Of Grandeur and Gifts: A Small Glimpse into Victorian Birthdays

Recently I stumbled across a cute little tibdit on Victorian birthdays and gift giving that made me smile--and naturally think of Gone with the Wind, of course:

"Birthdays were celebrated in grandeur and gifts between the family members became integral to the Victorian Christmas. The wealthy looked upon fatherhood largely to lavish gifts and paying of sons debts, while in the middle-class, gift-giving was looked upon one's financial capabilities. Unfortunately, the mother very often could not compete in the area of gift-giving, thus the act of gift-giving become symbolic as to the exclusive duty of the father providing for his children."

--excerpted from The Victorian Father and Child

The quote above refers to Victorian England, but I couldn't help but think it had a nice parallel to Rhett and his approach to spoiling Bonnie rotten fatherhood. It's not hard to imagine Rhett going completely overboard in buying Bonnie birthday presents--and being rather generous to Wade and Ella too, for that matter. 

In fact, I often wish Gone with the Wind provided us more glimpses into how birthdays were spent in the Butler household. It would have be fascinating to see how Scarlett and Rhett celebrated each others' birthdays, for instance, both before and after their estrangement--or if they even knew each others' actual birthdays at all, given their mutual hesistancy to share personal details and Scarlett's secrecy over her exact age. I'd also love to see just how lavishly they celebrated the children's birthdays and what kind of gifts they bestowed. But, alas, we have so little to go on, beyond the few tantalizing details MM mentions about the day of Bonnie's birth.

So I'd like to turn it over to you all and get your thoughts. How do you think Rhett and Scarlett and family celebrated their birthdays? Or any other characters in GWTW for that matter?

The School Days of Scarlett O'Hara

"Stuart and Brent considered their latest expulsion a fine joke, and Scarlett, who had not willingly opened a book since leaving the Fayetteville Female Academy the year before, thought it just as amusing as they did."

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter I

"Despite a succession of governesses and two years at the near-by Fayetteville Female Academy, her education was sketchy, but no girl in the County danced more gracefully than she..."

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter III

 

Quite a while ago now, we explored the education of Ellen Robillard--and now at long last we're pleased to bring you a look at the education of Ellen's own daughter, our heroine Scarlett O'Hara. Like Ellen before her, we know that Scarlett's education culminates at 15, with her graduation from Fayetteville Female Academy. (Fifteen was the typical age that women finished secondary education in the antebellum South.) And Scarlett's education at Fayetteville Female Academy would likely have been very similar to Ellen's own in terms subject matter--reading, writing, mathematics, French, music, dancing and deportment, needlework, etc. 

So knowing this all up front, what is there new to explore here? Well, plenty. You see, we're able to glean a great deal of information about Scarlett's schooling simply from Margaret Mitchell's indication that she attended a female academy, in this case the fictitious Fayetteville Female Academy. So today we're taking an in-depth look at what life would have been like at girls' academies similar to Scarlett's own alma mater, from the dress code t0 the day-to-day schedule to the social outings. 

Like the last post on Ellen's education, my research for this post comes from an amazing book called The Education of the Southern Belle: Higher Education and Student Socialization in the Antebellum South by Christine Anne Farnham. I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest about women's education or life in general during the antebellum South. It's a fascinating read. Alright, now it's time to get started!

The Basics

The School Year Schedule - Although there was broad variety in school schedules across the South, the school year was normally divided into two terms. Most schools held class from February to mid-July and again from late August through mid-January.  

The Dress Code - Unfortunately for Scarlett and her fellow antebellum fashionistas, most schools enforced strict dress codes. Uniforms were chosen for their simplicity. If the Fayetteville Female Academy's dress code was similar to that of St. Mary's School in Raleigh, North Carolina, for instance, Scarlett would have been expected to don "dark blue for winter and pale blue or white with blue ribbons for summer, worn with a Quaker bonnet of brown straw linked with silk and a banded with a broad blue ribbon that tied under the chin." On the forbidden list? Jewelry, silk fabric, and expensive embroidery or lace. So what would the school day have been like for Scarlett, all dressed up in her plain uniform? Let's find out...

The Daily Schedule

Morning Chapel Services - For most students, male and female, the school day started at sunrise. Religious education was considered of supreme importance, especially in the evangelical South. So it's no surprise that each weekday began with chapel services.  

Breakfast-  Following chapel, breakfast was served. Unfortunately for Scarlett O'Hara and her ravenous appetite, breakfast was often a modest meal, consisting of such fare as coffee and rolls or milk and bread and butter. 

Morning and Early Afternoon Classes - Mornings and early afternoons were reserved for classes, which normally ran 45 minute intervals each. Students rotated serving as "monitresses" who rang bells to signal the start and end of classes. 

Afternoon Walk - Believe it or not, walking excursions were a key component of a young belle's school day. Walks frequently lasted up to two hours of the day and took place either after breakfast or in the late afternoon. So what was the fascination with walking? Walks served several important functions. First, they were one of the very few forms of physical exercise deemed appropriately ladylike for young girls. Secondly, walks were seen as a way to reinforce a feminine appreciation for nature and the study of botany (this was the heyday of the language of flowers and picking bouquets was an encouraged pastime). Moreover, walks served as opportunities for socialization. 

Some schools allowed girls to partner off with friends on walks. But the majority made students parade into town in rows of two, which had the benefit of  attracting the attention of local young men (and potential suitors). So if the Fayetteville Female Academy's walking schedule consisted of the latter variety, Scarlett may have enjoyed it. Otherwise, probably not so much, given that girl bonding was not one of Miss O'Hara's preferred activities.

