Total Pageviews

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

100 Years of Hair

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception



 
Whether your luscious locks are long or short, straight or curly, high or flat or all business in the front and party in the back, April 30 is Hairstyle Appreciation Day.

Here are 10 historic hair trends that pre-date The Rachel by more than a century. None of which (save the timeless Bob) are likely to make a comeback.

1. Sausage Curls


Courtesy of The Barrington House Educational Center
“The tighter the curl the more stylish the girl” seemed to be the motto in the late 1830s, when sausage curls became all the rage. Their reign did not end with the Early Victorian period; actress Mary Pickford—America’s first “America’s Sweetheart,” a.k.a. “The girl with the curls” - brought a slightly softer style back in the early 1900s.

2. The Victorian Updo


Courtesy of HairStyleTwist
Practical and sexist, women in the mid- to late-1800s grew their hair long but opted to wear it swept up, typically with a little poof and some curls to cover the forehead - to not interfere with their chores around the house.

3. The Marcel Wave





Courtesy of 1920-30.com
A precursor to the perm, the Marcel Wave is named for French hairstylist François Marcel, who invented the process for this crimped style in 1872. Created with the help of heated curling irons, the style remained popular for more than five decades.

4. The Merry Widow





Courtesy of Anything Goes
To be clear: the Merry Widow in question is the enormous, plumed hat that replaced the need for much hairstyling (and made for one hell of a big-haired look). Prevalent during the Edwardian days, the look emerged around 1907, following the immense popularity of a London staging of Franz Lehár’s operetta of the same name. The hat’s designer, Lucy Duff-Gordon, remarked of the trend: “Every woman who wanted to be in the swim had to have a ‘Merry Widow Hat,’ and we made thousands of pounds through the craze, which lasted longer than most fashion crazes, for the charm of the play kept it alive.”

5. The Pompadour





Courtesy of British Photodetective
Elvis Presley may have rocked this style back to popularity in the late 1950s, but the pompadour had been around since the 18th century, named for Madame de Pompadour, King Louis XV’s mistress. In the early 1900s women resorted to drastic measures to enhance the height of this vertically-aspirational style, from ratting their hair to inserting rolls of padding.

6. The Low Pompadour




Courtesy of British Photodetective
While the true pompadour was often reserved for formal occasions, the Low Pompadour - in which hair was rolled over a crescent-shaped pad in order to create a serious front poof - was easier to maintain and, therefore, suitable for daily wear.

7. The Gibson Girl





Courtesy of Gertrude Käsebier/Social Serendip
At the dawn of the 20th century, the feminine ideal came courtesy of illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, whose pen-and-ink sketches for top publications of the day - including Life, Harper’s Weekly, and Collier’s - that depicted the American woman as independent and strong. Few women better exemplified the “Gibson Girl” than Evelyn Nesbit, an actress/model who became the center of a scandalous murder trial when her millionaire husband murdered her lover, famed architect Stanford White, atop Madison Square Garden. Piled on top of the head with some tendrils, the effect was much looser than that of the Victorian era, perhaps as a metaphor that the times were a-changin’.

8. Curtain Hair


Courtesy of Social Serendip
Takes no genius to figure out how this harsh coiffure got its name. The styling is simple: 1. Part hair in the middle. 2. Pray the result looks better on you than it does this woman.

9. The Bob


Courtesy of Adventures of the Reluctant Housewife
Even today, the Bob—a shorter cut, usually angled around the jawline - still grabs headlines whenever a female celebrity opts for a chop. The cut caused controversy in the 1920s, when it was seen as a political statement for  women asserting their equality to men but started rather innocently   in 1915, when dancer Irene Castle bobbed her hair in preparation for an appendectomy in an effort to make her recovery easier.

10. The Eton Crop


Courtesy of Ammo
The Eton Crop became a term in 1926, when it was used by a journalist in The Times to describe the super-short, severely slicked-down style that gained quick popularity among women. Sultry songstress Josephine Baker was perhaps its most famous proponent

Young Bill Clinton

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Bill Clinton, 12, with his saxophone. Rock on! http://huff.to/ZU59Ks

Photo credit: Clinton Family Historical Collection

Nigeria’s Forgotten Empire – the Walls of Benin

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Ancient Civilisation Benin photo
The ancient civilization of Benin

AFRICANGLOBE – Collectors may be interested in artefacts from the era, but the legacy of the Walls of Benin has largely been forgotten.

