Maps the amusements, spectacles, and social ambitions of Gilded Age America
In the Gilded Age, those with nickels to spare had ample opportunities to head out on the town. Whether they were taking in a vaudeville show, riding one of the earliest roller coasters, or rooting in the bleachers for a hometown baseball team, elites and everyday families alike awoke to a new world of spectacle. Out on the Town in the Gilded Age immerses readers in this lost era of extravagant entertainment, mixing vibrant cultural history with a celebration of the food and fairs that defined 19th-century America.
Author Cecilia Tichi also reveals the class dynamics that undergirded this period of expansion and aspiration.Anxiety rippled through the Gilded Age along with innovation, and Americans sought oases from the social and economic turbulence of their times. While the old monied families and Mrs. Astor’s storied “400” held court on yachts and at debutante balls, an expanding middle class discovered the joys of circus shows and picnics in the park. Tichi shares their stories of spectacle across class lines, offering readers a lighthearted look into the lives of average Americans.