Editorial Etiquette: Judging Astors and Dingbats

Caroline Webster “Lina” Schermerhorn Astor was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the Gilded Age 400. Famous for being referred to later in life as “The Mrs. Astor” or just “Mrs. Astor,” she was the wife of businessman, horse breeder and yachtsman William Backhouse Astor Jr.. She was the mother of five children, including Colonel John Jacob Astor IV, who perished on the Titanic.– Portrait of Mrs. William Astor
–Public domain image

I heard a distinguished judge in an uptown club burst into a torrent of abuse because the papers devoted two or three columns to what he called the interminable nonsense about who Mrs. Astor might be. “Nobody cares a rap,” said the judge, throwing the paper across the room, “whether old Bill Astor's wife is called Mrs. Astor, Mrs. William Astor or Mrs. Dingbats. As for her niece, her name is Mrs. William Waldorf Astor, and everybody who knows her calls her Mamie. It's the most transparent nonsense for the papers to devote such valuable space to a family squabble.” Yet a moment's thought would have convinced the judge that the papers were on the right track. 

The question of which of the Mrs. Astors has the right to the distinctive title of the family was of more interest to thousands and thousands of feminine readers than Mr. Blame's letter to Mr. Frye or any Supreme Court decision that has ever been rendered. The subjects which claim the attention of women have a mortgage on publicity today. Women are everywhere. They are cashiers, typewriters, stenographers, clerks, canvassers, doctors, dentists, editors, lecturers, lawyers, deacons and railway presidents, and their influence is patent in every walk of life. Annie Goodwin was a working girl. This is one reason for the great uproar which has been aroused by her fate. —Philadelphia Times, 1890

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia