Tiffany Parties, Signed to Betsy Bloomingdale
[Signed to Betsy Bloomingdale] Loring, John. Tiffany Parties. First Edition. 1989. Book and dust jacket are both in very good condition. Book is warmly inscribed, “For Betsy, with fondness and admiration, John Loring, 14 Nov 1989.” Preface by Aileen Mehle. Introduction by Jane Lane.
Cleveland Amory famously asked “Who Killed Society?” The answer is that no one did, because society cannot ever die; it just continually re-invents itself. This book celebrates its 1980s Nouvelle Society incarnation—how appropriate this copy is from library of Betsy Bloomingdale, whose position as First Lady Nancy Reagan’s best friend meant she was one of Nouvelle Society’s leading acolytes. The book, edited by Jacqueline Onassis, is as lavish as the parties it showcases, which include Irving Berlin’s one hundred birthday celebration, Mr. and Mrs. Milton Petrie’s Fourth of July Party in Southampton, the Met’s Costume Institute Gala (a decade before it was infiltrated by celebrities), and the Reagan White Houses’s Final State Dinner.
“All marvelous parties share three things in common—imagination, a desire to dazzle and delight, and a transcendent guest list.”
--Aileen Mehle