Man-made wonders of the world such as the Taj Mahal in India, the Cairo Citadel in Egypt and the rock hewn churches of Lalibela in Ethiopia attract millions of visitors each year and lay claim to represent the architectural brilliance of our past.
Unfortunately the Benin Moat, also known as the Walls of Benin, lays fallow, crumbling away in Nigeria, a pale imitation of its resplendent former self. At stake is not just the structure itself, but the memory of a once-great empire and a site of colonial resistance.

A Benign Development?

The Benin Empire (1440-1897) was a pre-colonial African state, which at its height stretched from the western Igbo tribes on the shores of the Niger River, through parts of the south-west including present day Ondo State, and the isolated islands of Lagos.
The empire was famed for nurturing of artistic creativity and using advanced techniques in its bronze and ivory sculptures (especially its life-sized bronze heads) that predate similar works in the Western world.
Construction started on the Walls of Benin in 800 AD, now situated in modern day Benin City, capital of Edo State, and continued into the mid-1400s. Stretching seemingly endlessly across the land, the Benin Moat the world’s second longest man-made construction, falling short of only the Great Wall of China.
The Walls of Benin, built as a city fortification against neighbouring rivals such as the Oyo Kingdom to the south and the Sokoto Caliphate in the north, is estimated to be 10,000 miles in length and 2,000 square miles in area.
Excavations by British archaeologist Graham Connah in 1960 uncovered a rural network of earthen walls that, he estimated, if spread out over five dry seasons, would have required a workforce of 1,000 labourers working ten hours a day, for seven days a week to construct – a rough total of 150 million man hours.

The Rise and Fall of Benin

Benin African Civilisation photo
Thousands of Benin artifacts were plundered by the British and Europeans

The Walls once protected a proud state, but this civilisation’s fate began to change in the face of foreign savagery. Towards the end of the 19th century, the British Empire began to try and forge a closer relationship with the Kingdom of Benin. Yet all overtures were rebuffed by a cautious King Ovonramwen Nogbaisi.
A series of delegations were sent to Benin in what can only be described as a strong-armed attempt to further Britain’s burgeoning commercial interest in West Africa.
The culmination of these ‘diplomatic measures’ was the signing of the 1892 Gallwey Treaty. Terms were heavily skewed in favour of British interests, affording them, amongst other benefits, complete control over Benin’s foreign policy and total authority over civil and criminal matters involving British subjects and property within the territory.
King Ovonramwen initially denied ever signing the treaty. However, after the murder of eight visiting British representatives by palace guards, there was no longer a need for diplomacy.
The British launched a punitive expedition in 1897, using superior armoury and ammunition to overpower the Benin army. Benin was razed to the ground, with much of the wall destroyed in the process. Treasured art was looted and sold to collectors abroad.
Many of these artefacts still adorn museums around the world today, including the Boston Museum of Fine Art and the British Museum. The invasion and eventual annexation of the Benin Empire by the British Colonial forces in 1897 led to the destruction of long stretches of the wall.
Wall of Benin e1367351859541 photo
A section of the Great Wall of Benin the second longest in the world

Although a limited renaissance is taking place in the Nigerian art scene – with Yoruba and Benin bronze sculptures fetching high prices on the international market – harsh economic times have led to a widespread disregard for this period of history. Too often the remnants of the Wall of Benin have been ‘developed’, plundered or desecrated.
In 1987, nine Terracotta sculptures belonging to some of the earliest inhabitants of Nigeria, the Nok People (1000 BC to 500 AD), were stolen from the National Museum in Jos.
The situation deteriorated further during the 1990s, when it is estimated that 429 objects were stolen from 33 museums or other cultural institutions nationwide, with many still yet to be recovered.
The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) has since been given responsibility for the protection and preservation of the city walls and moat. Legal instruments have been created which forbids any person to wilfully destroy, deface, alter, remove or excavate them.
Yet today, the wall and moat are in a state of disrepair: no more than a common dumping site, overgrown by vegetation and targeted by unscrupulous developers. In the absence of law enforcement and proper funding, conserving the walls is a near impossible task.
The walls and moat could prove to be a stimulus for a flagging tourism industry; its legacy is one, that in the face of current external land-grabbing and foreign exploitation of Africa’s natural resources, should never be forgotten.

