Gilded Age Archives - The Bowery Boys: New York City History

All the dirt that’s (un)fit to print — the tale of the Gilded Age scandal sheet Town Topics and its duplicitous publisher William D’Alton Mann.

Before the era of the tabloid, New Yorkers got their gossip fix from a publication known as Town Topics, where the shocking secrets of the Gilded Age were revealed. But its publisher, William D’Alton Mann, was into more than just a bit of sleaze; he used these scandalous revelations to blackmail members of New York’s high society.

In this very special presentation of the Gilded Gentleman podcast, Carl Raymond and his special guest, Vanity Fair writer Joe Pompeo, introduce you to this forgotten scheme which threatened to tear apart the morals and polite mannerisms of Gilded Age society.

And for more adventures through Gilded Age New York, check out the Gilded Gentleman podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.

This show was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon

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For more thrilling tales of scandal from American history, check out these episodes of the Gilded Gentleman and the Bowery Boys:

In 1889, Robert Ray Hamilton, great-grandson of Alexander Hamilton, became ensnared in a sensational web of deceit — forged identities, attempted murder, and brazen fraud that captured headlines across the country.

Although this gripping saga played out over a two-year period, it has largely faded from public memory.

In his book The Scandalous Hamiltons, author Bill Shaffer resurrects the scandal in vivid detail.

Bill joins The Gilded Gentleman to unravel this astonishing true-crime drama, a story that shocked Gilded Age readers and is sure to raise eyebrows even today.

This show is brought to you by The Gilded Gentleman podcast, produced by the Bowery Boys and edited and produced by Kieran Gannon.