Tag: Prince Edward

Wales dances all night at Cosden estate

One hundred years ago this morning, September 4, 1924, Edward the Prince of Wales wearily returned to the James Burden estate after a night of gayety that included a stag dinner party followed by dancing until dawn at the home of Joshua S. Cosden. 

As the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that day, “It was another dancing party which kept Wales out all night, this time at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Cosden at Sands Point.  The party was a small but jolly one.  Other guests included Lord and Lady Mountbatten, Lord and Lady Milhaven and the Hon. Mrs. Richard Norton.”

Reporter Frank Getty was keeping close tabs on the prince that morning, writing in the Brooklyn Daily Times, “‘Please use the rear entrance,’ was the unwritten order at the James A. Burden estate today.  In one of the bedrooms in the front of the big red brick house a young man was sleeping.  He needed to.  He had been out all night for the third time in three days.  Edward, Prince of Wales, kept his fair curls tight on the pillow all morning.  Downstairs, menials and secretaries tip-toed about.  At the gates to ‘Woodsides,’ the gray-clad troopers shooed visitors around to the back door.

“Last night, after a dinner at the Piping Rock Club, the Prince, together with Lord and Lady Mountbatten and the Marquis and Marchioness of Milford Haven, went off to a dance at the Long Island home of Joshua S. Cosden.  It lasted until 5 A.M.”

The New York Daily News reported, “Before going to the Cosden manor the prince attended a stag at the Piping Rock club….  After the stag the prince went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua S. Cosden, where he danced until morning.”

Grace Robinson wrote about the morning of September 4, “Before inspecting his third Long Island sunrise from the Cosden manor, the prince had been with the Piping Rock club at a gay stag….  After the stag, the prince went to the Cosdens where he danced until morning.”

Robinson also detailed how reporters assigned to follow the prince struggled to adjust to his brutal schedule.  “The prince, having slept all of five hours, was at the private polo field of John S. Phipps promptly at noon.  Reporters who went there were amazed to find him in tan jersey and Indian polo helmet cavorting about on his favorite mare, Kitty.  He seemed fresh and eager for the sport, while the journalists were still nursing headaches following all night duty on the Piping Rock dinner and the Cosden dance.”

Following the “small but jolly’ Cosden party, there is clear consensus among reporters regarding the prince’s activities and whereabouts the previous evening and through the night until dawn.  There is no confusion, no conflicting reports coming from the gaggle of reporters assigned to follow Wales.  Nowhere in any of the contemporary accounts of the prince’s actions that night is there even a hint that Wales made a new friend at the Cosden party, and the pair motored to Broadway to go on a speak crawl.  

Yet, fast forward a hundred years and that is exactly what a former journalist and current writing professor would have us believe.  And if Dean Jobb, author of A Gentleman and a Thief, had presented his book as a work of historical fiction, he could be congratulated for authoring a damn fine story.  But he claims it’s a work of creative non-fiction.  In a note to readers, he writes,  “No quotations have been altered; no details have been added or embellished.  All scenes and events unfolded as described.  Where there were differing accounts of conversations or what happened, I relied on what was said at the time, rather than what Barry and others remembered or asserted long afterward.”

In the words of Colonel Sherman T. Potter, “Horse Hockey!”  Jobb clearly read at least some of the accounts I just presented, because he refers to the Cosden party as a “‘small but jolly’ gathering.”  Yet he ignores “what was said at the time” in favor of the much later recollections of a thief and a con man.  The book is full of these poor choices.  As a work of historical fiction, it’s a great story.  As a work of history, it’s severely lacking.

A small but jolly gathering

In September of 1924, Edward, the Prince of Wales, made a much publicized visit to the United States.  To call it “much publicized,” however, fails to adequately describe the media frenzy that accompanied his visit.  The press hounded Wales mercilessly, reporting on his every movement: where he dined, where he danced, where he played, how long he slept, when he rose.  The press of the day literally tried to account for every moment of his time on American soil.  

While in the states, Wales spent almost the entirety of his visit among the American aristocracy of Long Island, New York.  Most nights, Wales and his entourage, which included the Lord and Lady Mountbatten and Mrs. Richard Norton, were entertained at some lavish Long Island affair where they danced and partied until the wee hours of the morning.  

