Gilded Age Etiquette and Carving

I think one of the most trying ordeals which the family man has to undergo during yuletide is struggling to preserve a happy exterior and maintain general good humor among his guests by relating spicy anecdotes just at the time, when in a desperate attempt to sever the breastbone of his turkey ship, the knife slips and casts gloom and gravy over the entire company.

Domestic Economy at Christmas:

Some Thoughts on Carving

It is a good old time-honored custom, that of the head of the family struggling with the still remains of the average gutta-percha fowl of commerce at a Christmas dinner, but we are glad to see a tendency in our best circles to relegate this custom to the musty past, where it rightfully belongs. Some of our best families now employ a servant, who, on an Eastlake sideboard and a small salary, takes a crosscut saw and a can of dynamite and successfully segregates the various choice parts of the fowl, thus giving the host an opportunity to enliven his guests with brilliant bon mots, instead of executing a crude style of gravy spatter-work on their white vests and immaculate shirtfronts.

Isn't this a decidedly more rational treatment of the matter? We hold that the position of the host toward his guest is that of entertainer, and it is not necessary for him to make an athlete of himself in order to occupy such position. You, as a guest, may naturally have your suspicions as to the age of the fowl of which you are invited to partake, but it must not be expected that the head of the house will take off his coat and assassinate the fowl in your presence, in order to prove that it is of an eligible age. Therefore why cannot the late lamented be dissected in good faith at a side-table and by a hired mourner without interference with the general comfort of the guest? 

We are not just sure about the, liberties of this new departure in Christmas-dinner etiquette, but we think it should permit of any guest with an abnormal suspicion of foul (we had almost written fowl) play leaving the table, and, while holding the hired man's coat, personally observe the inquest. No man who has ever served as host can do otherwise than bless the man who introduced this new order of things, which now gives him an opportunity to thoroughly enjoy his dinner instead of having to adjourn pro tern, to the kitchen to bandage a lacerated thumb, and remove several dressing-dados and gravy-symphonies from the lap of his best suit of clothes. 

I think one of the most trying ordeals which the family man has to undergo during yuletide is struggling to preserve a happy exterior and maintain general good humor among his guests by relating spicy anecdotes just at the time, when in a desperate attempt to sever the breastbone of his turkey ship, the knife slips and casts gloom and gravy over the entire company. I think if there is any time at which a man may be justified in feeling not entirely at home, but wishes his guests were, it is when amid half-stifled snickers from the general assemblage, he ties up a cut finger with a handkerchief, and removes a cupful of sage and stale bread from his vest pocket. 

The greatest trouble with men who never carve a fowl except on some festive holiday, is the great dissimilarity of fowls in general when roasted and set upon the table with the usual vegetable garnishments. They are never able to find the joints in the same place on two fowls. A gobbler from Tomales, for instance, may have a full chest and high expressive hipbones; while one from Milpitas may be consumptive-chested and have a collar-bone decidedly on the bias. Such things have a tendency to make the carver nervous, and cause a feeling of stiffness to prevail at a formal dinner party. 

It is also often a source of great distress to the host to have 7 or 8 guests ask for dark meat, when of the two fowls roasted there wasn't more than enough dark meat for the cook, who was particularly fond of it. To obviate this, the plan of ordering an extra brunette hen is recommended. If this preference for dark meat keeps on increasing there is likely to be a demand for a poultry farm that shall produce brunette fowls exclusively. — Written for the Rural Press by Fremont Wood, 1889

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Gilded Age Fashion of Dinner Service

There are several types of soups, therefore there are several types of soup bowls and soup plates, with appropriate soup spoons to go with each. Above is a low, wide bowled, “soup plate.” It is not referred to as a “soup bowl.” - “When the host helps the soup, a small ladleful for each person is the proper quantity, a soup plate should not be filled with soup.”

The usual and fashionable mode of serving dinner is called Dîner à la Russe, although at small or friendly dinners the host sometimes prefers to carve the joint himself in the first course, and the birds in the second course. But dinner-tables, whether for dining à la Russe, or for dining en famille, are invariably arranged in the same style, the difference being merely the extent of the display made as regards flowers, plate and glass, which are the accessories of the dining-table.

When the host helps the soup, a small ladleful for each person is the proper quantity, a soup plate should not be filled with soup.

When the party is a small one, and the joint or birds are carved by the host, the helps should be handed to the guests in the order in which they are seated, although occasionally the ladies are helped before the gentlemen.

The rule at all dinner-parties is for the servant to commence serving by handing the dishes to the lady seated at the host's right hand, then to the lady seated at the host's left hand, and from thence the length of the table to each guest in the order seated, irrespective of sex.

Double entrées should be provided at large dinner-parties, and the servants should commence handing the dishes at both sides of the table simultaneously.— From “Manners and Rules of Good Society or Solecisms to be Avoided,” 1898

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

The Etiquette of Carving

In the 15th century, the art of carving properly at the table, was considered an important skill for men. Most early European cookbooks were more carving instructions than actual recipes. One’s reputation could be judged by how well he ceremoniously carved a roast at a large meal. — “The exact spot to begin carving a roast was governed by elaborate rules with slices from the larger beasts presented on a broad-bladed serving carver, cut into four bite-sized pieces held together by the fatty top strap. This was held in the hand, the pieces were chewed off, then it was thrown to the dogs. A thorough knowledge of carving was considered so important that before the golden spurs of knighthood could be granted, a period of noviciate had to be spent as a carving esquire. Carvers in royal and noble households tended to be aristocrats of lesser rank. A knight carved for a baron, a baron for an earl, an earl for a marquis, and so on. The Earls of Denbigh and Desmond are the Hereditary Grand Carvers of England and the Anstruther’s of that Ilk, the heritable Master Carvers to the Royal Household of Scotland. Such was the social gravitas attached to carving, that The Boke of Kervynge was published in 1500 by Wynkyn de Worde for the benefit of upwardly mobile Tudors at a time when few books were being printed at all.” ~ From the field.co.uk

If your husband complains when confronted with the Thanksgiving turkey - you might tell him that carving is the Art of Noblemen. 

In the Middle Ages, Edward IV of England was served by no less than five Royal Carvers, all noblemen of high degree. 

After the carving, correct etiquette for those times called for a sort of “grab and gobble” technique, without benefit of table cutlery! — Desert Sun, 1952

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia