Washington Society Attends Corean Tea

Stunning, Gilded Age private ballroom in 1890s Washington D.C.

The Corean Minister and Mrs. Ye Cha Yun gave a tea from 4 to 7 o'clock this afternoon which was largely attended by society. The parlors of the location were decorated with growing plants and smilax. Mrs. Ye received her guests in a native gown of light blue brocade with a waist of yellow, trimmed in garnet velvet. Her English is now quite perfect, and there was not the slightest hesitation in starting or sustaining conversation with the many who approached her desirous of that pleasure. 

Minister Ye remained by his wife’s side during the earlier portion of the afternoon, as the company increased he mingled with the guests, escorting friends now and then to the dining room where the receiving party, in pretty light gowns, dispensed with the refreshments.

In the first parlor Mrs. Sevellon Brown assisted in receiving. In the adjoining room Miss Thompson poured tea, and in the dining room Miss Moore served coffee frappé. Miss Cuthbert served bouillon, and Miss Beatrice Farquhar presided at a large bowl of punch. The other young ladies were Miss Riggs and Miss Thompson of Philadelphia. — New York Times, 1892

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor of the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Gilded Age D.C. Etiquette Advice

Grover Cleveland was the U.S. President in 1894. It was his second term of the Presidency. Women new to Washington D.C. not only would have looked to elder statesmen for etiquette advice, but to the wife of the President, as well. - Above, public domain image of Drawing of President Grover Cleveland’s and Frances Folsom’s, June 1886 wedding, at the White House, Washington, D.C.

The wife of a new Senator once told me that she was determined to make no social mistakes, so - wise woman that she was - she asked Senator Edmunds, who she knew was thoroughly conversant with every detail of official etiquette, by reason of his long career in the Senate, if it was not incumbent upon her to make her first visit to the wives of foreign Ministers. He replied: “Certainly not, madame; a Senator never makes the first visit upon a foreign Minister.”

So, thanks to her good sense in consulting an old Senator, this lady did not make the mistake that a few less wise new Senators’ wives have done of making first visits when etiquette required that they should receive them. Of course, as the Senate has increased in size the last few years, it can hardly be expected that foreign Ministers should call upon new Senators, but they ought to upon the old ones, and upon others whom they wish to know. 

I think the charming wife of one of the diplomats has adopted a very wise rule, as she remarked to a Senator’s wife to whom she had just been presented: “I know it is my place to call on Senators’ wives, but I wait until I meet them, and I shall now give myself the pleasure of calling on you. If the ladies of the diplomatic corps would follow the lead of this popular lady, they would avoid some of the mistakes that they now make in our official etiquette. - Kate Field's Washington, 1894

 🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor of the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Washington D.C.’s Royal Command

     “Invitations issued by Mrs. McKinley take precedence over all other invitations” –The 25th President of the United States, William McKinley and his wife, Ida Saxton McKinley

 

Invitations to the McKinley White House Akin to Royal Command 

The newspapers ridicule the new rules of etiquette at the White House, saying that President McKinley’s protocol will soon rival President Faures, who has long been taunted with adopting monarchial airs.

Vanity Fair, quoting the rule be ginning “Invitations issued by Mrs. McKinley take precedence over all other invitations” says: “Such rules prove that under the stars and stripes it is quite possible to be plus royaliste que le roi (more royalist than the King). We wonder what Lincoln would have said to any officious under-strapper suggesting such rules?” – Morning Union, 1898

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