Viewers of the new HBO series The Gilded Age may speculate about the veracity of the many plot lines drawn from 19th century New York City history. The New York Times recently published a helpful guide for the curious: “The Gilded Age: What Is Fact and What Is Fiction?” (February 22, 2022). In the article, writer Sarah Lyall examined the “back stories of some of the elements that shape the world of the series.” As Ms. Lyall explains, that world is “…the Gilded Age of our imagination, full of grand families, sumptuous furnishings, lavish entertainments, stringent social rules, massive fortunes and sky’s-the-limit ambitions.”

Among the preoccupations of those at the at the apex of the city’s social scene (or those who wished to be) is the world of charitable functions. To be more specific, who was invited to what charity event (and who was not invited) formed the centerpiece of much the conflict between new and old money New York families that is engagingly depicted in the program.

The importance of these social events resonated with city archivists who remembered seeing invitations and other artifacts of these functions in the Early Mayors’ Records. This series includes correspondence and documents from New York City mayoral administrations from 1826 through 1897 and totals 157.5 cubic feet. The collection had originally been assembled by Rebecca Rankin during her 32-year tenure as the Director of the Municipal Library between 1920 and 1952.  This was a core collection in the Municipal Archives when it opened in 1952 and remains one of the most important series documenting nineteenth-century government and policies. The Early Mayors' Records finding guide is now available online.  

 Two blogs in 2020, The Transcription Project, Early Mayors’ Collection, and

The Transcription Project, Early Mayors’ Collection II , discussed how archivists, working remotely in 2020, transcribed descriptive materials that enhances access to the intellectual content of the series. Researchers will be able to more easily identify the invitations and other artifacts of the social scene, such as the samples reproduced here.   

Another theme, thoroughly exploited for dramatic purposes in the series, are the interactions between political leaders and the business community. The invitations to social, fraternal and other functions found in the mayor’s papers (many marked ‘complimentary’) are just one manifestation of this enduring fact of New York City life during that era.  

Here are a few examples. Today we can appreciate them for their artistry, color, and typography—evocative of the ‘Gilded Age’ in New York City—and as artifacts of a world long-gone.