Maypole 1911

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Students holding the Maypole ribbons, 1911
 
 
Students holding the Maypole ribbons, 1911
University of Missouri
http://muarchives.missouri.edu/mayday1.html

George Washington's Inauguration

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception
 
This Day in History: On this day in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated in New York City as the first president of the United States of America. At Federal Hall, New York Chancellor Robert Livingston swore him into office.

 Recall this moment by reading George Washington’s inaugural speech. http://to.pbs.org/17ve6Mu
 
Image: George Washington, full-length portrait, standing on bunker c.1839 (Library of Congress)
This Day in History: On this day in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated in New York City as the first president of the United States of America. At Federal Hall, New York Chancellor Robert Livingston swore him into office.

Celebrate this moment by reading George Washington’s inaugural speech. http://to.pbs.org/17ve6Mu
Image: George Washington, full-length portrait, standing on bunker c.1839 (Library of Congress)


The Louisiana Purchase

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

HISTORY IN THE HEADLINES: On the 210th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, take a look behind the scenes of the historic real-estate deal. http://histv.co/ZQ9G28

HISTORY IN THE HEADLINES: On the 210th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, take a look behind the scenes of the historic real-estate deal. http://histv.co/ZQ9G28


The Mason Dixon Line

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The South should just go ahead and secede already http://thebea.st/10SsTC2
A post marking the base point in the survey of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, traditionally viewed as the line between the North and the South in American lore. (Matt Rourke/AP)


 

1610 Peace

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

The members of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Castle Rising, founded by Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton in 1610, provided quiet retreat for older ladies to while the eventide of their lives in peace. Here, quaintly old ladies have tea.

I have been fascinated by this image for a little while, found it lovely, and just recently found the history:

The members of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Castle Rising, which was founded by Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton in 1610, providing a quiet retreat for older ladies to spend the eventide of their lives in peace. Here the quaintly older ladies are having tea.
http://www.corbisimages.com/stock-photo/rights-managed/VV1008/members-of-holy-and-undivided-trinity-of

Cicely Tyson

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Cicely Tyson in this February 1973 photo, is trying on a dress in Paris.

Ms. Tyson, a two-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee, was nominated for her first Tony Award for her role in the current Broadway hit The Trip to Bountiful Broadway which also stars Vanessa Williams, Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Wopat and Condola Rashad - daughter of Phylicia Rashad and a two-time Tony nominee herself!

Photo: Jean-Claude Deutsch/Paris Match/Getty.
Congratulations to one of my favorite @[172849239421614:274:Vintage Black Glamour] legends, Cicely Tyson, on her first ever @[167382600337:274:Tony Awards] nomination! In this February 1973 photo, she is trying on a dress in Paris. Ms. Tyson, a two-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee, was nominated for her role in the current Broadway hit @[351698458260536:274:The Trip to Bountiful Broadway] which also stars @[125321917195:274:Vanessa Williams], Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Wopat and Condola Rashad - daughter of Phylicia Rashad and a two-time Tony nominee herself! Photo: Jean-Claude Deutsch/Paris Match/Getty.

Apr 30, 1945: Hitler Commits Suicide

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

 

