{"id":6667,"date":"2020-03-17T14:59:47","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T18:59:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/susannaives.com\/wordpress\/?p=6667"},"modified":"2020-03-17T15:28:11","modified_gmt":"2020-03-17T19:28:11","slug":"1860s-french-fashions-and-english-ballroom-etiquette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/susannaives.com\/wordpress\/2020\/03\/1860s-french-fashions-and-english-ballroom-etiquette\/","title":{"rendered":"1860s French Fashions and English Ballroom Etiquette"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I found some great images by French photographer Andr\u00e9-Adolphe-Eug\u00e8ne Disd\u00e9ri at The Metropolitan Museum of Art<\/a> and Wikimedia Commons<\/a>. Rather than create a huge picture gallery, I\u2019m adding an excerpt on ballroom etiquette found in Routledge’s Manual of Etiquette<\/a><\/em> published in 1875 (although similar versions were around in the 1860s.) Click on an image to enlarge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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s the number of guests at a dinner-party is regulated by the size of the table, so should the number of invitations to a ball be limited by the proportions of the ball-room. A prudent hostess will always invite a few more guests than she really desires to entertain, in the certainty that there will be some deserters when the appointed evening comes round; but she will at the same time remember that to overcrowd her room is to spoil the pleasure of those who love dancing, and that a party of this kind when too numerously attended is as great a failure as one at which too few are present. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A room which is nearly square, yet a little longer than it is\nbroad, will be found the most favourable for a ball. It admits of two quadrille\nparties, or two round dances, at the same time. In a perfectly square room this\narrangement is not so practicable or pleasant. A very long and narrow room is\nobviously of the worst shape for the purpose of dancing, and is fit only for\nquadrilles and country dances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top of the ball-room is the part nearest the orchestra. In a private room, the top is where it would be if the room were a dining-room. It is generally at the farthest point from the door. Dancers should be careful to ascertain the top of the room before taking their places, as the top couples always lead the dances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good floor is of the last importance in a ball-room. In a\nprivate house. nothing can be better than a smooth, well-stretched holland,\nwith the carpet beneath. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abundance of light and free ventilation are indispensable to\nthe spirits and comfort of the dancers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good music is as necessary to the prosperity of a ball as good wine to the excellence of a dinner. No hostess should tax her friends for this part of the entertainment. It is the most injudicious economy imaginable. Ladies who would prefer to dance are tied to the pianoforte; and as few amateurs have been trained in the art of playing dance music with that strict attention to time and accent which is absolutely necessary to the comfort of the dancers, a total and general discontent is sure to result. To play dance music thoroughly well is a branch of the art which requires considerable practice. It is as different from every other kind of playing as whale fishing is from fly fishing. Those who give private balls will do well ever to bear this in mind, and to provide skilled musicians for the evening. For a small party, a piano and cornopean make a very pleasant combination. Unless where several instruments are engaged, we do not recommend the introduction of the violin : although in some respects the finest of all solo instruments, it is apt to sound thin and shrill when employed on mere inexpressive dance tunes, and played by a mere dance player. <\/p>\n\n\n\n