For those who love love love etiquette
I love old stuff. You’ve probably guessed that. I’ve loved collecting old ephemera for years and have bits of paper coming out of every drawer and closet. But one fact has always made me a little sad. When I look at vintage ephemera, if I see people who look like me, they are more likely…
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So your Grandma Beatrice left you her fancy Tazza and Great Aunt Sally has gifted you a stunning compote, what are you to do with them? Use them darn it! Look, if we were talking about a sixteenth century priceless porcelain dish, I’d tell you to be careful and leave it in the cabinet, (or…
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Prior to the turn of the century, Semi-Formal would have meant black tie. Men wore tailed coats or dinner jackets, waistcoats and pumps or patent leather shoes. Bib front shirts would be starched to the extreme and if they were traveling to the event, gloves and top hat would be worn. Women would have dressed…
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I touched on this briefly when I discussed the breakfast tray and the tray cloth, but I love breakfast accoutrements and I can’t stop posting about this topic. Sorry, not sorry. Breakfast sets were china sets made specifically for both tray service and/or for your morning table service. Breakfast sets made for trays generally contained…
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In my earlier post, I mostly focused on the Upperclass and Upper Middle Class Victorian 5 O’Clock tea, which was very formal and had a specific etiquette to it. At the same time there was a less formal version of the formal home tea which might have been given in middle class homes, but also…
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Now-a-days, we tend to think of napkin folds as kitsch. If we fold at all, it’s to have an always-used, exceedingly plain, “signature fold”. This is posited as our own hallmark on the table, rather than an attempt at something dramatic or whimsical. Somehow, it is perceived as trying too hard if we create fancy…
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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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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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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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