Description

In the Service: Workers on the Grand Estates of Long Island, 1890s-1940s, by Elly Shodell

In the years between 1890 and 1940, Long Island was home to some of the wealthiest families in America. The Guggenheims, Belmonts, Vanderbilts, Goulds, and Hearsts were among those who had estates here. In order to maintain these vast properties, cadres of workers were recruited to fill jobs as butlers, chauffers, maids, cooks, dairymen, gardeners, valets and stablemen. In the Service brings the past to life with more than 80 contemporary and vintage photographs, as well as the narratives of the men and women who worked on the great estates. 1991. 66p., illustrations. Paperbound. ISBN: 0-9615059-2-3.