Gilded Age Royal Dining Etiquette

 

An American Breakfast Table of the Period

The dinners of the Czar and the richer Russian Princes are models of their kind. It was the Russians who invented the idea of serving the dishes all from the outside; hence a service à la Russe, which prevents the tablecloth from being smeared with gravy and other greasy substances. The choice porcelain and glass, the gold and silver, beautiful ornaments— these are the wonder of all travelers who visit Russia. 

The old fashion has returned again of a sort of elevated tray, or little table in the middle of the table, on which are placed the choice silver jugs, ornamented pieces, and the flowers, fruits, candied fruits — indeed, the ornamental pieces of the dinner. This sort of tray, to be at its best, should be of inlaid wood, bound in silver, and of the time of Louis Quinze. A real antique of this kind is highly prized in France, England and Italy. For the breakfast-table a rotating round china standard, in two parts for the jam, honey, butter, powdered sugar, potted meats, etc., and other belongings of a breakfast, is almost universal in England.— Harpers Bazaar, 1887

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

The Etiquette of Russia’s Royal Widow

“The costume is completed by a cap à la Marie Stuart, (aka Mary Stuart), the material being crepe, and a band cut into a point to hit the shape crosses the forehead.” — This style of cap became quite fashionable and even became part of a woman’s formal mourning dress, right up until the Victorian era, when Queen Victoria’s mourning attire set the fashion standard. — Mary Stuart depicted in the cap named after her. A Mary Stuart cap (or attifet) is a type of hat which was made popular in the Elizabethan era, due to its frequent appearance in portraits of Mary, Queen of Scots.

The widowed Empress of Russia, according to the strict etiquette of the Muscovite Court, will wear during the first six months of her mourning simple dresses of black flannel. They are made high and plain, with sleeves in what is known as Charles VI style, fastened tight at the wrist, but cut wide and loose so as to reach the ground. A train some three yards in length trails from the waist, and broad collars, cuffs and streamers of white cambric can trail with the gloom of the rest of her attire. 

The costume is completed by a cap à la Marie Stuart, the material being crepe, and a band cut into a point to hit the shape, crosses the forehead. A crepe veil, shrouding the whole figure, is used on ceremonial occasions, but a shorter one is substituted for everyday wear. All the toilet accessories are, of course, black. Except as regards the length of the train, the Czarina's mourning differs in no way from that prescribed for the Grand Duchesses and the ladies belonging to the four upper grades of the court circle. —St. Petersburg Correspondent, 1895

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