Dinner - So after all that walking and flower picking, not to mention classwork, Scarlett and her schoolmates would likely be in need of a break. Fortunately, the main meal of the day, dinner, was served in the afternoon (often around 3pm). A common menu would include meat, vegetables, and cornbread, with water to drink, followed by dessert of fresh fruit or pie.  

Free Time, Late Afternoon - When classes weren't in session and there wasn't any walking to be done, students were allotted free time, which was normally spent studying, sewing, visiting friends, writing letters, or practicing musical instruments. (Extra credit to those students who properly guess which activity did not occupy Scarlett's free time!)

Supper - With the day winding down, it was then time for a light supper, which normally consisted of dinner leftovers, along with milk, pie, pancakes, cornmeal mush, and chocolate.

Evening Chapel Services - The school day ended as it began--with chapel services. That just leaves our belles to retire for the evening and start all over again the next day. But, fear not, school wasn't all work and no play for Scarlett and company, as we'll explore in our final section.

Social Events and Other Excursions

Friday Evening Receptions - The main purpose of a young lady's education was, of course, to provide her with the tools needed to fulfill her true calling--marriage. With this in mind, some schools made sure to leave nothing to chance when honing their pupils' all-too-crucial social skills. They held Friday night receptions where students were required to receive guests (often local townsfolk) in the school parlor. During these receptions, young ladies were expected to demonstrate impeccable manners and lead conversations with strangers. 

It was thought that such occasions would allow young ladies to display their much-prized modesty and simplicity, the culminating traits of Southern ladyhood. Yet, regrettably for teachers, many students opted to use these opportunities to further advance their education as belles, employing a more vivacious candor that could be later refined and put to use in attracting beaux. Clearly, we know how Scarlett would have acted in this scenario.

Social Outings Galore - Last but most certainly not least, we come to social outings! For although the schoolday routine was rather regimented, there were still plenty of opportunities for fun at girls' academies. With the Southern zeal for entertaining and camaraderie, most schools offered a wide variety of social events to keep students happily occupied. Here's just a small rundown of some of the outings offered at various girls' academies: dinner parties followed by dancing, lantern slide shows, Fourth of July picnics, fancy dress balls, strawberry parties, day trips, and sleigh rides (if it snowed, of course). Margaret Mitchell says that "scarcely a week went by without its barbecue or ball" in the County, so Fayetteville Female Academy likely joined in the revelry and boasted a full social calendar too. One unfortunate downside? Most school functions were strictly off limits to the opposite sex. Poor Scarlett!

So that ends our look at the world of girls' academies in the antebellum South. But be sure to stay tuned for next week, when we'll take a look at the real-life inspiration for Fayetteville Female Academy: Fayetteville Academy. 

Ladies at Home: A Peek at Victorian Wrappers

For those of you reading/receiving this post for a second time, we're sorry. Blame our Google overlords for screwing up and deleting the initial post.

A long, long time ago our friend MM (now going by the name of MCM84) had a question. A very specific question. He was interested in Scarlett's wrappers. The movie features a variety of wrappers, the book mentions them on more than a few occasions, without offering further details about their style and color, so why not write a post about Scarlett's homewear? Easier said than done. Since clothes you wear at home have never been the most glamorous of items, fashion magazines of the time tended to bypass them in favor of the more elegant street dresses. We did our best to dig out stuff, however, and this is what we came up with.

The key to understanding Victorian wrappers is understanding their function. When were they supposed to be worn and who was supposed to see them? We get our answer from Florence Hartley's Ladies' Book of Etiquette, Fashion and Manual of Politeness, a book that first appeared in 1860, but was revised and republished over the years; our edition is the 1872 one.  Wrappers were supposed to be worn in the morning, before morning calls, when ladies were attending to their household duties. This explains the need for durable fabrics, that could be washed frequently, as Hartley explains at length:

"MORNING DRESS The most suitable dress for breakfast, is a wrapper made to fit the figure loosely, and the material, excepting when the winter weather requires woolen goods, should be of chintz, gingham, brilliante, or muslin. A lady who has children, or one accustomed to perform for herself light household duties, will soon find the advantage of wearing materials that will wash. A large apron of domestic gingham, which can be taken off, if the wearer is called to see unexpected visitors, will protect the front of the dress, and save washing the wrapper too frequently. If a lady's domestic duties require her attention for several hours in the morning, whilst her list of acquaintances is large, and she has frequent morning calls, it is best to dress for callers before breakfast, and wear over this dress a loose sack and skirt of domestic gingham. This, while protecting the dress perfectly, can be taken off at a moment's notice if callers are announced." 

--from Florence Hartley, The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, Fashion and Manual of Politeness

Wrapper from Godey's Lady's Book, 1866

But, if this was their function, were wrappers then designed solely for the eyes of the lady's family and house servants? Strictly speaking, yes. Well-bred ladies were not supposed to receive wearing their wrapper. But Victorians were nothing if not overly fond of elaborating  their etiquette rules to contradictory heights. While it was not polite for a lady to receive visitors in her plain wrapper, it was even more impolite to keep them waiting while she changed into a suitable outfit (which, depending on the lady's tastes, could take some time). So if one had unexpected callers, it was considered acceptable to excuse oneself and greet them in a wrapper. Moreover, it was impolite to wear very elaborate dresses in the morning, so ladies were encouraged to avoid the danger of overdressing by donning an elegant wrapper, meant to button to the waist and show the white underskirt from there down:

"DRESS FOR MORNING VISITS A lady should never receive her morning callers in a wrapper, unless they call at an unusually early hour, or some unexpected demand upon her time makes it impossible to change her dress after breakfast. On the other hand, an elaborate costume before dinner is in excessively bad taste. The dress should be made to fit the figure neatly, finished at the throat and wrists by an embroidered collar and cuffs, and, unless there is a necessity for it, in loss of the hair or age, there should be no cap or head dress worn. A wrapper made with handsome trimming, open over a pretty white skirt, may be worn with propriety; but the simple dress worn for breakfast, or in the exercise of domestic duties, is not suitable for the parlor when receiving visits of ceremony in the morning."-
-from Florence Hartley, The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, Fashion and Manual of Politeness

La Mode Illustree, 1867.

Godey's Lady's Book, 1856

What this meant was that wrappers were never plain, shabby garments never to be seen  by the world, not even the ones that were worn solely for breakfast. They were meant for a more informal and intimate but still semi-public  space and, as such, their patterns followed the trends for proper dresses, if in a more subdued style and different fabrics. When bustles became popular, wrappers were cut to either resemble a small bustle in the back or to be able to accommodate one. They favored bright colors and patterns and were meant to be worn with slipper of embroidered cloth or, in the summer, black morocco.

Godey's Lady's Book, October 1864

One example of a beautiful  and very ornate Victorian wrapper you can see below. You're strongly encouraged to visit this page to see more pictures of it and read the detailed description. It is easy to envision Scarlett in this style of more lavish wrapper, isn't it?

 

How to Ease Out of Victorian Mourning in Fashion

"A widow had to wear hideous black dresses without even a touch of braid to enliven them, no flower or ribbon or lace or even jewelry, except onyx mourning brooches or necklaces made from the deceased's hair.  And the black crepe veil on her bonnet had to reach to her knees, and only after three years of widowhood could it be shortened to shoulder length."

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter VII 

It's fair to say that "dutiful widow" was not an epithet long attached to Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton (or Scarlett O'Hara Hamilton Kennedy for that matter, but I digress). Thanks to the irresistible allure of a green bonnet, we of course know that Scarlett opted for a scandalously short period in widow's weeds. But what was the conventional path she should have followed to ease out of mourning? Today we're exploring the answer to that question with a look at mourning fashion from the early 1860s.

But before we look at the fashion plates (always the best part!), we'll first get acquainted with the three stages of Victorian mourning dress. There's just one important caveat before we jump in, though: it's important to note that customs for mourning dress tended to vary from region to region throughout the United States. In fact, as late as 1886, Harper's Bazar observed that nothing was "more undecided in the public mind than the etiquette of mourning." This point bears mentioning because the general guidelines for mourning, as described below, are somewhat more lenient that what Margaret Mitchell alludes to Gone with the Wind. So it likely would have taken Scarlett longer to progress through the full stages of mourning dress, which we now bring you without further ado.  

Stages of Victorian Mourning Dress for Widows

Full or deep mourning: Full or deep mourning generally lasted for one year and one day following a husband's death. During this period widows wore all dull black clothing, along with a widow's cap and a knee-length weeping veil of black crepe. Crepe also served as the most common fabric for mourning dresses, thanks to its lusterless appearance. No jewelry was allowed, except for jet. In winter, however, it was permissible for widows to wear dark furs.   

Second mourning: Following a period of deep mourning, widows then progressed into second mourning, which typically lasted for a period of nine months and gradually eased the restrictions of full mourning. Weeping veils could be exchanged for shorter ones and the widow's cap could be dispensed with altogether. A widow could implement fabric trim and mourning jewelry back into her wardrobe. Silk fabric could once again be worn. And while a widow's dresses were still expected to be dull and lusterless, she was allowed to slowly incorporate color, moving away from all black into the acceptable shades of gray, mauve, lavender, and white. No bright colors were yet permitted.  

Half mourning: The last stage of Victorian mourning was half mourning, which generally lasted from three to six months. Richer fabrics could be incorporated as dress trim and all forms of jewelry worn. Following the process started in second mourning, a widow could continue to ease more and more color back into her wardrobe--until she was at last free to resume wearing normal attire and fully reenter society. 

Thus ends our overview of Victorian mourning dress. So knowing this, what dresses should Scarlett have worn to ease her way out of mourning? After the jump, we've collected two second mourning and two half mourning styles from Godey's Lady's Book to give you an idea of the appropriate sartorial path Mrs. Hamilton should have followed. Check them out and let us know what you think. Can you envision Scarlett wearing any of them--or are they simply too dull for Scarlett to entertain? 

An Elaborate Breakfast Feast

It's been a while since we've done a Southern Cookin' post, and so today we've got a delicious meal prepared for you--this time with a twist. Up to this point, we've largely focused on the recipes behind classic Southern cooking. But dining in the Gone with the Wind era was truly an event unto itself, one that included not only the intricate preparation of multiple-course meals but also the exacting presentation of food and elaborate rules for how to dine in style. 

And so today we are taking a look at the table set-up and serving instructions for a breakfast party for 10 guests (tip #1: always be sure to set to two extra plates just in case there are any last minute drop-ins). Arguably the least complicated meal of the day, even breakfast came with precise rules about how to lay out the table and, of course, the proper way to serve the six-course feast that would follow. The table diagram and corresponding instructions come to you courtesy of The Dixie cook-book, published in Atlanta in 1883. Check it out and behold the dizzying array of cutlery, china, waiter instructions, and dining etiquette the Southern hostess was expected to master.

Summer Breakfast for Ten. (Two Reserved Plates)

First Course, Melon — When table is laid (see diagram) guests enter and take seats. Waiters place tea and coffee urns and bring melon. The gentleman serving asks each guest if he will be helped to melon. If the answer be yes, waiter receives plate from server and hands to guest, exchanging plate and returning empty plate to server, who places melon on it for another guest and so on. As soon as all are served, or have refused a second helping, the waiter removes the remains of the melon, and replaces it with dish for second course. The lady at the head of the table asks each guest to partake of tea, coffee, or chocolate. If any accept, waiter receives it and hands to guest. Asking guests to take tea etc., in first course, is a mere matter of form, as it is seldom taken until second course. Still the question must be asked, and waiter ready to serve it.

Second Course — In the place of melon, a dish of fish — fried perch, smelts, trout, or whatever is selected. Sauce Tartare is a proper accompaniment. Decorate dish of fish with shrimps or olives cut in half, or with little bunches of parsley with shrimp placed on it. Waiters also remove first set of dessert plates used for melon, and replace with a size larger, medium breakfast plates. The waiter then receives a supply of fish from the person who serves it, hand to the guests, receiving empty plates, and helping guests to what accompaniments they desire. Another waiter asks if guest will take coffee or tea, and supplies it from party serving it. Potatoes are handed round (with either meat or fish.) If two kinds, present one in each hand for guest to help himself.

Third Course — Young chicken sauced with cream gravy, surrounded with potatoes a la neige. Waiter removes fish of second course, and replaces with young chicken, then attends to wants of guests as in second course, remembering to ask each if he will take tea or coffee; also asking each if he will take his tea or coffee warmer. Clean plates same size as for second course, must be applied to each guest. 

Fourth Course — Poached eggs on toast, or anchovy toast. Waiter removes chicken and replaces it with dish of poached eggs, and tarnishes clean plates. Party serving asks each guest if he can help him, and waiters serve so in the other cases. Lady dispensing tea or coffee asks guests if they will be helped to warmer tea or coffee. If any one accepts, waiter hands clean cups and saucers from the sideboard to lady serving and then hands it to the guest. If milk is asked for he procures from sideboard and hands to the guest. Waiter also watches the guests and supplies them with hot cakes, receiving a dish of hot ones for that purpose every five minutes, handing dish of cakes to guest who helps himself.

Fifth Course — Little fillets of porter house steak with tomatoes a la mayonnaise. Waiter puts on steak in place of plate of poached eggs, and caters to wants of guests as before. While guests are eating this course, the waiters or an extra waiter, as quietly as possible relieve the table of the castor, pickles, sauces, dressing and butter. But not till the last moment must this be done, at the same time asking the guests if they require more. The dessert or rather fruit, sixth course, is then brought in and placed where steak was; arrange as quickly as possible, the service remaining on the table in neat order, remove each guest's plate, and again furnish dessert plates. At a signal from lady at head of table, waiter hands around fruit to guests, each guest supplying himself, unless the person before serving the other dishes serves this, in which case waiter supplies each as before. Waiter also supplies each guest with tea or coffee, and hands around cake, biscuit, etc. At this course a finger glass should be supplied to each guest.

Sixth Course — Peaches quartered, sweetened or half frozen or any fruit decided upon. Carry out the instructions given in the fifth course. In some breakfasts order is reversed, and fruit is served in first course only. In this case various fruits are placed on table, and allowed to remain till end of breakfast so that guests may partake at any time. In first class breakfasts fruit forms the first and last course, but waiters should be instructed beforehand, which plan is to be followed. 

A Very Victorian Valentine's Day Card

A poor card choice for Rhett.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Whether single or attached, we hope your day is a wonderful one filled with the people you love. In the spirit of the holiday, we're bringing you a look at Valentine cards of the Gone with the Wind era. So we hope this post will answer that burning, age-old question that haunts every Gone with the Wind fan: what kind of Valentine card could Rhett Butler have sent Scarlett O'Hara? 

The answer? Well, you'll be pleased to know that Rhett would have had any number of card selections at his disposal. So he could have selected a Valentine to precisely align with his current sentiments towards Scarlett, whether they be sentimental, bawdy, nostalgic, or combative. You see, by the 1850s Valentine cards were a booming business in the United States--more popular and plentiful than Christmas cards, in fact--and eager publishers printed cards for every possible market demographic. 

There were frothy, sweet cards for young lovers to exchange. There were sedate cards embossed with benign messages like 'friendship' and 'constancy' to bestow on acquaintances or family members. And then there were cards that appealed to a more earthy clientele, cards featuring comic scenes, bizarre creatures, or vulgar puns. Through it all, though, one thing was certain: then, like today, Valentine cards were an important part of commemorating Valentine's Day.

This 1869 article from Godey's Lady's Book nicely captures of the phenomenon of the Valentine card during the period:

"The great event of this month among lovers is St. Valentine' s Day. It is a day of pleasant and innocent excitement in the way of sending Valentines through the post. The ring of the door-bell on that day causes a great flutter among the ladies of the household. All is laughter and gayety, and if anybody is disappointed, she should put the best face on the matter possible. Already the store windows are profusely decorated with masses of highly-colored pictures representing cupids, nymphs, nuptials, verses, beautiful damsels, hideous deformities, and, indeed, every species of creature which the fastidious mind of the artist has conceived. All tastes can be gratified. There must be, we imagine, a large sale for this kind of goods, as every year brings forth an increased quantity."

--excerpted from Godey's Lady's Book, February 1869

As we end our look at the Valentine cards of the Gone with the Wind era, we'd like to leave you with a slideshow of twenty beautiful Valentine cards circa 1850s-1870s--any of which could have very well been Rhett's choice for Scarlett (provided he didn't choose to go the mocking or vulgar route, of course). Happy Valentine's Day!

Still haven't had enough Victorian Valentines? Check out the galleries on The Scrap Album for a great selection of both sweet and not-so-sweet Valentines.

