Photos show what it was like to be a servant during the Gilded Age

"During America's Gilded Age, a period of enormous wealth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the country's richest families built sprawling mansions that resembled European palaces more than homes. Those who were employed in these mansions - cooks, maids, butlers, and chauffeurs - worked long hours to maintain the illusion of effortless luxury and provide the height of sophistication for the families they served."

"Gilded Age mansions reveal the opulent lifestyles of America's wealthiest families. Servants in these mansions worked long hours to maintain their employers' luxurious lifestyles. Photos taken at these homes offer insight into the lives of Gilded Age staff. If you've ever seen " The Gilded Age" or "Downton Abbey," you may wonder if they accurately depict what life was like for the servants of wealthy families."

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, America's wealthiest families amassed fortunes and built sprawling mansions resembling European palaces. Servants — cooks, maids, butlers, chauffeurs — worked long hours to maintain the households and sustain an appearance of effortless luxury and sophistication. Staff labor provided daily domestic services and upheld social rituals that signaled elite status. Many of these mansions have been converted into museums, and photographs taken in and around these homes document both opulent interiors and the working spaces and routines of servants, offering visual evidence of the conditions and tasks required to support Gilded Age lifestyles.

Read at Business Insider