The historic houses of Tuxedo Park subject of new book

Tuxedo Park - The Tuxedo Historical Society has published a book entitled “Tuxedo Park: The Historic Houses,” which is the first and only book that examines the architecture as well as the history of Tuxedo Park, the exclusive southern Orange County community founded in 1886 by tobacco magnate Pierre Lorillard IV. This gated enclave 40 miles from Manhattan is listed Essentials: Title: Tuxedo Park Sub-title: The Historic Houses Editors: Christian R. Sonne and Chiu yin Hempel Photographs: James Bleecker Binding: case, sewn, jacketed Page count: 384 pp, full color throughout Illustrations: 230 commissioned color photographs by James Bleecker, plus approximately 50 19th- and 20th-century hand-colored postcards and photos Price: $85 ISBN: 0-9789452-0-4 The book is available now from the Tuxedo Historical Society at www.tuxedohistoricalsociety.org and at major bookstores beginning in September. on the National Register of Historic Places. It features a wide variety of homes both in architectural style and in size, a significant number of which were designed by such well-known Gilded Age architects as Bruce Price, Lorillard’s principal architect, Delano & Aldrich, Wilson Eyre, Jr. Carrere & Hastings, Hoppin & Koen, James Brown Lord, McKim, Meade & White, John Russell Pope, William A Potter and Warren & Wetmore. Wall Street magnates, Robber Barons and scions of Old New York society made Tuxedo Park synonymous with upper-class living in the 1890s and first three decades of the 20th Century. The men’s formal wear was named after the place, and Emily Post, daughter of the architect Bruce Price, drew inspiration for her renowned book Etiquette based on the manners she observed in Tuxedo Park. The 384-page coffee table size book features 230 new photographs of some 60 of the houses built before World War II, including many interior photographs and landscape images by the well known New York City photographer James Bleecker, whose Hudson River Gothic photographic presentation is well remembered in the Hudson Valley. These images show how the houses were sited to take advantage of the mountainous terrain and the views of the three lakes. The book also features a history of the community until World War II, amply illustrated by about fifty 19th and 20th Century postcards and photographs. The book was co-edited by Christian R .Sonne, historian of the Town of Tuxedo, and Chiu yin Hempel and sells for $85. Starting in September, the book will be distributed by Black Dome Press to all major bookstores and online booksellers. The book is also available via www.tuxedohistoricalsociety.org or by calling the society at 845-351-2926.