“Devoid of any facet of interest or spectacle”: Rensselaer Schuyler’s Unrealized Masquerade Emporium

***The article that follows was written as Schuyler Mansion's annual April Fools post. Unfortunately, Rensselaer Schuyler never planned to open a store called "Fancy Masks" (that we know of!). Thank you to everyone who played along!***

In August of 1792, Angelica Schuyler Church sent her brother Rensselaer a letter from London, where she was living at the time with her husband and children. She included the usual news of friends and family abroad, updates on conflict with France, and inquiries as to the health of her loved ones in America. However, despite being separated by an entire ocean and an age-gap of 17 years, the primary content of the letter indicates a deep familiarity on Angelica’s part with young Rensselaer’s most pressing concerns at that time- business and romance:

Though I am certain that Papa has been applying you heed the Advise [sic] of our brother Hamilton in matters of Finance, my heart beats maloncholy [sic] that he has not told you who it is who Advises him[.] For if he had, she expects she should have had a Letter from you some time ago, entreating her (that is, myself), to relate unto you all that she (that is, I) have to tell of the State of Finance in London, a matter on which I am very much Informed and Most Happy to share with my dear Brother…

As to that Other Matter, touching the Heart and all the Exhortions [sic] of Venus, you should not think it Amiss to say Amas*, nor to apply to your loving sister for Advise [sic] on this matter either. To this I will say only that you must take to a Ball the object of your Affections, the effection [sic] of which will be made most agreeable should you escort her to a Masquerade. It is a gathering of the most fashionable and amusing sort[;] at it all the couples wear Mascks [sic] and all of the most fantastical sort, with feathers and silks and all manner of Bazaar [sic] creatures, tigresses and Devils and other such phantasms. Such a gathering was had at the Prince [of Wales]’s apartments Several nights past, and tho [sic] I spent the whole night in good company there, several couples spent less time with the ensemble...

A Masquerade of the type described by Angelica Schuyler

Whether or not Rensselaer took his big-sister’s advice on romance to heart, he apparently saw in her letter a chance for a business venture.  While we do not have Rensselaer’s letter to his father, a letter written by Philip Schuyler to his son several weeks after Rensselaer received Angelica’s message sheds light on Rensselaer’s latest inspiration.

My Dear Son, 

Pleased tho [sic] I am to hear that you intend to take an interest in entering the World of Business at last[,] your letter of the 3^rd instnt [sic] has given me cause to offer Trepeditious [sic] counsel. I fear you may have misread your dear sister Angelica’s intent in her advisement, for while she tells me she offered you advice on Both business and matrimony, I fear you have Conflated the Two into One. Your proposed course, that of establishing a Store for the selling of Maskerade fashions and other such frivolities, seems to me ill-advised and a poor use of the education in Maths, science, History, and all other Useful Arts which I have ever endevored [sic] to provide you with and Furthermore can only result in your unhappiness and mine, and the squandering of the fortune you request of me to secure the enterprise. Further, the illustrations of your Intentions, though artistically adept in their accuracy, are poor things, devoid of any facet of interest or spectacle capable of capturing the interest of those who attend such parties. Lastly, the name of the establishment, Fancy Masks, as you propose it, is a ridiculous thing, and beneath you in all ways I advise instead you apply yourself to Farming or Commerce, both of which in perfect harmony suffice to make a man wealthy and respected.

I remain, ever and adieu,

Yr Fthr

Ph: Schuyler

From this letter, it appears that Rensselaer’s plan was to open a store (whether in New York or Albany is not specified), for selling masks and fancy clothing for Masquerade Balls, as described by his sister, Angelica. For years, the only reference to Rensselaer’s designs for his masks was Philip’s description in this letter. However, a recently discovered ledger book from within the Schuyler family contains a loose leaf of paper depicting what appears to be one of Rensselaer’s illustrations of the sorts of masks he intended to sell in his establishment. If this is the case, then it seems that his father’s description is unfortunately accurate.

Rensselaer never got to open Fancy Masks. Instead he set out on a life plagued by debt for many years before finally settling in to the life his father intended for him as a land-lord and developer. Still, one cannot help but wonder what his life would have been like had his creative impulses been better nurtured. Alas, we will never know.


* Latin for, "You love..."- wordplay off of "Amiss".




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Happy April Fools! So as many have guessed, this article was, as they say, complete hogwash. However, while the overall premise was written as a prank, there is plenty of real historical inspiration. Masquerades were an extremely popular form of high-society entertainment, with an industry of purveyors of masquerade costumes and masks on hand to outfit the spectacular events. The mask depicted, however, was not a masquerade disguise, but actually a depiction of an 18th century fencing mask from Diderot's Encyclopédie.

The family dynamics in the (fabricated) letters are also rooted in historical reality. Angelica's reference to advising Alexander Hamilton on financial matters was inspired by correspondence with her brother-in-law in which she recommended and sent financial treatises to him from Europe. Similarly, Philip Schuyler's tone of disproval in the letter to Rensselaer matches his actual tone in discussing his youngest son's financial difficulties and education recalcitrance. We talk about these topics and more elsewhere on the blog and during tours and programming at Schuyler Mansion, so keep your eyes open for upcoming events and new articles!