Making the private public: Anne Willing Bingham's role as a leader of Philadelphia's social elite in the eighteenth century
Date
1988
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This thesis examines late eighteenth-century gentility and elite material culture in Philadelphia through a discussion of the life of Anne Willing Bingham. Wife of an extremely wealthy merchant, William Bingham, Anne became a leader in elite society and a popular hostess of her day. An analysis of close to two hundred contemporary references to Anne and William Bingham sheds light on the reasons for Anne's social success. Three major conclusions are drawn from this analysis: (1) Anne Bingham's behavior, formed during a three-year tour of Europe, differed from the prescribed genteel behavior for women in the late eighteenth century; (2) social success in Europe led the Binghams to attempt to recreate a European setting upon their return to Philadelphia; and (3) this extravagant European-influenced material life, along with Anne's attractive behavior, resulted in her rise to a position of prominence in Philadelphia society. (Abstract from ProQuest citation page.)