Setting a Table for the King

His Majesty's cover for dinner at the French Embassy in 1939 – French flatware is traditionally set facing down on the table and thus monogrammed on the backs of the handles.

This Table, Set For the King, Starts U.S. Experts Talking

Etiquette authorities, trying to determine how tables should be set for wining and and dining royalty when King George XI and Queen Elizabeth visit the United States in June, are interested in this picture. It shows the cover set for His Majesty at dinner given recently in the French embassy in London. Its especial interest is that it isn't exactly what American authorities had in mind.

The glasses, the turned-down-silver and an ash tray caused most comment. Eyebrows weren’t raised at the number of glasses– but at their placing. It’s an old American custom to put glasses above and to the right of the knife– not above the service plate.

At the dinner given by President M. Lebrun of France, and Mme. Lebrun, however, the water goblet was placed to the left front, near the entree fork. Behind it came the champagne glass. Right front was the first wine glass, on which His Majesty’s place card was laid– so he would not have to bend over to read it. Other glasses were two more for white wine, one for red wine, and another, in the center, for the Romanee-Conti, famed Burgundy vintage of which 200 bottles were sent from Paris especially for this dinner.

The turned-down silver was a surprise in this country. Never, said one authority, is silver turned down. Glasses, perhaps– they might collect a little dust. A waiter will turn them up before serving starts. But the choicely-patterned silver? It can’t happen here.

The ash tray is pointed out some-what gleefully. It’s a long-needed concession smokers, one authority explains. He points out that until a few years ago ash trays would have appeared only at the end of the meal.– By Joan Durham, AP Feature Service Writer, May 8, 1939

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

Dining Guest Don’ts of 1916

     When you have your food, don’t hesitate about beginning to eat. Old-fashioned people wait until all are served before eating, but it isn’t strictly correct to do this. Of course, if you happen to be one of a home party, where you are passing vegetables to others, you would naturally see that you had done your part before beginning to enjoy your own share of the meal. —A Theodore Haviland patent design for a plate of the era.

A Few Don’ts For the Table

Here are a few valuable “don’ts” for the table; they are worth remembering: 

• When your hostess passes you a plate, don’t offer to pass it on to another person. Take what your hostess intended for you. 
• And when you have your food, don’t hesitate about beginning to eat. Old-fashioned people wait until all are served before eating, but it isn’t strictly correct to do this. Of course, if you happen to be one of a home party, where you are passing vegetables to others, you would naturally see that you had done your part before beginning to enjoy your own share of the meal. 
• Don’t take a second “helping” of soup or fish if you are going through a meal of several courses. 
• Never cut your bread. It should he broken on the cloth or the plate that may be provided, and broken without raising it from the table. 
• Don’t shake salt over your food. Salt and mustard should be placed on the side of the plate. 
• For the sake of your neighbors, don't stick out your elbows when dining. People who have acquired this very bad habit should practice until they find another angle. When manipulating food on the plate, use the hands from the wrist, not from the elbow's. 
• Here are the distinctive glasses used for particular wines : For those of the sparkling variety, we use a very broad and shallow glass; for Burgundy and claret, large goblet shaped glasses are correct; Sherry and Madeira require ordinary wine glasses, but port is poured into somewhat larger bell shaped glasses ; green glasses are used for hock. — San Francisco Call, 1916

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

Stemware and Brandy Etiquette

Only three sizes are necessary to complete a basic stemware place setting: a water goblet, an all-purpose wine glass and a champagne flute. Nice additions to the basic three are the cordial glass and the brandy snifter.– Like vodka or whiskey, brandy is a “distilled spirit.” Because of this, cocktail glasses can also be used when drinking brandy, however a ballon snifter is the best choice. Known for its large “bowl” and almost nonexistent stem, a snifter allows the aromas and flavors to blossom and build inside the glass, so that the drinker gets a more enhanced experience. The brandy snifter is the lone exception to the stemware etiquette rule, “Stem always, bowl never.” The snifter is best cupped in the palm of the hand, with the shortened stem in-between the middle and ring, or middle and index fingers. The hand’s warmth transfers easily through the glass bowl, enhancing and releasing a brandy’s aromas. When lifting a snifter of brandy to drink, the aromas have had the room to expand. After warming the glass in your hand, taking the briefest whiff before sipping your brandy, makes the complex flavors easier more discernable and pleasurable.

