THE VICTORIAN FORMAL BALL 1840 - 1860

THE SEASON IN LONDON:

In the 17Th and 18Th century, the "Social Season " was a very distinguished event among the nobility and gentry of England. The season officially started near the end of December and lasted till Midsummer. This was the time when parliament was preparing to open. England's elite would travel to London just for this occasion. It became customary that while everyone was in town that the most lavish parties, the highly exclusive formal balls, the daily social gatherings in Hyde Park, the elegant dinner parties, the debutante balls, the numerous charity events and being introduced to other families of good breeding became known as the "Social Season".

THE SEASON:

For the Gentlemen it meant parliament, discussing politics, dinner, the theater and meeting young ladies that were unmarried and who's moral integrity was questionable.

For the Ladies it was the golden opportunity to show off their finest clothes, jewels, to host extravagant festivities and above all else to find their daughters rich husbands.

WHAT IS A BALL?

A ball is where the finest of society would gather at either a private estate or at a local assembly hall in town for an evening of traditional dancing and dining. A ball consisted of over a hundred guests or more.

To host a ball was very expensive. If you could afford such a lavish evening , you would have been put on a higher social level by your peers, your name would have been mentioned at every social gala before and after the season and the ball would have been called one of the main "Highlights" of the season. An honour that every Lady of the nobility and gentry wanted. Why? Power and Prestige.

PREPARATIONS FOR A BALL:

Planning a ball took several weeks if not months to prepare for. The list of preparations was extensive. The first two major decisions were, where you were going to host the ball and just how many guests you intended to invite.There were only two places that a ball of grandeur could be held. One was at your own estate or at the local Assembly Hall. Balls in the beginning of the century were popular at the Assembly Halls were as at the end of the century balls at your own estate were more popular.

If you chose to have the ball at your own estate, the number of invited guests had to accurate. Remember having a hundred or more guests was considered a ball. You had to be able to provide enough room for all your guests, their chaperone's, their lady's maids and any of their servants that they brought with them. You had to make sure that each and everyone was comfortable. You also had to have four other rooms in your home prepared and decorated beautifully. Each of these rooms served a purpose. The first room was the Dining room. At midnight all of your guests would have sat down to a elaborate eight to ten course meal. The meal would have consisted of Turtle soup, Pigeon pie, Roast Turkey with dressing, Roast Pork with specialty potatoes or chicken fricassee, two vegetable side dishes, Citrus Ice, Fresh Dinner Rolls, Jams, Jellies, Sweet Pickles, Fancy Cake, Preserved Fruit, Veal, Cheese, Oysters, Trifles, Coffee, Hot Punch, Water, Wine and Negus.The second room would have been for Refreshments. This was a smaller room that had tables with bowls of punch, plates of tea sandwiches, cakes, bonbons, biscuits, cold tongue, urns with tea and coffee for the guests to snack on while dancing. The third room would have been the cloak room. This is where all your guests would have placed there wraps, overcoats, shawls, cloaks, canes, umbrella's or any other personal items that they brought with them. The fourth room would have been for the Ladies only. It would have had chaises and mirrors so that they could either relax or fix their hair. It was also a place that a Lady could have any damage that was done to their gowns repaired.

The invitations for the ball were always written by hand. The envelopes were all sealed with a wax stamp that was distinctive. They were sent out seven to ten days prior to the event. A speedy response was required so that the Hostess would know how many were coming. To not respond was considered rude. One needed to remember that food and drinks needed to be ordered, hiring extra help was mandatory and that gowns needed to be made within time.

The ballroom two days prior to the event would have been cleaned thoroughly. The chandeliers would have been polished and old candles replaced with new candles. The floors would have been scrubbed, polished and buffed several times to produce a glimmering sheen. Chaises and chairs would have been placed strategically throughout and a section would have been reserved for the orchestra.

KNOWING THE RULES:

Even though the invitation stated that the ball began at eight, guests were not expected to arrive on time. Being fifteen minutes to an hour late was considered fashionable.

Ladies that were married were to be escorted by their husbands and ladies that were not married were to be accompanied by their Mother or an escort.

A Lady could not refuse to dance with a gentleman unless she had a prior invitation to dance with someone else. If a Lady did refuse to dance without a prior commitment she would had to have had a reasonable excuse to offer the gentleman, regardless of whether it was trvial or not. It was considered as an act of politeness. If the lady had not given any thought or acted careless, she would have been looked upon as rude and ill-bred. If the Hostess of the ball heard about it, the lady would have been taken aside in private and reprimanded for her lack of manners.

