Hello, I'm Carl Raymond, the host of the Gilded Gentleman History podcast where every two weeks we delve into worlds light and dark

of America's Gilded Age, France's Belle-Puc, and England's late Victorian and Edwardian

eras.

Often our images of Gilded Age, New York, are of extravagant dinner parties, grand balls,

and the world of the 1% whose world

didn't stray too much from Fifth and Madison avenues.

But there was a lot more of New York to cover and a lot more required to ensure the safety

and security of the rapidly growing population pouring into all corners of the city from abroad and other parts

of the country. Just how were inhabitants kept safe? Just what made up the police force and how did it

evolve through the gilded age? Teddy Roosevelt, before becoming president, famously took over the reins of the city's police

and shaped it into a much more modern and efficient line of defense against the city's rampant crime.

Returning guest and listener-favored historian and author Esther Crane joins me for this episode

to trace just how the city's police evolved over

the 19th century and which individuals and groups fought to maintain the city's law and order.

Esther Crane, a native New Yorker, is a writer and editor.

She is the author of the Gilded Age in New York, 1870 to 1910, published by Hachet in 2016,

and New York City in 3D in the Gilded Age, published by Black Dog and Leventhal in 2014.

In 2008, she launched Ephemeral New York, a website that chronicles the city's past.

Ephemeral New York has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, and other publications.

Esther speaks regularly on topics relating to New York City history and conducts walking tours that explore the city's

hidden pockets and little-known stories. Esther is a licensed New York City tour guide and regularly

leads Gilded Age theme tours for Barry Boys' walks. Esther and I have recorded three shows together,

...