib.org/from-collingwood-to-bardavon-poughkeepsies-first-theater/
https://historictheatres.org/blog/2017/10/27/19th-century-opera-houses-and-flat-floor-events
https://halfpuddinghalfsauce.blogspot.com/2014/01/le-mardi-31-janviere-1905-james-hazen.html
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