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Lot Essay
Cornelius Kingsley Garrison Billings was president of Peoples Gas, Light and Coke Company in Chicago. In 1901 he purchased 25 acres of land in northern Manhattan along the Hudson River and built Tryon Hall, a spectacular mansion, now part of Fort Tryon.
C.K.G. Billings sponsored many equestrian events including races and trotting events and provided both the prize money and the trophies. He was a passionate horseman and built an extensive stable at Tryon Hall which could accomodate 22 carriages, 33 horses, a harness room, a carriage wash room, and a changing room for the men. When the stables were completed in 1907, their estimated cost was $200,000. To celebrate their completion, Billings threw what became a very famous dinner party. He invited 36 guests to the Sherry Restaurant on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street and they were treated to dinner on horseback. Each guest dined from a tray, specially fitted to the horse's saddle, and sipped champagne from saddlebags rigged with a drinking tube.
CAPTION: C.K.G. Billings's Horseback Dinner at Sherry's, silver gelatin print, c. 1903, Byron Collection, Museum of the City of New York, 93.1.1.3940
C.K.G. Billings sponsored many equestrian events including races and trotting events and provided both the prize money and the trophies. He was a passionate horseman and built an extensive stable at Tryon Hall which could accomodate 22 carriages, 33 horses, a harness room, a carriage wash room, and a changing room for the men. When the stables were completed in 1907, their estimated cost was $200,000. To celebrate their completion, Billings threw what became a very famous dinner party. He invited 36 guests to the Sherry Restaurant on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street and they were treated to dinner on horseback. Each guest dined from a tray, specially fitted to the horse's saddle, and sipped champagne from saddlebags rigged with a drinking tube.
CAPTION: C.K.G. Billings's Horseback Dinner at Sherry's, silver gelatin print, c. 1903, Byron Collection, Museum of the City of New York, 93.1.1.3940