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The Velvet-Gloved Bouncer of the Gilded Age

Get to know Caroline Astor

This week, I’m turning to the woman who ruled New York: Caroline Astor.

She published no rules and issued no proclamations, yet for decades her approval decided who mattered in American High Society. An invitation to her ballroom conferred legitimacy. Silence from her parlour could doom even the wealthiest family to obscurity.

And in an age obsessed with…

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