This book, first published in 2001, is a comprehensive history of nineteenth-century New York City's powerful economic elite.

Consists of "accessions" and "books in foreign languages".

Constitution, by-laws, and roll of members included in vol. for 1864; charter, by-laws, and roll of members, in ; by-laws and roll of members, in 1868; vol. for include charter, articles of association, by-laws, house rules, and roll of members.

This volume engages a fundamental disciplinary question about this period in American history: how did the bourgeoisie consolidate their power and fashion themselves not simply as economic leaders but as cultural innovators and arbiters? It also explains how culture helped Americans form both a sense of shared identity and a sense of difference.