On this day in 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler's dreams of a "1,000-year" Reich.
Since at least 1943, it was becoming increasingly clear that Germany would fold under the pressure of the Allied forces. In February of that year, the German 6th Army, lured deep into the Soviet Union, was annihilated at the Battle of Stalingrad, and German hopes for a sustained offensive on both fronts evaporated. Then, in June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed at Normandy, France, and began systematically to push the Germans back toward Berlin. By July 1944, several German military commanders acknowledged their imminent defeat and plotted to remove Hitler from power so as to negotiate a more favorable peace. Their attempts to assassinate Hitler failed, however, and in his reprisals, Hitler executed over 4,000 fellow countrymen.
In January 1945, facing a siege of Berlin by the Soviets, Hitler withdrew to his bunker to live out his final days. Located 55 feet under the chancellery, the shelter contained 18 rooms and was fully self-sufficient, with its own water and electrical supply. Though he was growing increasingly mad, Hitler continued to give orders and meet with such close subordinates as Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler and Josef Goebbels. He also married his long-time mistress Eva Braun just two days before his suicide.
In his last will and testament, Hitler appointed Admiral Karl Donitz as head of state and Goebbels as chancellor. He then retired to his private quarters with Braun, where he and Braun poisoned themselves and their dogs, before Hitler then also shot himself with his service pistol.
Hitler and Braun's bodies were hastily cremated in the chancellery garden, as Soviet forces closed in on the building. When the Soviets reached the chancellery, they removed Hitler's ashes, continually changing their location so as to prevent Hitler devotees from creating a memorial at his final resting place. Only eight days later, on May 8, 1945, the German forces issued an unconditional surrender, leaving Germany to be carved up by the four Allied powers.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1776 > Samuel Adams writes of hope for more battles. 1789 > George Washington gives first presidential inaugural address. 1803 > Louisiana Purchase is concluded. 1927 > The first federal prison for women opens. 1933 > Willie Nelson is born. 1939 > New York World's Fair opens. 1948 > Organization of American States is established. 1975 > South Vietnam surrenders. More from this day: http://histv.co/ZTx4u4

Monday, April 29, 2013

Hominid Relations

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Homo floresiensis Shared Common Ancestor with Humans, Brain Study Shows
http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/article01041.html
 
Homo floresiensis Shared Common Ancestor with Humans, Brain Study Shows
http://www.sci-news.com/othersciences/anthropology/article01041.html


Life.com

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Photographs from Vietnam in 1963, when America was escalating its involvement in a conflict that would, in time, come to define an era: http://ti.me/OsFdPD

(Larry Burrows—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
 
Photographs from Vietnam in 1963, when America was escalating its involvement in a conflict that would, in time, come to define an era: http://ti.me/OsFdPD 

(Larry Burrows—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Lapham's Quarterly

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

DEJA VU: Race to the Top
In 2013, new World Trade Center cements status as NYC's tallest building, while in 1930, architects devised secret schemes (and dressed in costume) to push their buildings to the sky. http://bit.ly/10OQNyl
 
DEJA VU: Race to the Top
In 2013, new World Trade Center cements status as NYC's tallest building, while in 1930, architects devised secret schemes (and dressed in costume) to push their buildings to the sky. http://bit.ly/10OQNyl

Women at war photos reveal the lengths women went to take men’s industrial roles during WW2

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

A woman shows off a new uniform designed to protect female factory workers during the Second World War - including a special bra made entirely from plastic.
With vast swathes of America's male population having joined the fighting, the War years saw women filing into factories, shipyards and steelworks to take on what - until then - had been traditionally regarded as 'men's work'.
Safety officials decided the country's newly fledged female labour force needed more than just goggles and gloves to protect them from potential injury as they performed manual tasks.
Safety at work: Two women show off a new uniform - including a plastic 'bra' - designed to help prevent occupational accidents among female war workers in this black and white snap from the records of the Women's Bureau, taken in Los Angeles in 1943
Safety at work: Two women show off a new uniform - including a plastic 'bra' - designed to help prevent occupational accidents among female war workers in Los Angeles in 1943
 
The sturdy undergarment, named the SAF-T-BRA, is believed to have been designed by Willson Goggles, a Pennsylvania firm that manufactured safety equipment for manual workers.
 
In the 1940s, as World War II rumbled on, a generation of women rolled up their sleeves to keep shipyards, factories, steelworks and railroads moving.
This series of black and white photographs are taken from the archives of the Women's Bureau, which was established as part of the U.S. Department of Labor in 1920.
The Bureau was tasked with formulating 'standards and policies which shall promote the welfare of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment'.
The Bureau was also given the authority to investigate matters pertaining to the welfare of women in industry and report on its findings to the Department of Labor.

