High Society

For a century and a half, "Town & Country" has celebrated in print the lives of America's elite, and this is one of two books ("The Best Families" is the other) published to commemorate the magazine's 150th anniversary in 1996. It is a photo album of the nation's high society since the mid-19th century, evoking a world of wealth and privilege - Palm Beach mansions, Nob Hill charity balls, Cape Cod yachting days, and Kentucky stables. More than 300 photographs depict trendsetters, debutantes, and the founders of America's great cultural institutions. Leading photographers present Consuelo Vanderbilt when she was newly entitled Duchess of Marlborough, Jacqueline Bouvier and Senator John F. Kennedy at their Newport wedding, and Brooke Astor on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Tycoons such as Andrew Carnegie and J. Paul Getty are here, and stars of Hollywood and Broadway, such as Gary Cooper, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.