One of these luxurious all-nighters took place at the estate of Joshua S. Cosden, a prosperous oil man who rose from very humble beginnings to become one of the richest men in America.  It is this party that plays a prominent role in the forthcoming Dean Jobb true crime book, A Gentleman And A Thief.  The book tracks the life and criminal endeavors of jazz age gentleman jewel thief Arthur Barry, who Jobb credits as the chief culprit behind the Cosden jewel robbery, which occurred during the royal visit of 1924.  

In addition to being a critically acclaimed true crime author, Jobb is a professor emeritus at the University of King’s College where he specializes in creative nonfiction.  Indeed, Jobb describes his true crime books as works of creative nonfiction, meaning he’s sticking to the facts, but utilizing a creative narrative-driven presentation.

Although Gentleman And A Thief doesn’t officially release until next month, the prologue of the book is available for sampling on Amazon’s website.  The narrative dives straight into the Cosden party and Arthur Barry’s alleged presence there.  According to Jobb, “It was there, in the midst of what one press report termed a ‘small but jolly’ gathering, that Gibson (Arthur Barry) met the prince.”  Jobb’s prologue also describes in some detail Wales’ alleged surreptitious late night journey to a couple of notable Manhattan speakeasies.  Whether or not these events actually took place at all, and that point is definitely up for debate, one thing for certain is the events could not have taken place as Jobb describes them.

The Cosden party Jobb describes took place during the late night hours of Wednesday, September 3, 1924 into the early morning hours of September 4.  The Thursday, September 4 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports, “Last night the Prince shared honors with polo players of both the British and American international teams at a stag dinner given for them at the Piping Rock Club at Locust Valley.”  Will Rogers entertained the group with a 20 minute monologue, and according to the Daily Eagle account, “After the dinner the Prince left for a dance.”  Earlier in the article it read, “It was another dancing party which kept Wales out all night, this time at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Cosden at Sands Point.  The party was a small but jolly one.  Other guests included Lord and Lady Mountbatten, Lord and Lady Milhaven and the Hon. Mrs. Richard Norton.”

This “small but jolly” account of the Cosden party got picked up by the Associated Press and appeared in newspapers across the country.  The problem with Dean Jobb’s depiction of that night is that not only did Wales not leave the party with Arthur Barry, but Wales’ alleged secret excursion into Manhattan nightlife took place the following evening. 

Popular journalist of the day Grace Robinson wrote on September 4:  “Before inspecting his third Long Island sunrise from the Cosden Manor, the prince had been with the Piping Rock Club at a gay stag….After the stag, the prince went to the Cosdens where he danced until morning.  And along went Lord and Lady Mountbatten, Lord and Lady Milford Haven and the rest of the who’s who.”  This account is interesting because years later it will be Grace Robinson pushing the Arthur Barry story that he left the Cosden party with the prince.

So contemporary accounts of the “small but jolly” Cosden party make no mention of the Prince slipping away.  That’s because Wales’ alleged foray into Manhattan occurred the following evening.  On Friday, September 5, 1924, the newspapers were buzzing with speculation over the whereabouts of Wales between 2:00 to 5:00 Thursday afternoon September 4 and the early morning hours of Friday, September 5.  Rumors start flying about Wales’ possible attendance at the El Fey Club 107 West 45th street, Manhattan, because a car bearing a license plate traced back to the Burden estate, where Wales was lodged, was seen near the club in the early morning hours of Friday, September 5.  Despite denials by the club owner and the prince’s spokesperson that his grace had not graced the club’s premises, rumors persisted.  

Jobb quotes a newspaper account which read, “he went in disguise to one of the white light jazz palaces on Broadway.”  This account appears in Friday, September 5 newspaper editions, speculating as to the Prince’s whereabouts the previous evening into early morning.  It concerns a time period a full 24 hours after the Cosden party where Arthur Barry, alias Dr. Gibson, allegedly lured Wales away to the “White Light Belt.” 

Whether or not Wales pulled a Manhattan Holiday and stealthily eluded the press and his handlers to bask in the white light of Broadway was unclear at the time and remains unclear today.  However, what is clear is that the account depicted in Jobb’s book could not have happened the way he described it.  Maybe there was some other Cosden party that Arthur Barry lured His Royal Highness away from, but it wasn’t the “small but jolly” one.  

If it can be shown that I’m confusing my dates, I’ll be happy to admit my error.  However, it seems pretty clear that the specific events Jobb references did not take place on the same night.  At any rate, I’m looking forward to reading the rest of Jobb’s book.  The Cosden case and other area gem thefts have been of great interest to me for quite some time, and I’m anxious to learn what else Jobb has uncovered.