The Four Hundred (1892)

"Snobbish Society's Schoolmaster." Caricature of Ward McAllister as an ass telling Uncle Sam he must imitate "an English snob of the 19th century" or he "will nevah be a gentleman". Published in Judge, November 8, 1890.

In response to competing lists naming the purported members of New York society published in the New York World that insisted New York society was, in fact, made up of only 150 people,[16] McAllister spoke with The Times, refuting the World article and giving the paper the "official list", which was published on February 16, 1892 and quoted McAllister stating:

“The so-called Four Hundred has not been cut down or dwindled to 150 names. The nonsense, don't you know, printed to that effect in the World and some other papers, has made a very bad impression that will reflect badly against them, you understand. That list of names, you understand, printed on Sunday, did not come from me, don't you see. It is unauthorized, don't you see. But it is accurate as far as it goes, you understand.

It is incomplete and does injustice, you understand, to many eligible millionaires. Think of leaving out such names, don't you know, as Chauncey M. Depew, Gen. Alexander S. Webb, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cooper, Mr. and Mrs. Luther Kountze, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goelet, Mr. and Miss Wilson, Miss Greene, and many others! Don't you understand, it is absurd, senseless.

Let me explain, don't you know. There are three dinner dances, don't you know, during the season, and the invitations, don't you see, are issued to different ladies and gentlemen each time, do you understand? So at each dinner dance, you know, are only 150 people of the highest set, don't you know. So, during the season, you see, 400 different invitations are issued.

Wait a moment and I will give you a correct list, don't you know, of the people who form what is known as the Four Hundred. Do you understand it will be authorized, reliable, and, don’t you know, the only correct list.”[4]

The list, purported to include the crème de la crème of New York society, consisted largely of "bankers, lawyers, brokers, real estate men, and railroaders, with one editor (Paul Dana of The New York Sun), one publisher, one artist, and two architects."[7] It also included a mix of both "Nobs" and "Swells".[17] "Nobs" came from old money (including the Astors, the Goelets, the Livingstons, and the Van Rensselaers), and "Swells" were representatives of the nouveau riche, who Mrs. Astor felt, begrudgingly, were able to partake in polite society (best personified by the Vanderbilt family).[17]

"The European Svengali and the trilbys of the "Four Hundred" - He hypnotizes 'em every time!"

After McAllister released the names of The Four Hundred in The New York Times, there was significant backlash, both against the idea of a definitive list of "acceptable society" and McAllister himself.[18][19] The papers dubbed him "Mr. Make-a-Lister" and, in combination with his memoirs published in 1890, entitled Society as I Have Found It,[20] further ostracized him from the "old guard", who valued their privacy in an era when the leaders of society were the equivalent of modern movie stars.[15] William d'Alton Mann, who owned the Town Topics, a gossip magazine, considered it his duty to expose the sins of society and regularly criticized the Four Hundred.[19]

Several years later, author O. Henry released a collection of short stories, entitled The Four Million, a reaction to this phrase, expressing O. Henry's opinion that every human being in New York was worthy of notice.[21]

In 2009, the Museum of the City of New York compiled its own list, entitled “The New York City 400,” of the 400 "movers and shakers" who made a difference in the 400 years of New York City history since Henry Hudson arrived in 1609. McAllister was "the only person on the original Four Hundred to also make the museum’s list."[22]