 Crystal Stemware... The Glass with Class

Crystal stemware and weddings are intrinsically linked, whether in festive table settings or in wedding gifts. However, selecting the right stemware from the many sizes and shapes available can seem complicated. Typically, a manufacturer might offer as many as nine different kinds of stemware in each of its patterns. They are (in descending order of size) the water goblet, burgundy, white wine, hock, sherry and cordial. In addition, the champagne flute or saucer-shaped champagne coupe and the brandy snifter are often also part of the set. Only three sizes are necessary to complete a basic stemware place setting: a water goblet, an all-purpose wine glass and a champagne flute. Nice additions to the basic three are the cordial glass and the brandy snifter. 

Since these latter two normally are used after the meal, they do not have to match the principal stemware pattern. Don't think of the norms as rules, however, says Barbara Tober, editor of Bride's magazine, because almost any glass can be used for any occasion. She offers these guidelines: For maximum enjoyment of wine, choose a glass with a clear bowl generous enough to hold at least four ounces of wine. Select a gracefully-shaped glass to present a pleasing appearance on the table, and one that is comfortable to hold. The key to getting maximum enjoyment from your crystal, however many pieces you may have, is to use it for a variety of beverages and food. For example, Claude Loisel, president of Cristalleries de Saint-Louis, says the water goblet can also be used for iced tea, soda and juice. lt can even hold red wine, if a very large glass is desired. 

Wine glasses are the most diverse of all crystal, since they vary in size and shape according to the type of wine to be served. When only one size is purchased, normally it will be the burgundy glass which can be used for red and white wines. The champagne glass is particularly useful, since champagne figures prominently at life’s celebrations. Nowadays, the saucer-shaped bowl that used to be popular has been superseded by the flute (known as a tulip when the rim curves slightly inward). The elongated shape and narrow mouth prevent champagne bubbles from dissipating too rapidly. Alice Kolator, of Lenox China and Crystal, advises taking the dinnerware into consideration when choosing the crystal pattern. “Look at the two patterns in a place setting to make sure they complement each other.” she suggests.– By Barbara Mayer, AP Newsfeatures, 1989

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

Correct Gilded Age Dining

Above– An orange spoon with a gilded bowl, an orange peeler knife, a fruit knife and a citrus peeler. All 4 were helpful Victorian Era dining tools. – “The Ladies’ Home Journal affirms that the daintiest way to eat an orange is from a fork—that is, the skin and its coarse white lining are pared off with a sharp fruit knife, the orange is stuck on a fork and is eaten exactly as one would eat an apple.”

At the Table – The Correct Way of Serving and Eating Various Dishes

It is not an easy thing to eat an orange gracefully. The Ladies’ Home Journal affirms that the daintiest way to eat an orange is from a fork—that is, the skin and its coarse white lining are pared off with a sharp fruit knife, the orange is stuck on a fork and is eaten exactly as one would eat an apple. Cheese, says the same authority, may be taken between the fingers, or it may be put on a bit of bread with a knife and eaten on that, but a fork is not used with it. Artichokes are, of course, eaten with the fingers, each leaf being dipped in the dressing. 

All pastry is eaten from a fork, and it is an insult to the cook to touch it with a knife. In fact, your knife has no use, except for cutting or buttering something, and when it is resting, it should he laid sideways on your plate. Every vegetable can be eaten with a fork, the uses of a spoon being limited to a few desserts and for your coffee or teacup, and there its place is to repose in the saucer. Bouillon is drunk from the cups in which it is served; when it is jellied, it is eaten with a dessert spoon. Nothing excuses the chasing of a small particle of something to eat around your plate to polish it up. The old idea that one must eat every thing that is given to one no longer exists and the result is that children are not made gluttons. 

In drinking, remember to hold your goblet or wine glass by the stem, and not by the bowl. While watermelon is eaten with a fork, cantaloupe has served with it a dessert spoon. As it is customary nowadays, to have the salt served in open salt-cellars, it maybe mentioned that in helping one’s self, the salt should be put near the outer edge of one’s plate. In leaving the table it is not necessary to fold your napkin; instead, just as you rise, lay it on the table. – Red Bluff Daily News, 1892

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