Christmas Trees in the Era of Gone with the Wind

In 1870, Christmas was proclaimed an official federal holiday, in an effort to unite into one celebration a country that had been divided by a war. The foundations to this project lay in a series of elements that were already common to Christmas celebrations both in the North and in the South and that ultimately contributed to forging an American identity. It's on one of these elements that we are going to focus today: the Christmas tree.

The first Christmas trees appeared in the German communities of Pennsylvania in the first decades of the 19th century. Multiple accounts and sketches survive of these decorated trees, including a charming announcement from the Society of Bachelors in York, Pennsylvania  that in 1823 was promising to decorate its Christmas tree so that it would "be superb, superfine, superfrostical, shnockagastical, double refined, mill'twill'd made of Dog's Wool, Swingling Tow, and Posnum fur; which cannot fail to gratify taste." (Because, seriously, who wouldn't want a Christmas tree that is superfrostical and snockagastical at the same time?) The custom quickly became a point of fascination for Americans in the neighboring states and Christmas trees began to appear in parlors in New York and Boston.

By the early 1840s, the phenomenon of the Christmas tree had started to move southward.  In 1842, the citizens of Williamsburg, Virginia were buzzing with excitement to see the very first Christmas tree known to state history. It was Charles Minnegerode, a German-born professor of classics at William and Mary College, who introduced the first Christmas tree that holiday season, bringing over an evergreen to the home of his friend, Judge Nathaniel Beverly Tucker. Fortunately for us, a first-hand account of this 'inaugural' Southern Christmas tree has not been lost to the sands of time. A young Sarah Pryor, who you might remember from her account of the daring hoop skirt blockade runner, was on hand to recall the event in her memoir:

"The beautiful Christian custom of lighting a Christmas tree—bringing 'the glory of Lebanon, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box,' to hallow our festival —had not yet obtained in Virginia. We had heard much of the German Christmas tree, but had never seen one. Lizzie Gilmer, who was to marry a younger son of the house, was intimate with the Tuckers, and brought great reports of the preparation of the first Christmas tree ever seen in Virginia.

"I had not yet been allowed to attend the parties of 'grown-up' people, but our young friend John Randolph Tucker was coming of age on Christmas Eve, and great pressure was brought to bear upon my aunt to permit me to attend the birthday celebration... The tree loaded with tiny baskets of bonbons, each enriched with an original rhyming jest or sentiment, was magnificent, the supper delicious, the speeches and poems from the two old judges (Tucker) were apt and witty."
--excerpted from My Day: Reminiscences of a Long Life by Sarah Pryor (1909)

Throughout the 1840s and early 185os, Christmas trees continued to grow in popularity, spurred by three very powerful forces in Victorian America: religion, commerce, and the publishing industry. Sunday schools began to incorporate Christmas trees into their holiday season festivities. The cheerful evergreens served as an enchanting reminder to young children about the Christian messages of renewal and promise at the heart of the Christmas season. In addition, resourceful teachers constructed games based around the Christmas tree, where pupils would receive small trinkets or sweets from the tree's branches for correctly reciting Bible verses.

Outside of the religious sphere, the world of commerce had also started to capitalize on the novel concept of the Christmas tree. Christmas trees were likely first sold for profit as early as 1840, when an intrepid farmer's wife from New Jersey set out for New York City with a cart full of trees for sale. By 1851, one of the first Christmas tree markets in New York City was set up in Washington Square by a gentleman by the name of Marc Carr. Other large cities soon adopted Christmas tree markets of their own.

The publishing world also served to widen the reach of the Christmas tree. Advertisements for Christmas trees started to cropped up in newspapers and magazines began to include holiday stories about Christmas trees. But there was one publication that played a greater role than all others in popularizing the Christmas tree in the United States. Any guesses about which one?

Black Christmas in the Antebellum South

"For the first time in their lives the negroes were able to get all the whisky they might want. In slave days, it was something they never tasted except at Christmas, when each one received a 'drap' along with his gift."

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter XXXVII

Starting with 1820, criticism of slavery and of the Southern lifestyle based on it became more and more pronounced, as the problem of the former expanding to the new Western territories arose. Faced with this pressure, the Southerners countered by creating a "cavalier" myth of the South that would help define and defend its peculiar institutions, and Christmas was to play a central part to this end. As P.L. Renstadt notes in Christmas in America. A History, "Christmas became a key element in expounding the southern ideal, one in which the perceived virtues of the plantation system could be symbolized and ritualized. In the boldest ways, the southern Christmas provided a picture of harmony amid increasing tension."

The relationship between master and slaves and the way slaves themselves celebrated Christmas became essential in defending the perceived rightness of the state of affairs in the South. Memoirs and letters use Christmas as an example that the reality of slavery was much less harsh than the Abolitionists imagined. Christmas in the antebellum South was ultimately a charade of benevolent paternalism, glorified to the limits of caricature in stories like William Gilmore Simms' Maize in Milk. A Christmas Story of the South, where noble planters with names like Colonel Openheart ignore their own financial difficulties to buy the old and infirm slaves of neighboring plantations to save them from being sold down river. 

And since noblesse oblige, this expensive act of charity couldn't shadow in the least the lavish celebrations of Christmas on the Carolinian plantation Maize in Milk. It was more important than ever to keep the old traditions alive in times of hardship, Colonel Openheart proclaimed to his somewhat more prudent wife. On Christmas day, he gathered all of his slaves -both old and new - to give them the gifts he had bought from them in the city. These included shawls, caps, razors, hatchets, knives, scissors and cases of pin and needles, but no money, for it would have been "spent perniciously at some neighboring groggery."

White Christmas in the Antebellum South

"I'm mighty glad Georgia waited till after Christmas before it seceded or it would have ruined the Christmas parties, too." 

