Remembering History: Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II (neé Alice Claypoole Gwynne) as costumed for the infamous ball hosted by his brother and sister-in-law Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt, 26 March 1883. It was this ball and the social maneuvering of Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt that earned the family a perpetual place on Mrs. Astor's List of the most elite New York families. Mr. Vanderbilt is dressed as Louis XVI and Mrs. Vanderbilt as "Electric Lights." Her costume is now among the Metropolitan Museum's collection.

Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II (neé Alice Claypoole Gwynne) as costumed for the infamous ball hosted by his brother and sister-in-law Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt, 26 March 1883. It was this ball and the social maneuvering of Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt that earned the family a perpetual place on Mrs. Astor's List of the most elite New York families. Mr. Vanderbilt is dressed as Louis XVI and Mrs. Vanderbilt as "Electric Lights." Her costume is now among the Metropolitan Museum's collection.

Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt II (neé Alice Claypoole Gwynne) as costumed for the infamous ball hosted by his brother and sister-in-law Mr. and Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt, 26 March 1883. It was this ball and the social maneuvering of Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt that earned the family a perpetual place on Mrs. Astor's List of the most elite New York families. Mr. Vanderbilt is dressed as Louis XVI and Mrs. Vanderbilt as "Electric Lights." Her costume is now among the Metropolitan Museum's collection.