said the chicago banking house to the boston investment firm

Some time ago a Chicago banking house asked a Boston investment firm for a letter of recommendation about a young Bostonian they were thinking of employing. The Boston firm replied by outlining in enthusiastic detail the young man’s excellent First Family background. Several days later came a curt acknowledgment from Chicago. Unfortunately the material supplied was not exactly what they were seeking. “We were not,” they declared, “contemplating using Mr.—— for breeding purposes.”

from the proper bostonians, an hilariously acerbic anthropological report on boston high society by cleveland amory (1947).