Victorian Vice

Victorian Vice

Admission: One drink minimum (alcohol or non-alcohol). All ages welcome, but you must be 21+ to consume alcohol.

The New York Nineteenth Century Society cordially invites you to the first in a series of presentations focused on what polite society considered scandalous, outrageous, and just plain criminal in the 19th century. Welcome to ‘Victorian Vices’!

Join fellow society members, historians, and friends as we explore our collective history with three wonderful presentations given by experts in their respective fields! Enjoy food and drink specials created just for this event by the gracious staff of Brooklyn Fire Proof. The presentations begin at 4:00pm, but show up early and get a chance to mix and mingle with like-minded enthusiasts.

If you like, come dressed in your finest Nineteenth Century, Steampunk, Edwardian, Victorian, Civil War, Unusual, and Unique outfits and join NYC’s history-loving community. We here at the NYNCS always encourage period-inspired dress, but never require it.

This introduction to the ‘vices’ will begin with:

4:00-4:45pm “The Original Riot Grrls: 19th century Girl Gangs” with Professor Calamity
These girl gangs came into being at the same time as the suffragettes and represent a lower class and immigrant version of proto-feminism that has been nearly erased from New York City’s history.
Drawing on original police records, memoirs, and newspaper clippings, Professor Calamity and Screaming Mathilda – two members of the Castrophone Orchestra Arts Collective and Combustion Books – will expose the now almost forgotten world of female gangs.

5:00-5:45pm “Absinthe!” with Cheryl Lins, proprietor, Delaware Phoenix Distillery.

6:00-6:45pm “Hopped up: a discussion on drugs in Gilded Age urban America” with Kenneth Toglia

This presentation will be centered on opiates, cocaine, marijuana, tobacco, and other drugs in the 19th century. Mr. Toglia welcomes your questions, so don’t be shy!