Soon after the first ball, which set the standard for those that followed, they decided to form an organization that would provide social entertainments for charitable purposes. Though the Association was founded by Jews, people of all faiths were invited by its members to attend the balls.
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The second ball, held at the Academy of Music in 1863, clearly manifested the Association’s aspiration to adapt Judaism to American values, as it featured red, white, and blue streamers, patriotic music, and a gas-lit sign flashing “Merry Purim.” (A drawing of the event that appeared in a New York newspaper the next day is reproduced on this page.)
Among the more than 2,500 costume-clad attendees were members of New York’s most prominent Jewish families, including one gentleman dressed as a dreidel; another wearing a “brownstone home” on his head accompanied by a “this store to let, apply within” sign; several participants garbed as cavaliers or figures of royalty; and many seemingly outfitted as escapees from Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland run amok, including a gentleman with a teapot on his head.
Successive balls were extravagantly decorated and the costumes, though originally mostly of Purim and other Jewish characters, soon spanned the spectrum of American culture. In a March 23, 1864 review of the third Purim ball, titled “Purim: Grand Fancy Dress Ball Brilliancy at the Academy of Music; Our Jewish Citizens in their Glory,” The New York Times reported:
The Academy was beautifully dressed; long lines of flowers were festooned along each her [sic], between the lights, and about the boxes vases and baskets of flowers in great abundance; over the third tier a beautiful drapery of orange and blue, ornamented with stars; at the back of the stage a large gas-light, on which, in a scroll, were the words “Merry Purim”; below it the monogram of the Society, and below the entire fixture, on the floor, a beautiful fountain, sending forth showers of cologne water, the exquisite perfume of which pervaded the entire hall, almost intoxicating the senses, and adding greatly to the luxury of the occasion. The parquet was floored even with the stage, affording, with that, the most ample room for enjoyment of the dance.The hall was crowded with a most brilliant assemblage, who entered into the enjoyments of the occasion with a zest seldom equaled; the costumes were very rich and beautiful; the diamonds worn by the ladies magnificent, and in brilliancy almost rivaled the bright eyes of their owners. Among the best of the characters represented were those of Mrs. Partington, Lucretia Borgia, Penobscot Squaw, Chippewa Chief, Joan of Arc, several beauties of the Court of Charles H., the Duke of Buckingham, Faust, a Priest, and several Jewish maidens. Merriment reigned supreme within the hall….
At twelve o’clock they unmasked and then what surprise was created…. Mayor [Charles] Gunther, Maj. [Charles O.] Joline and numerous other distinguished gentlemen were present, and by their presence added greatly to the brilliancy and dignity of the festival.
The fifth annual Purim ball, held March 1, 1866, was noteworthy for its high attendance by non-Jews, who experienced a Jewish celebration for the first time. Though the tickets for the ball were priced at an astronomical $10, more than 3,000 attendees saw the Academy of Music transformed into a Persian temple, where Purim Association Committee members dressed as members of the ancient Persian court and the story of Purim was performed for all. The Evening Post and the Daily Tribune praised the ball as a “brilliant and in many respects a unique affair,” and noted that the ball epitomized the history of Jewish persecution and the victory of religious liberty over prejudice.
