In the late 1930s, Larz and Isabel Anderson made arrangements to donate an Italian baptismal font to the Washington National Cathedral in memory of Larz’s sister, Elsie Anderson McMillan (1874-1921). The font had been in the private chapel of a villa near Farrara, Italy, and is said to represent the virtues of prudence and chastity. The font […]
A compendium of short, illustrated essays about the people, buildings, gardens, art, books and more that define the long 19th-century in the U.S.
A Gilded Age Family Vacation in Pomfret | The Gilded Age in America
By Skip Moskey The Ben Grosvenor Inn, Pomfret, Conn. (Undated, but likely prior to 1894; author’s collection) One of the most enjoyable aspects of writing a biography of Larz and Isabel Anderson was discovering what their childhoods and young adult years were like. Whatever had been written about them before my book’s publication in 2016, […]
Books | The Gilded Age in America | Page 7
[Click on the map for a closer look!] In 2014 I purchased a second copy of Isabel Anderson’s book, Under the Black Horse Flag (1926), for my collection of Anderson materials. My copy of this important reference work by one of the subjects of my forthcoming dual biography, Larz and Isabel Anderson: Wealth and Celebrity in the Gilded Age, had become […]
Put Isabel Anderson on Your Kindle! | The Gilded Age in America
The audio (podcast) of my February 16,2017, lecture at the Boston Athenaeum on “Isabel Anderson as Writer, Editor, and Impresario” is now available by clicking here: SoundCloud.com. The powerpoint (in PDF format) that accompanies the lecture may be downloaded here. Click on this link: Isabel Anderson as Writer… (Powerpoint) and then click on the photograph of Isabel to […]
My Dear Beloved Punk! | The Gilded Age in America
Wherever he went in the world, with or without Isabel, Larz Anderson sent Isabel cards and notes, many of which had a local flavor. He once annotated a color picture postcard of Prague (probably around 1908) adding a silhouette of himself with the bubble caption “That’s a pretty girl: reminds me of Isabel!” He was especially […]
Larz Anderson’s Gilded Age GPS | The Gilded Age in America
[Click on the map for a closer look!] In 2014 I purchased a second copy of Isabel Anderson’s book, Under the Black Horse Flag (1926), for my collection of Anderson materials. My copy of this important reference work by one of the subjects of my forthcoming dual biography, Larz and Isabel Anderson: Wealth and Celebrity in the Gilded Age, had become […]
Larz Anderson’s “Tesla” | The Gilded Age in America
The Tesla is currently one of the hottest passenger vehicles in the world, yet the idea behind it – an automobile that runs on electricity – is hardly new. Over a hundred years ago, Larz Anderson purchased the electric automobile shown here. The engine and mechanical core of the 1905 vehicle were manufactured in England by the Electromobile […]