For those who love love love etiquette
“The breakfasts at which we entertain are usually held at anytime from eleven-thirty o’clock to twelve-thirty o’clock. As a matter of fact, a wedding breakfast after a noon ceremony will probably not get under way until early afternoon. Hunt breakfasts usually take place about noon after the riders return and those Sunday morning breakfasts, which…
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I’m going to say right now that all of this is going to be a massive oversimplification. I’m not looking to go into every detail of how breakfast became the modern meal we know and I’m only considering western food at this point, and the medieval times were an astounding number of centuries, so just…
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Good morning! Well, it might not be morning, but since we’re going to discuss that first meal of the day, I give you the appropriate salutation. Here we’re going to talk about Breakfast. I’m going to divide this into multiple parts because up until less than fifty years ago, a breakfast could mean the meal…
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Nut dishes are another item we rarely see on tables today, despite the fact they were used well into the 1980’s. Really coming into use during the high Victorian period, Nut dishes or nut cups were placed on the table in front of the place setting or in between place settings. Filled with nuts or…
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File under things we never see any more; tiny little plates, usually about 3 inches in Diameter set in the upper left corner of the place setting. Prior to the 1800’s with the exception of Royal tables, butter was likely served from a communal dish, either in small scoops or in a great mound. This…
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When it comes to formal dinner parties, there are three types of service that you will hear about: Service a la Francaise or French Service (sometimes called English Service in America) What preceded the type of service you see on shows like Downton Abbey? Before the Victorian era, tables were laden with food that was…
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There are so many great period television shows, but not all of them also happen to have great tableware. Just in case you want to watch a good show and see some delectable table settings, here are my top ten for the 20’s to the 50’s. 10. Lord Peter Whimsey, 1970 Please excuse the terrible quality…
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“The house guest who remains for some time may have her breakfast served on a tray so that she may not find it necessary to appear until the hostess has accomplished some necessary work. Also, an invalid usually has her breakfast served in this manner. The tray, which must be large enough to contain the…
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By 1922, Lilian Eichler writes that, “Menu-cards are no longer used at the formal dinner, unless it is in celebration of some auspicious occasion and honored guests are present. In this case, the hostess has the menus printed or engraved in a delicate script and has one placed beside the plate of each guest. A favorite fashion…
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I sat down to list the top ten television shows with tabletops to admire, but as I gathered photographs to attach to each show, I realized that show #1, the series Miss Marple from 1985-1989, with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple has so much delectable china, it deserves a post of it’s own. So here…
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