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At the turn of the twentieth century, the Aldine Association was located on 18th street and 5th Avenue in Manhattan. An all-male club, they hosted elaborate events featuring prominent speakers. For the gathering of the Illustrators Guild on December 22, 1905, over 200 people were invited, Winston Churchill among them. The woodblock illustrator Alexander W. Drake took great pains to design the decor at the Aldine Club for that evening. The New York Times reported: "The dinner was remarkable for the decorations of the rooms. These had been arranged by Alexander W. Drake. Mr. Clemens and Mr. Mabie, the toastmaster, were framed in by a pilothouse, from the corners of which were suspended colored lights and the cornice of which bore the name of Alonzo Child, the name of one of the steamboats which Mr. Clemens used to pilot on the Mississippi River. The walls were festooned with hanging moss, and here and there were suspended oranges, gourds, and other Southern growths, while catfish were sailing about in aquariums."