Manual labour: Female welders - and one man, right - line up for the camera at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in 1943
Manual labour: Female welders - and one man, right - line up for the camera at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in 1943
The home front: Clad in overalls, headscarves and safety goggles, three 'Chippers' get to work at Marinship Corporation, established in California in 1942 to build the ships required for the war effort
The home front: Clad in overalls, headscarves and safety goggles, three 'Chippers' get to work at Marinship Corporation, established in California in 1942 to build the ships required for the war effort
War effort: A female riveter sits atop an aircraft at U.S. aircraft manufacturing firm Lockheed Corporation during the Second World War
War effort: A female riveter sits atop an aircraft at U.S. aircraft manufacturing firm Lockheed Corporation during the Second World War
Chippers: The Second World War saw women from every social and economic background performing tasks that had traditionally regarded as men's work
Chippers: The Second World War saw women from every social and economic background performing tasks that had traditionally regarded as men's work
Precautions: Two female workers tasked with cleaning around the top of 12 blast furnaces at U.S. Steel's works in Gary, Indiana, pose for the camera in their oxygen masks
Precautions: Two female workers tasked with cleaning around the top of 12 blast furnaces at U.S. Steel's works in Gary, Indiana, pose for the camera in their oxygen masks
Female workforce: An older man and a female mechanical helper join forces on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between 1940 and 1945
Female workforce: An older man and a female mechanical helper join forces on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between 1940 and 1945
Handover: A team of female workers are seen preparing to take over responsibility for aircraft maintenance at a U.S. base during the Second World War
Handover: A team of female workers are seen preparing to take over responsibility for aircraft maintenance at a U.S. base during the Second World War

Digging in: A team of five female workers line up with their shovels on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the 1940s
Digging in: A team of five female workers line up with their shovels on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the 1940s
Making connections: A row of women at work on a bell system telephone switchboard in the U.S. during the Second World War
Making connections: A row of women at work on a bell system telephone switchboard in the U.S. during the Second World War

Final journey of a Yugoslav Queen 50 years later

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Queen Maria of Yugoslavia has been exhumed and will be sent to her home after 70 years of exile
Queen Maria of Yugoslavia has been exhumed and will be sent to her home after 70 years of exile

She was exiled from her country during World War II by the Nazis, but now the body of Queen Maria of Yugoslavia is finally allowed to return home.
The monarch, who is second cousin once removed of both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, will return to Serbia after being exhumed from the Royal burial ground at Frogmore, Windsor.
Queen Maria’s husband King Alexander I was assassinated a Bulgarian terrorist in 1934 as he drove through Marseilles, France.
The couple’s 11-year-old son, King Peter II, inherited the throne, but the family was forced to leave in 1941 after Yugoslavia was invaded.
She lived in Britain until her death in 1961, but the Communist leader who ruled the country from 1945, Marshal Josip Tito, refused to allow her body to be returned.

The Sunday Telegraphreported that with permission from Queen Elizabeth II, the Serbian royal family has arranged for Queen Maria’s remains to return to her home country.
A spokesman said: ‘This is very emotional for us. This is a huge moment for modern Serbia.’
Her body was exhumed on Friday and relocated to a Serbian orthodox church in London the next day.
A Holy Liturgy and Memorial Service for Queen Maria was officiated at the Serbian Orthodox Church of St Sava in London today in front of living members of the Serbian royal family.
Her grandson, the Crown Prince Alexander, will fly to Belgrade with her body following the memorial service today.
The monarch's wedding to her husband King Alexander I of Yugosliavia, who was assassinated in 1934
The monarch's wedding to her husband King Alexander I of Yugosliavia, who was assassinated in 1934

Queen Maria was known as a very modern woman, driving cars and becoming a noted philanthropist
Queen Maria was known as a very modern woman, driving cars and becoming a noted philanthropist
 Her last resting place will be the royal mausoleum in Topola, 80 miles from the capital.
 
The Serbian royal family spokesman added: ‘She was the first woman to drive a car in that part of Europe. She spoke five languages, she was very stylish, she was a great painter and a philanthropist.
‘She was loved by so many.’
A Holy Liturgy and Memorial Service for Queen Maria was officiated at the Seribian Orthodox Church of St Sava in London today
A Holy Liturgy and Memorial Service for Queen Maria was officiated at the Seribian Orthodox Church of St Sava in London today

The ceremony was conducted in the presence of the Crown Prince Alexander, Crown Princess Katherine, Prince Peter, Prince Philip,, as well as Princess Katarina, Prince Vladimir, Prince Dimitri and Princess Lavinia
The ceremony was conducted in the presence of the Crown Prince Alexander, Crown Princess Katherine, Prince Peter, Prince Philip,, as well as Princess Katarina, Prince Vladimir, Prince Dimitri and Princess Lavinia