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter I

“'Do you remember,' he said and under the spell of his voice the bare walls of the little office faded and the years rolled aside and they were riding country bridle paths together in a long-gone spring…  There was the far-off yelping of possum dogs in the dark swamp under cool autumn moons and the smell of eggnog bowls, wreathed with holly at Christmas time and smiles on black and white faces.” 

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter LIII

In the years following the Civil War, Southerners, both black and white, would look back at the old plantation Christmases with overwhelming nostalgia. For the former, like for Scarlett and Ashley, it was the charm and security of the wealthy antebellum days that they were crying after, the self-assured grace of their old lifestyle which had vanished in the throes of war and Reconstruction. For the latter, for the slaves upon whose labor and confinement that illusion had been built, the old Christmases stood out as bright spots from their life before Emancipation, as occasions when they'd receive small gifts from their masters, the permission to drink and, more importantly, when they didn't have to work.

In writing today's post I tried to bring you one side of the story first and see how Christmas was celebrated among the white Southern nobility. Tomorrow we will look at the way slaves themselves celebrated Christmas and try to see how and why Christmas became a central element in establishing the myth of the Old South as an untroubled world of chivalrous masters and happy slaves. To bring you a taste of 19th century Christmas celebrations, I've relied on a handful of period sources, as well as on Penne L. Restad's excellent Christmas in America. A History. You will find all of them listed at the end.

And now, let's roll!

Honest Abe, Godey's Lady's Book and the Birth of Modern-day Thanksgiving

Sarah Josepha Hale

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we thought it would be fitting to explore the birth of the modern Thanksgiving Day holiday, as it involves two rather prominent Americans from the Gone with the Wind era--Sarah Josepha Hale, the influential editor of Godey's Lady's Book and President Abraham Lincoln, who of course needs no introduction. Those of you who are familiar with American Thanksgiving lore will perhaps already know this story, but since it's a lovely story, we hope you'll indulge us in sharing it for the benefit of all our readers. 

Anyways, let's get started. While Thanksgiving celebrations had been part of the American fabric since long before the War of Independence (thanks to that famous story about the Pilgrims and Indians), the holiday wasn't celebrated with any kind of uniformity. Some states and territories held independent Thanksgiving celebrations at different points throughout the autumn months, while others didn't recognize the holiday at all. For many years, Thanksgiving was celebrated only in New England. It was virtually unknown in other parts of the country, including the South. 

But Sarah Josepha Hale set out to change all that. Her mission was to make Thanksgiving Day a nationally recognized holiday, one that would be celebrated in every corner of the United States. A staunch believer in American unity, the cause of a national Thanksgiving resonated deeply with the patriotic Hale. And she had the perfect platform by which to begin her campaign: the venerable Godey's Lady's Book.

Hale had served as the editor of Godey's Lady's Book long before it was even known by the name that would make it famous. In 1828, she came on board as the editor of Ladies' Magazine, following literary success as a poet and novelist. In 1837, Louis Antoine Godey purchased Ladies' American Magazine (as it had been renamed) and merged it with his existing publication, Godey's Lady's Book. Under Hale's skillful leadership, Godey's Lady's Book flourished. By mid century, it had become not only a coveted resource for fashion, but a veritable force in American culture, literature, politics and etiquette.

Nowhere can this be seen more than in Hale's campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. January 1847 saw her first editorial in support of a unified Thanksgiving holiday:

"Our holidays. — We have but two that we can call entirely national. The New Year is a holiday to all the world, and Christmas to all Christians— but the 'Fourth of July' and 'Thanksgiving Day' can only be enjoyed by Americans. The annual observance of Thanksgiving Day was, to be sure, mostly confined to the New England States, till within a few years. We are glad to see that this good old puritan custom is becoming popular throughout the Union. The past year saw it celebrated in twenty-one or two of the States. It was holden on the same day, November 26th, in seventeen, we believe. Would that the next Thanksgiving might be observed in all the states on the same day. Then, though the members of time same family might be too far separated to meet around one festive board, they would have the gratification of knowing, that all were enjoying the blessings of the day."

--Godey's Lady's Book, January 1847

From there, she did not let up. Year after year, editorials penned by Hale in support of a unified and nationally celebrated Thanksgiving became common place in the pages of Godey's. She favored holding the holiday on the fourth Thursday in November, harkening back to George Washington's original proclamation that declared November 26, 1789 to be a national "day of publick thanksgiving and prayer."

Each fall season, Godey's would even list running tallies of which states held Thanksgiving celebrations and on which dates these celebrations were observed. The September 1856 issue, for instance, records with delight that 14 states, including Scarlett O'Hara's home state of Georgia, had celebrated the holiday on Thursday November 29th, 1855, while six other states had held celebrations earlier that month and several more earlier that fall.  As a result of Hale's dogged advocacy, the tally lists in Godey's continued to grow as more and states began to adopt Thanksgiving celebrations.

But this wasn't quite enough for Hale. She still wanted a recognized national holiday. So she flooded government officials with letters in support of a national Thanksgiving celebration, personally reaching out to state and territories governors, missionaries, military personnel, diplomats and numerous others. She also directly appealed to the highest official in the land, writing to no less than four Presidents--Zachary Taylor, Millard Filmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan--before she was finally successful in persuading the fifth: Abraham Lincoln.

On September 23, 1863, Hale wrote to President Lincoln to state the case for a national Thanksgiving holiday, which is excerpted below. (You can also check out the Library of Congress to see the complete letter text and an scanned copy of the original letter.)

"Sir.--

"Permit me, as Editress of the 'Lady's Book', to request a few minutes of your precious time, while laying before you a subject of deep interest to myself and -- as I trust -- even to the President of our Republic, of some importance. This subject is to have the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival.

"You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution...

