Author: De Fontain, F. G.
Title: The Hoffman House, C.H. Read & E.S. Stokes, Proprietors. Its Attractions
Description: New York, Edward S. Stokes, 1885. First Edition. First edition; 14 x 10 3/4; pp. [38]; lacking wraps; illustrated with numerous full-page and in-line engravings and a photogravure portrait; closed cut to upper margin of title page (no loss); a bit of wear to edges of text block and occasional small smudges; in fair to good condition. Also included is a small, engraved letterhead, with a manuscript note: "E. S. Stokes (Receiver). Among the 19th-century palace hotels of New York, the Hoffman House was, arguably, the grandest and best known of them all. Designed by architect John Snook in 1864, the hotel thrived on its oppulence, its famous clientele, including Grover Cleveland, William Randolph Hearst, and Buffalo Bill Cody, and on scandalous events, personnel drama, and shocking, "amoral" pieces of art, among other things. Some of the latter were several sensational suicides, one of the co-owners' earlier stint at Sing Sing for murder (oil refinery owner Edward Stiles Stokes, who had shot and killed his business partner and love rival - financier James 'Big Jim' Fisk), and stunning, enormous paintings of nude women. Perhaps the hotel's best attraction, the barroom was rumoured to be the world's finest drinking establishment, employing as many as 16 bartenders. Among others, the Adonis cocktail was invented here. The hotel would eventually close down and would be demolished in 1911. Fair .

Keywords: Americana


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