The Serbian royal family have been working to have their relatives returned to the country for seven years
The Serbian royal family have been working to have their relatives returned to the country for seven years

Queen Maria's remains have been transferred from the Royal Burial Ground in Frogmore, Windsor Castle to the church and will then be transferred to Belgrade
Queen Maria's remains have been transferred from the Royal Burial Ground in Frogmore, Windsor Castle to the church and will then be transferred to Belgrade

Queen Maria was born into the Romanian royal family, and was a great granddaughter of Queen Victoria. She spent the remainder of her life in a cottage in England.
The modern Serbian royal family have been allowed back into the country and have been working for seven years to repatriate the bodies of past relatives.
Her son was repatriated from the US in January, and his wife, Queen Alexandra, will be returned from Athens in May.
Serbia will hold a state funeral on May 26.
Queen Maria was the second cousin once removed of both Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh
Queen Maria was the second cousin once removed of both Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh
Queen Maria has been buried at the Royal Burial Ground adjacent to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, Windsor
Queen Maria has been buried at the Royal Burial Ground adjacent to the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, Windsor


Heirs of the Crumbling Astor Mansion

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

 

 


      The Astor family name conjures up images of the Gilded Age and one of American’s richest families at a time of great prosperity and optimism for the country, but as these pictures of the family’s 420-acre estate show they and their iconic home have fallen on hard times.
      Rokeby in Hudson Valley, New York has been owned by the Astors for nearly 180 years. The 43-room main house was built in 1815 and then added to by every new owner so that it came to represent the classic 'American Gothic style.'
      Today it remains home to a slew of less-than-wealthy heirs to the Astor and Livingston fortunes, but looks more like a rundown museum than the home of what was once one of America's richest families.
The Astor family¿s 420-acre estate has fallen on hard times as the family has run out of money to maintain its upkeep
The Astor family's 420-acre estate has fallen on hard times as the family has run out of money to maintain its upkeep
The Astor family name conjures up images of the Gilded Age and one of American¿s richest families at a time of great prosperity and optimism for the country
The Astor family name conjures up images of the Gilded Age and one of American¿s richest families at a time of great prosperity and optimism for the country

Today the house is essentially a shabby shrine to previous generations and a bygone era of outlandish wealth
Today the house is essentially a shabby shrine to previous generations and a bygone era of outlandish wealth

The house, and sprawling surrounding acreage, has been passed down from generation to generation, but as one of the current generation has revealed in her new book, the reality of living of Rokeby was rather different than the grand facade.
While many assumed the Aldrich family, the 10th generation of Astor heirs, were eccentric hippies living off trust funds, according to Alexandra Aldrich's fascinating new memoir the money had run out long ago.
'I lived a double life,' she has revealed. 'Our poverty was the big secret.'

William B. Astor Sr. married into the 420-acre estate in 1818. '
The house has been passed down from generation to generation, but the reality of living at Rokeby was rather different than the grand facade
The house has been passed down from generation to generation, but the reality of living at Rokeby was rather different than the grand facade


Astor
Astor
The 43-room main house was built in 1815 and added to by every new owner and came to represent the classic 'American Gothic style'

Aldrich's ancestor William B. Astor became 'the richest man in America' with his successful trading of products such as furs, pianos and real estate
Aldrich's ancestor William B. Astor became 'the richest man in America' with his successful trading of products such as furs, pianos and real estate


Insider: Astor family heir Alexandra Aldrich, pictured, has revealed the juicy details of growing up within Rokeby - the prominent clan's 43-room Hudson River manor
Insider: Astor family heir Alexandra Aldrich, pictured, has revealed the juicy details of growing up within Rokeby - the prominent clan's 43-room Hudson River manor

But, by the time Aldrich was running down its hallways, she says 'the Astor money that had supported generations of aristocrats, ill-equipped to earn or invest, (was) gone.
The front of the house was a facade, where Aldrich's uncle told tours of people a spiel about the Astor family's 200-year history.
But, behind the scenes, the home was crumbling. Aldrich and her parents shared three cramped rooms on the third floor.

'I always longed to be rescued,' Aldrich, whose book 'The Astor Orphan' was released on Tuesday, told The New York Post.

She described how she envied the 'simple ranch, prefab houses' of the middle class. 'I wanted to live like them,' she says.
Her ancestor William B. Astor became 'the richest man in America' with his successful trading of products such as furs, pianos and real estate.
The next generation divided into city and country Astors - the New York Astor line prospered but the country side of the clan did not fare so well.

William B. Astor Sr.'s oldest daughter, Emily, passed away in childbirth and her daughter, Margaret, died of pneumonia at an early age.
When her husband died two years later, their eight children, aged four to 14, became the 'Astor orphans.'
Among them were 'Uncle Willie,' 'Uncle Archie' and 'Uncle Lewis.'

'These free-spirited Astor orphans left us, their descendents, our legacy: the house, its history, and contents, and a sense of entitlement and superiority,' Aldrich writes in her memoir.
But after Margaret's death in 1963 Rokeby began to decline and through the 1980s, when Aldrich was a young girl, the estate continued to fall into ruin, partly because it was owned jointly by three decedents.


Many assumed the Aldrich family, the 10th generation of Astor heirs, were eccentric hippies living off trust funds, but according to Alexandra Aldrich the money had run out.
Many assumed the Aldrich family, the 10th generation of Astor heirs, were eccentric hippies living off trust funds, but according to Alexandra Aldrich the money had run out

Astor
Astor
The property remains home to a slew of less-than-wealthy heirs to the Astor and Livingston fortunes, but looks more like a rundown museum than home to what was once one of America's richest families

The front of the house was a facade, where Alexandra Aldrich's uncle told tours of people a spiel about the Astor family's 200-year history
The front of the house was a facade, where Alexandra Aldrich's uncle told tours of people a spiel about the Astor family's 200-year history

'Joint ownership brought out the worst in everyone,' Aldrich says. 'Everyone had different views of what should happen to Rokeby.'

It also suffered without the 25-strong staff it once had dedicated to its upkeep.
Aldrich told The Post the house was divided with where you lived reflecting your status.

Behind the scenes, the home was crumbling and Aldrich and her parents shared three cramped rooms on the third floor
Behind the scenes, the home was crumbling and Aldrich and her parents shared three cramped rooms on the third floor

Astor
Astor
Joint ownership brought out the worst in the family and without the 25-strong staff it once had dedicated to its upkeep it suffered

Today the house is essentially a shabby shrine to previous generations and a bygone era of outlandish wealth
Today the house is essentially a shabby shrine to previous generations and a bygone era of outlandish wealth
Rich: William B. Astor Sr., pictured, married into the 420-acre estate in 1818 and made his fortune selling fur and real estate
Rich: William B. Astor Sr., pictured, married into the 420-acre estate in 1818 and made his fortune selling fur and real estate
Memoir: Astor Orphans by Alexandra Aldrich tells of life inside the family's Hudson River mansion
Memoir: Astor Orphans by Alexandra Aldrich tells of life inside the family's Hudson River mansion
H
er uncle and his family lived in a spacious apartment on the first floor while she, her father Ricky, and his Polish artist wife Ania were banished to the servant's quarters.

She says the lonely squalor of the third floor was startlingly contrasted to the grandeur of the rest of the property and she felt ashamed when she climbed the stairs.
She recalls how the roof leaked, the windows were splintered and there wasn’t much heat to speak of.

Often they didn't have the cash to buy food and bartered with neighbors to survive, she revealed.
After boarding school, she moved to Poland then returned to Brooklyn in 1998 where she converted to Orthodox Judaism and she and her husband had a son, Shlomo.

But in 2005, she and her son returned to her ancestral home and lived there for six years.
She says it remains 'dirty and rundown' to outsiders but has drastically improved since she was a young girl.
Her father, now in his 70s, has been the chief caretaker of the property for almost 40 years.
He still lives in an 18-by-11-foot room that hasn't changed a bit, according to The Post.
While a fund exists for ongoing restoration and ensuring taxes are paid, the money simply isn’t there to update or modernize the property.
Today the house is essentially a shabby shrine to previous generations and a bygone era of outlandish wealth, the main house's grand public rooms are filled with heirlooms.
But Aldrich says, whatever it's condition, her family will never sell the grandiose property.