"But I find there are obstacles not possible to be overcome without legislative aid -- that each State should, by statute, make it obligatory on the Governor to appoint the last Thursday of November, annually, as Thanksgiving Day; -- or, as this way would require years to be realized, it has ocurred to me that a proclamation from the President of the United States would be the best, surest and most fitting method of National appointment."

--Letter of Sarah Josepha Hale to President Abraham Lincoln, Sept. 23, 1863

Lincoln readily agreed, recognizing that a national holiday of Thanksgiving would serve as a way to rejuvenate and rally the spirits of a nation torn asunder by the protracted Civil War. And so on Oct. 3, 1863, Sarah Josepha Hale's long-held dream was at last realized as President Lincoln issued a proclamation declaring the fourth Thursday in November to henceforth become a day of thanksgiving, giving rise to the modern Thanksgiving holiday that's been observed for close to 150 years now.   

And if you're looking for more Thanksgiving insights, be sure to check out this tremendous video from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities about Sarah Josepha Hale's role in shaping Thanksgiving traditions, including a special mention about Thanksgiving in the South. 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to our readers! We recognize that many of our non-American readers might not celebrate the holiday, but whether you celebrate it or not, we hope you all enjoy our look at some GWTW-era Halloween traditions, along with a special slideshow of fancy dress fashion plates.   

Let's get things started. Back in the day, Halloween was celebrated more in the British Isles than on the U.S. side of the Atlantic. The handy Godey's Lady's Book explains more in this October 1872 essay about Halloween customs on both sides of the pond:

About the day itself there is nothing in any wise peculiar or worthy of notice, but since time almost immemorial All Hallow Eve, or Halloween, has formed the subject theme of fireside chat and published story. There is, perhaps, no night in the year which the popular imagination of the Old World has stamped with a more peculiar character than the evening of the 31st of October…

There is a remarkable uniformity in the fireside customs of this night throughout England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Nuts and apples are everywhere in requisition, and are consumed in immense numbers. From this fact the name of “Nutcrack Night” has often been applied, especially by the people of the north of England… But the grand sport of Halloween is the “ducking.” A number of apples are placed in a tub of water, and the juveniles— the use of their hands restricted— take turns in diving therefor, catching them with their teeth.

In this country Halloween was for a time strictly observed, but of late years it has been forgotten by almost all, except the juveniles. Amongst the old-style English, Irish, Scotch, and Welsh residents, the games mentioned above are practiced to some extent, and the occasion is also made noticeable for the baking of the old-fashioned potato pudding. Amongst the American people but little other sport is indulged in than the drinking, by the country folk, of hard cider, and the masticating of indigestible “crullers,” or “doughnuts.” The gamins make use of the festival to batter down panels, dislocate bell-wires, unhinge gates, destroy cabbage-patches, and raise a row generally. 

--Godey's Lady's Book, October 1872

Of course, these days, most people associate Halloween with dressing up in costumes and while that wasn't the practice in Scarlett's era, we couldn't let the day go by without mention of Victorian fancy dress...or fashion plates. You see, although it wasn't a Halloween tradition,  fancy dress parties in general were part of high-society social calendars. Costumes of literary or historical figures were popular choices, as were peasant costumes or "native" dress from foreign lands. Other common sartorial choices included representations of nature or the four seasons. 

So in honor of Halloween and Victorian costume parties, we've got a colorful selection of GWTW-era fancy dress styles below for you to enjoy. Happy Halloween!

Mastering the Art of Ladyhood: The Education of Ellen Robillard

“From the day when Ellen first came to Tara, the place had been transformed.  If she was only fifteen years old, she was nevertheless ready for the responsibilities of the mistress of a plantation.  Before marriage, young girls must be, above all other things, sweet, gentle, beautiful and ornamental, but, after marriage, they were expected to manage households that numbered a hundred people or more, white and black, and they were trained with that in view.

"Ellen had been given this preparation for marriage which any well-brought-up young lady received, and she also had Mammy… She quickly brought order, dignity and grace into Gerald's household, and she gave Tara a beauty it had never had before.”

--Gone with the Wind, Chapter III

Gone with the Wind presents Ellen Robillard O’Hara as many things—a vivacious young belle, a melancholic woman doomed by a star-crossed love affair, Scarlett’s childhood idol, the embodiment of Southern ladyhood. We know Ellen’s sedate reign at Tara transformed Scarlett’s girlhood home into one imbued with “order, dignity, and grace” as MM describes in the passage above. But exactly what kind of schooling did young aristocratic women like Ellen receive towards achieving this end?

Before we move forward with answering that question, let’s quickly reacquaint ourselves with Ellen Robillard O’Hara’s vital stats. These clues will prove important in deciphering what kind of education a young lady like Ellen would have received. From her age (32) at the start of GWTW, we know that Ellen was born in 1829, the child of a coastal aristocratic family of French descent. She was raised in Savannah, Georgia, of course, but her mother’s family lived in and then fled Haiti during the revolution of 1791. Ellen grew up reared in the ways of the Southern elite, became a charming belle, and then married Gerald O’Hara at the tender age of 15.

Why is this all important? Several reasons. First and most importantly, women’s education in the antebellum South has traditionally received rather light attention from historians, meaning some level of detective work is involved in writing a post like this one. Secondly, American education in the early 19th century was in a constant state of flux. There were many different formats of schooling available and advances in education tended to blur into one another. So Ellen’s background is the very best evidence we have to examine what her formal education might have looked like.

