1931 Old Waldorf Bar Days by Albert Stevens Crockett

Old Waldorf Bar Days spread and violent during the early years of the century. More than once, however, the yearning for the acqui– sition of "high art" instilled-or distilled-in that im– pregnated, if not perfumed, atmosphere, was subjected to check and revision by experience and acquired knowl– edge of the subject; and more than one nouveau who used to brag about the "old masters" he had picked up, found excuse later on to subject his art gallery to a process of "weeding." Waldorf bar prices will bring pleasing and maybe precious memories to those who are not unfamiliar with bills at night clubs and speakeasies and the varying ticker of the family bootlegger. Across the dry or dryish decades, one such may recall many stimulative cock– tails-simple or complex-at twenty cents; whiskey highballs-help yourself from the bottle: no stinting measuring cups-twenty cents; domestic beer at ten cents a glass, and imported at fifteen; liqueurs and liqueur brandies, some of venerable years, from twenty– five cents to forty, depending upon age; with cham– pagnes and other wines commandable from a list almost as long as a concise dictionary. And certain old-timers recall earlier and still cheaper prices, and tell you that when they raised the pfice of highballs from two for a quarter to fifteen cents each, it almost precipitated a riot. The average price of cigars sold in the Bar was thirty– five cents, which meant that a favorite choice was either a "Corona Corona" or a "Fancy Tale." Both were fa_ vorites. Rich men with new money liked to smoke long cigars. Not a few dollar cigars were sold. That was a lot of money for a smoke in those days. [52]