The Bradley-Martin Ball was a lavish costume ball at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City on the night of February 10, 1897. Cornelia Bradley-Martin, wife of Bradley Martin, organized the ball. Eight hundred socialites spent about $400,000 imitating kings and queens. Bradley-Martin's stated intention was to create an economic stimulus for New York City, which was at the end of the Long Depression which began in 1873 and included the Panic of 1893. The Bradley-Martins spent approximately $9.7 million in today's money to throw the ball. Across the country, preachers and editorial writers argued over the propriety of a party that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the end, the ball was a social triumph but created negative publicity. Before the Ball Although the Bradley-Martin's stated intention was to benefit New York city through an economic stimulus, Bradley Martin's wife, Cornelia Bradley Martin, had other intentions as well. For weeks, Cornelia would have her secretary make sure that the papers had all the important details and would be widespread through the city. Before long, public backlash began to manifest itself. In the three weeks leading up to it, New York society made the ball its one topic of discussion. The Commercial Advertiser exclaimed: "There is a great stir today in fashionable circles and even in public circles. The cause of it all is the Bradley Martin ball, beside which the arbitration treaty, the Cuban question, and the Lexow investigation seem to have become secondary matters of public interest." The guests included: Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor, known simply as Mrs. Astor, costumed as Mary, Queen of Scots, her son John Jacob Astor as Henry IV of France and his wife as Marie Antoinette, James L. Breese as the Duke of Guise, Charles Childs as Lady Teazle, Hermann Oelrichs as a Dutch Bergomaster, Charles Post as Madame de Maintenon, Stanford White in a Court costume of black velvet and white satin, the artist Adolfo Müller-Ury as a Spanish toreador, and Hamilton Fish Webster as Maria Theresa of Austria. The Ball Concept Cornelia Bradley-Martin's idea was to give a costume ball at so short notice that her guests would not have time to get their dresses from Paris, and instead support local businesses. This overlapped with the idea that it was much better for the laboring people if the wealthy spent their money locally instead of taking it to Europe.