The proper way a gentleman would ask a lady to dance was to say, "Will you give me the pleasure of dancing with you?" As the gentleman and lady were dancing they were to have smiles on their faces at all times. When the dance ended, the gentleman was to escort the lady back to her seat or Mother, thank her for the dance and graciously bow to her. No matter how well the dance went this did not mean that a friendship was to follow after the ball.

Ladies were told not to talk too much. It was considered unbecoming and might cause others to make negative comments. A lady was not to whisper to her partner for periods of time. This was considered disrespectful.

The man or master of the house was to see that all the ladies got a chance to dance. Being a wall flower is something he watched for. He particularly paid attention to those that seemed to disappear into the drapes, hide behind potted plants or act as though they wore a part of the furniture. The man or master of the house made sure that these young ladies were asked to dance without knowing he played a hand in it. After all he realized that the young lady's self esteem was at stake.

The man or master of the house may ask any gentlemen that is in attendance to dance with these young ladies. The gentlemen that he does ask should be willing to dance without any questions. He should approach the lady with a pleasant nature and while dancing should appear to be very pleased.

The ladies that were asked to dance most of the evening were advised to be very cautious when talking in front of the ladies that were not asked to dance often or not at all. These ladies were also told to praise these other ladies in front of the gentlemen that they know.

At a ball everyone was to dance with grace and decorum. You were not expected to run, jump or do anything that would make you look foolish or draw the attention of the other guests.

When you were leaving a ball, if you were married you were expected to leave with your husband. If you were unmarried you were expected to leave with your Mother or escort.

Rules of Etiquette if followed at a ball meant that the night was a success and would be remembered often.

A few days after the ball, you were expected to visit the Host and Hostess at their home to express your thanks. You were to also say that you had a wonderful time and that the other people at the ball made the evening even better.

POPULAR DANCES:

1. The Grand March or Polonaise: Was the Grand Opening for balls during the 19TH century. The people attending the ball would promenade around the room. The intention was to see or been seen or to look at potential partners for dances later on.

2. The Cotillion: Is a brisk, lively dance characterized by many intricate figures and the continual changes of partners.

3. The Quadrille: Is a square dance consisting of several figures performed by four couples.

4. The Reel: Is a Scottish dance that involved at least two couples and the execution of a figure eight.

5. The Waltz then later called the Imperial Waltz: ( It means to roll or to turn in German): Is to move lightly, quickly and to whirl effortlessly

POPULAR DISHES:

1. Squab Pie: Is a pie made with young domestic pigeons meat, onions and sliced apples.

2. Turtle Soup: Is a soup or stew made from the flesh of turtles and flavored with cinnamon sticks. ( Green Turtle was the number one choice )

3. Pigeon Pie: Is pigeon meat cooked with a variety of vegetables

4. Cold Tongue: Is Ox Tongue

5. Fricassee: Is a dish consisting of meat cut into pieces, stewed or fried and served in a sauce of it's own gravy

POPULAR DRINKS:

1. Claret: A type of red wine originally from France

2. Negus: Is a mixture of boiling water, wine, lemon, spices and calves foot jelly

3. Port: Is a sweetish Portuguese red wine

FUN WORDS:

1. Beck: Is a stream or a brook

2. Braces: Suspenders

3. Bumper: A glass of liquor that has been filled to the very top

4. Camel Leopard: A giraffe

5. Draughts: A game of checkers

6. Earth: A fox's den

7. Gin: A trap or snare

THE CLASSIC MEANING....

1. LAUDANUM: Was a drug to kill pain.

DID YOU KNOW THAT IT WAS 10% OPIUM and 90% ALCOHOL?

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE TOOK LAUDANUM?

DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE ADDICTED TO LAUDANUM?

DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA, EVERYONE TOOK LAUDANUM. IT IS HARD TO KNOW JUST HOW MANY WERE ADDICTED.

IN THE USA ALONE OVER 150,000 TO 200,000 PEOPLE WERE ADDICTED TO LAUDANUM IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY.

FAMOUS LAUDANUM ADDICTS WERE: JOHN KEATS, CHARLES DICKENS, LORD BYRON, PERCY BLYTHE SHELLEY, LEWIS CARROLL, WILLIAM TAYLOR COLERIDGE, WILBUR FORCE, MERIWETHER LEWIS, CHARLES BAUDERLAIRE, EDGAR ALLEN POE AND SIR ANTHONY CONAN DOYLE ( HIS CHARACTER SHERLOCK HOLMES WAS ADDICTED TOO ) AND THIS IS ONLY NAMING A FEW