was the western extent of the united states in the 17th century. the first project funded by the federal government for what the national road that extended from cumberland, maryland to wheeling, virginia, and when it comes here to wheeling, that will give this community, which at that time is about 50 years old, the real spu rt that it needs for growth and over the next 20 to 25 years the population of wheeling will almost triple. >> watch all of our events from wheeling today at noon eastern and sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. on "american history tv" on c-span3. each week, american artifacts

visits museums and historic places. founded in 1923, the museum of the city of new york's collection contains nearly 750,000 objects. we visited to learn about the exhibit, "gilded new york." >> i am one of the co-curators of "gilded new york," being shown at the museum of the city of new york. the show opened in november of 2013 and closes in october of 2014. in this beautiful jewel box of a gallery, we have assembled a variety of objects that help the public to appreciate what life was like for the 1% in the original gilded age that followed the civil war from the 1880's through about 1910. that period was characterized by great wealth.

kind of like the dot com people of our era. in those days, the money came from various industries, mining, railroads, smelting iron, and also the rise of the modern corporation. all of those businesses yielded enormous wealth at the same time there was mass immigration, a time when new york was unified by all of its boroughs and the total population was over 3.5 million people. with that mixture of people, the lower classes, the rising upper class, there was this desire to set oneself apart from the teeming masses. and so, this .1% of people decided to move up fifth avenue, establish their own homes, import great works from europe and hire great american architects to design their homes and fashion their clothes and live their own beautiful life. we can start here.

painting of cornelia ward hall and her children is an encapsulated's asian of the whole story we like to present here. we have this lovely family minus their husband, and we like to say the husband was off making his millions. at the same time, what they had here is everything they could produce. a very lush interior. we have the children wearing garments that are not only send -- sunday best, but party best. the mother is wearing a dress we believe is probably farm -- from a paris salon. a great french couturier.

to have that gown means you could travel to paris and you could afford the transatlantic trip. moreover, she is wearing these beautiful pearls around her neck. also around her wrist. at the time in the 1880's, this means they would have been natural pearls, not cut -- cultured pearls. there were extraordinarily valued. the japanese developed a method of culturing pearls. that meant anybody could afford them. not anyone could afford these here. the little girl is holding an ostrich feather fan, which is probably her mother's. that is another symbol of wealth. this kind of search for fancy feathers from these most exotic birds was the reason why -- the autobahn society in 1905. the consumption of these materials. behind, we have fabulous

lacquered screens from china which indicates the ability to buy things from abroad. i also point out in the corner a beautiful fern. that means you have to have a large windows. many people on the island -- houses on the island of manhattan were not like that. this means you had a house with great windows, uniform air sunshine that allowed these to bloom and flourish. lastly, what are the children looking at? they are studying fashion plates. they are young consumers in training. let's continue and think about the kinds of things that these people purchased. for the women of the era, the most popular thing to buy where diamonds and pearls.

we will have a look at that now. just like marilyn monroe used to say, diamonds are a girls best friend. this was also true for ladies in the 19th century. in fact, diamonds and pearls were considered the most popular kinds of jewelry to purchase because of their illusions to the aristocracy. everyone wanted to be a little bit aristocratic. these were, without question the most popular things to buy. that trends follows -- trend follows for the present day. when a young girl becomes 16, it is still a nice thing to give a young girl girls. it is also a symbol of. -- purity and freshness.

here we have another symbol. the first is this long object which is called a bonne bonnier. the whole thing is fitted with diamond and platinum, gold sapphire, and pearls. it has a tiny circle at the very end which is too small to hold a wrist but perfect for a finger. you would slip your finger inside and walk at a party with this and sway with it, hoping to catch the attention of someone. then when you found someone you might want to chat with, you could get -- then pull it up and offer them a mint. this was a very effective social tool that is not exactly a necessity of life, but a very beautiful one. the other object which i love because it had a -- terrific

story, is this trf. --tiara. this is the only one that i know of to survive by tiffany and company. this is the only one that seems to have survived. fashioned in -- fashions angeline previous generations changed. people with take stones from previous jewelry and rework them. this is special. the story behind it is wonderful. it is a rags to riches story that eliminates many of the fortunes made in the. -- indie era. it was made by george cap. george was the son of an average farmer. he ended up with a house on 5th

avenue, one decorated by tiffany and company associated artists and by 1894 when his daughter was married, he could send her off like a princess on her wedding day. that to me is the perfect epitome of the great story of the gilded age. you have just seen some wonderful pearls and diamonds. in this case over here, we have a selection of colored gems to sell you -- show you. colored gems were a specialty, promoted by two companies. tiffany and company and marcus and company. both very important. the other one was better and well-known at one time and is coming better known today. this story is out colored gems entered american society and became popular. this was because of tiffany's gemologist. he worked for the american geological survey as well as tiffany's. he had the chance to's desk here about new mines.

