Gilded Age Garden Party Etiquette

Lawn tennis, croquet, archery and, for those disinclined to active exertion, card tables, furnish sources of amusement at these picturesque assemblies. Sometimes a platform for dancing is provided, and a band of music is another pleasant feature of entertainment.

SOCIAL ETIQUETTE

Manners and Customs Practiced in Pollte Society

People in pretty country or suburban places can hardly devise a happier form of entertaining than the garden party. There may be a little awkwardness at first where people are unused to these parties. Without the accustomed shelter of a house, guests may feel a little forlorn and wander dismally about for a time, but a hostess of tact soon suggests forming parties for whatever sports or games are provided, and after the first stiffness is over any one can find congenial entertainment of some sort.

The garden party proper is held entirely in the open air. The hostess receives upon the lawn, wearing her hat or bonnet, and lady guests always wear bonnets. Upon arriving at the house guests are shown upstairs to lay aside wraps and brush off dust, if they wish to, and are then shown to where the hostess is receiving. It is proper for a lady to ask for an invitation for a friend to a party that is to be entirely out of doors, as there will always be plenty of room. 

Still no lady should take offense if such a request is not granted, as a hostess may have excellent reasons for refusing. Lawn tennis, croquet, archery and, for those disinclined to active exertion, card tables, furnish sources of amusement at these picturesque assemblies. Sometimes a platform for dancing is provided, and a band of music is another pleasant feature of entertainment.

These parties are sometimes conducted on the principle of an afternoon tea. The hostess receives in the house, the guests then wander through the grounds and return to the house for refreshments when fatigued. This is a modification of the garden party which meets with approbation from the timid, the elderly and the rheumatic, and is less troublesome to the entertainer than serving refreshments on the lawn. Where grounds are ample and handsome, the garden party proper, however, is a beautiful and enjoyable affair. – The Humboldt Times, 1887

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