1885 Carriage Etiquette in Virginia

1885 children’s and women’s summer fashions, suitable for visiting the beaches of Virginia — “A really high-bred Virginian never so far forgets etiquette as to inquire of a stranger where he was from, because the stranger might be forced to acknowledge that he was from some other state than Virginia, and it was only charity to spare him this mortifying admission.”

Boston Journal— Queer vestiges of old-time etiquette still linger in Virginia. It used to be, and in a measure is still, considered the height of rudeness for one person in driving to pass another person on the road. As a result, the slowest coach on the road could keep all the others behind it; time and distance were relatively of no importance. Even now the people apologize when they pass each other on the road.

It has also been alleged that a really high-bred Virginian never so far forgets etiquette as to inquire of a stranger where he was from, because the stranger might be forced to acknowledge that he was from some other state than Virginia, and it was only charity to spare him this mortifying admission. It is a hotly-disputed point, and has been for the last 200 years, whether a guest spending the night with his host should make the move to go to bed or whether the host should. —1885

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