he would tell tiffany's about the first types of materials. they were at first on the scene with great materials. they were able to introduce colored gems. they kind of seduced the american public because these were really fabulous pieces. who could resist a beautiful colored object like this. like this wonderful amethyst in this bracelet and the one behind it, both by tiffany and company. the markets company was very good with colored stones. -- marcus company was very good with colored stones. this one at the center has a garnets, a very delicate color. it also has a kind of enamel that is actually translation -- translucent. another great marketing example is this extraordinary piece. this is a morning glory pendant and necklace. i don't know if you could see it well enough, but consider it as a miniature stained glass window. the wire are -- is supporting bits of enameled glass. it was brilliant on one's skin.

it was seen almost natural as if you were wearing flowers. another wonderful example, is this approach--brooch. a beautiful sort of watery green peridot at the center. around the border is beautiful cool green enamel. the gilded age, men like jewelry

and finer things as much as women. we have this traffic case of object that give you a sense of the things a well attired gentlemen might have on his person. flasks by tiffany and company, or a cut glass example, he would also certainly have cufflinks and other accessories. many of those would reflect their sporting interests. for instance, we have cufflinks that are -- that have horses on them. polo as well as horse racing were a big part of life. for many gentlemen, it was about the hunt. we have a set of hunting buttons that have been in the collection for many years.

we have pulled them out, they are made of mother-of-pearl. they are engraved with scenes of horses and dogs and foxes. they are almost mastic scenes as well. a gentleman and his horse and his dog. they are really charming. there is fishing, yachting. also there is this charming little pocket knife which has rubies. those little accessories were often given out as a gift at parties, sometimes at weddings. they were a common sort of get -- gift given back and forth. the most interesting piece is this large cane. it is curious because it shows a ladies leg as the handle. in this era, and lady to show an

inch of ankle would be scandalous. so we are looking at something that is somewhat salacious. lo and behold, there is a little naked lady inside. she looks like she could belong to a famous painting, but i don't think that was the intent. when i did learn is that the cane was owned by an osteopathic surgeon. this is a gift among surgeons perhaps, with a somewhat scandalous side story. this is a portion of a dresser set that was retailed by theodore star in new york. this one belonged to john d rockefeller. we are excited to have that here in the collection. we also have a wonderful case of

ladies accessories. ladies had a lot more accessories then gentlemen. he had a handsome selection. things like, dresser sets, this marvelous little swan had flask, made by a probably the cameo company in england. then we have things like card cases. there is this little fraud leather case. if you look closely, you will see that it has matching decorations. the frog leather -- if you look closely there are tadpoles swimming around in gold. of course, gloves. to get into gloves like these,

you would have to have a ladies made. most of the people who owned these objects had lots of servants. a ladies maid was an essential part of a society women's record for. you would have a ladies made to help you get into this and you would need some implements. the first is a gloves stretcher. you would squeeze one and into the finger and then squeeze the end, thereby stretching big -- the glove. once your ladies maid had pulled it on, then she had to help you get it buttons because there are little tiny buttons across the wrist. for that, you need a tiny glove budget. it would have fit through the buttonhole that enables you to grasp the button and then pull it through.

all of this takes so much work. they had to dress and change many times a day as well. a lot of work. >> i am phyllis, curator of textiles at the city of new york. i really focused my work on very significant holdings of clothing. they were worn by new yorkers during the course of its history. perhaps our most important micro collection within our large collection is that of materials designed by charles frederick worth, who were the house of worth. this was the most significant couturier concerned in paris during the peak of the gilded age. not only that, it was the most prestigious label to where--wear. now looking at our press --

perspective, where names in garments are important, it is wonderful to look at garments that began this trend and the inventor of the haute could to her--coutoure. owning this kind of down meant you had a position in society as well as wealth. it also meant that you made annual or frequent trips to paris to purchase gowns. this was because, monsieur worth did not make house calls. everything on the premises was designed specifically for a client. it was composed of modular parts. the cost of the garments was astronomical. before you left maison worth, he would have to sign off on you

before you left. the down behind me --gown behind me is an amazing example of fancy dress costume. worth was someone who never cut any corners in construction. the dress here was worn to the william k vanderbilt ball in march of 1883. fancy dress was the last hurrah for the public to dress up and celebrate before lent. it was held on the tuesday before. the amount of money spent those who attended was unfathomable. this particular gown was entitled electric light. it was worn by mrs. cornelius vanderbilt the second. it is extraordinarily intense in its embroidery. it is totally coated with silver threads, silver and gold

bouillon, beads, tinsel, two different colors of silk, satin, and able -- a wonderful midnight new velvet which is part of the train. the motif of the embroidery are what define the dress and are reflecting the title of the dress. this is a time when electricity was the miracle of the age. the 1883 vanderbilt ball coincided with the opening of the first power station by consolidated edison in new york city. to celebrate, there are lightning bolts over this stress. it is really incredible because if you look at it without knowing when it was made, the surface application -- you would not be surprised if you were told that it was made in the 1920's at the peak of art deco. it predates that by 40 years. there is also a legend about

what mrs. vanderbilt did well wearing the dress -- while wearing the dress. she reportedly carried a handheld torch that was powered by a battery that was illuminated. she would strike a pose like the statue of liberty. this would have been because, at the time that the ball is held the arm and the torch had been brought from france, and were being circulated to raise funds to build the pedestal for the statue of liberty. everyone was very familiar with the image of the handheld torch.

when her photograph was taken to document the event, she is actually depicted holding a torch. they have done a little bit of maneuvering on the image to really make it look as if it is glowing. we had the shoes that she wore with the dress. the stockings that are actually embroidered with silver sequins and tiny beads. the photograph of her and her husband really speak to how theatrical the costuming of this event was. it was predominantly costumed by the house of worth. at tremendous expense. other objects -- a pair of opera glasses. opera was a very great opportunity to be seen. you would go to the opera and

you would have a wonderful evening gown. you would have something fascinating in your hair to draw attention to perhaps pearls or diamonds which had been frowned upon earlier in the nation's history. after the mid-part of the 19th century, diamonds were acceptable again because everybody was dressing in a royal manner. it did not matter. democracy was secondary to the priority list. the fans that we had here are horrifying for more contemporary perspectives. many of the birds that gave their feathers were endangered by the feather gathering that took place at the time. it ultimately culminated with

the formation of the national audubon society, which hopefully put a stop to this kind of carnage. the top fan is indeed comprised of american bald eagle feathers. it was sold by and made by the parisian house. it was very close to the atelier of worth. when he went to paris, you would or do account and then proceed to the various shops and specialist who would provide you with the appropriate accessories to accompany a gallon. -- gown. perhaps the most remarkable is the eye of the argus, which had naturalized to them, the same way that peacocks had eyes to their feathers.

this one is so extraordinary in the way that the feathers are crafted, it almost looks as if they are hand-painted. but it did not, it came from the bird. finally, a fan that is far more delicate than the others, it is a white foul feather--fowl feathers. the stakes are from the highest grade of ivory from canton china. >> there are a lot of great paintings of women, some by americans but others by french and italians. the french artists were coming to the united states to do fashion portraits. in many cases, these were women going to paris and visiting

worth to have their gowns fitted. there are stopping at cartier to have their diamonds. on the way they would have their portraits done. this is mrs. stern. she is shown here with a glove. she has a fantastic fan. we have fabulous stands in the show. she is probably wearing a worth down. the story behind her is that she and her husband and his brothers were the founders of stearns department store. it was very famous until the 1950's. they were a family from buffalo. they were in the mercantile business. after the civil war, they came here and established their store, beginning with dried goods. they became a very well-to-do

department store. by the time this payment was done -- painting was done, she was a woman of means. she has her rap with for --wrap with her, her pearls, and this piece. a brooch. did she buy it in paris will she was having her portrait done or did she buy it later and have the artist added later? this was a unique piece of jewelry that she owned and she wanted it as much as she wanted her face in it. i love this piece. it is one of my favorite examples of the gilded age portraiture. >> our contemporary public is

absolutely mesmerized by those were glamorous and rich and famous and beautiful. most of the materials in this gallery were owned by individuals who everybody emulated in their day. from our perspective, in our egocentric manner, think that we invented the cult of celebrity and glamour. i think it is very important to know that on the contrary, we did not do it. there was an echelon of social figures and theatrical figures who were constantly in the press, constantly interviewed, and whose clothes and jewels were described in great detail in the latter part of the 19th century. the public followed them just as

feverishly as our public follows our contemporary celebrities. >> it was given as a gift by a wealthy enter -- wealthy industrialist to an orthopedic surgeon. >> here are some of our featured programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. on c-span 2, tonight at 10:00 p.m., "wall street journal" editor bret stephens argues enemies and competitors are taking advantage of the situation abroad as the u.s. focuses on domestic concerns, and sunday at 10:00 p.m., steve israel on his new novel.

on c-span3, tonight on "lectures in history," the early mormons and their attempt to create a new zion in the midwest in the 1964 academy award-winning film about the forced desegregation in little rock arkansas. find the complete television set -- schedule online. call us, e-mail us, or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >> up next on american history tv, a discussion about the civil rights movement. after martin luther king's assassination in april of 1968 including the impact of the