Before we begin, some quick notes on sources: Much of my research for this post comes from a tremendous book called The Education of the Southern Belle: Higher Education and Student Socialization in the Antebellum South by Christine Anne Farnham. This book is also rounded out by a memoir of an antebellum girl of Ellen’s generation: Social Life in Old New Orleans, Being Recollections of my Girlhood by Eliza Moore Chinn McHatten Ripley. Eliza Ripley was born in 1832, making her three years younger than the lovely but fictitious Ellen Robillard. She also grew up in very similar societal context--planter class, living prominent Southern city with French influence. 

Fair warning: there's a lot of information to take in here, so I'm going to try to break it down as much as possible. First up is a brief overview of women's education in the South from the late colonial era through the early antebellum period.  Using this, we'll then move on to examining in greater detail what kinds of things a lady of Ellen's social stature would have learned in school.  

An Overview of Women's Education in the South 

By the mid 1700s, French schools started to became a means for girls' education in the South. These schools were largely concentrated in bigger coastal cities and operated by unmarried women, widows, or husband-and-wife teacher teams. As the name suggests, instruction in French was a core part of the curriculum, along with writing, reading, arithmetic, and needlework.  Instruction in the ornamental arts (dancing, music, drawing, and handicrafts) was an essential focus as well. Evidence indicates that French schools were likely more prominent in the South than the North. 

Why? First, Southern society was aristocratic in nature and, as such, sought to model itself upon European nobility and manners. Knowledge of French was considered to be an barometer of upper-class status. But the predominance of French schools was also likely a matter of mere geography. The South was a stone’s throw from the Caribbean—and many native French speakers originated from the Caribbean, particularly as immigrants fleeing the Haitian Revolution.   

French schools varied from small day schools to posh boarding schools with a number of additional academic subjects, such as history, philosophy, and geography. French schools were popular among the Southern elite, as they served two essential functions.  First, the schools afforded young belles the opportunity to cultivate "refinement" and master womanly arts such as needlework, French, and proper etiquette. But just as importantly, French schools offered girls the chance to mingle amongst the proper social set and thus expand their horizons for their true calling--marriage.  Because education, as we will soon see,  was largely designed towards this end, emphasizing the veneer of learning over, well, actual learning. 

But there's one more advancement in women's education that we need to note before moving on our subject list. And that is academies. Academies for girls began to appear in the late 1700s and gradually supplanted the earlier French schools throughout the South. But this transition was a slow one and the difference in educational offerings  between French schools and academies tends to be hazy. But one key distinction exists:  unlike French schools, academies emphasized academic subjects over the decorative arts (music, dancing, painting, needlework, etc.), minimizing these courses to elective offerings. 

Still with me? There's extra credit for all those pupils who follow me after the jump...that and a full curriculum of ladylike subjects a well-bred young girl like Ellen Robillard would have studied in school.

Crash Course in Victorian Gloves

There was some interest around here lately for more details on various aspects of Scarlett's wardrobe. We did our best to garner answers for some of the questions asked in the comments last week. It has not been easy; our usual sources didn't really cover accessories, but with the help of iso and her recently-acquired subscription to the entire archive of Godey's Lady's Book (!), today I am here with information on the burning topic of 19th century gloves.

And for the Victorians, gloves were indeed a burning topic. The fashion regarding gloves changed numerous times throughout the century, but some things remained constant. The wearing of gloves was strongly encouraged not only outdoors, but indoors as well. Gloves were an indicator of a person's social and economic status, so nothing but the best quality would do. An old proverb said that it took three kingdoms to make one glove: Spain to provide the kid, France to cut it out and England to sew it. The cutting was the essential part, for gloves had to be fit to the hand of the wearer. This was not an era that encouraged mass-production for luxury items: hands had to be measured for gloves, just like feet were measured for boots. In the picture, you can see a lady getting fitted for her gloves.

Quite a precious commodity under these circumstances, gloves were carefully cleaned and kept in ornate glove boxes. They were of course differentiated for day wear and evening wear and for various occasions. Some people, generally the extravagantly rich, were said to change their gloves up to 4 times a day. In a century that put so much set on this particular accessory, Scarlett O'Hara's lack of gloves during the jail scene was in itself unladylike, regardless of the state of her hands. A lady did not leave her house without her gloves on.

As the century progressed, the style of gloves and the materials used changed numerous times. The popularity of kid was slowly dented by first suede, and then lace and silk. At the very beginning of the century, long gloves were popular, in the style favored by Empress Josephine of France (Napoleon's first wife). The length was compensated by the gloves' loose fit on the arm, that allowed women to wear them drawn down towards the wrist, at various lengths. The long gloves will only come back into fashion in the second half of the century (around 1870), coupled with a tight fit on the arm, that made it a little complicated for ladies to don and remove their gloves. A compromise was achieved with the mousquetaire wrist opening, through which ladies could slip their hands out of the gloves for meals without removing them altogether (it was and is against etiquette to eat or drink with gloves on).

And since all the other aspects (color, fabric, length) pretty much differ from year to year, there wouldn't have been much sense in me trying to treat this period as whole. So instead iso and I had a different idea. After the jump, you'll find a timeline of glove styles fashionable from 1861 to 1873, taken directly from Godey's Lady's Book. This way you can not only see how the fashion evolved, but also check exactly what gloves Scarlett would have been wearing every year of the book (baring the war years, of course).

Also, after the jump, two extra surprises for you: a guide to glove lengths and a fragment examining the relation between gloves and mourning. Check it out and tell us what you think!

Of Rich Bachelors and Debauchery

This little post today is the warm-up act for a very pretty and detailed insight into Rhett and Scarlett's wedding that the fashionista of our blog (iso, in case you're new around here) will have for you this weekend. (Abundance of period fashion plates! Run for your lives. You have been warned.)

So while my co-blogger is busy with that (and with trying to lock me out of my account once she reads this post), I will assume the voice of a Victorian moralist and see what really lurks beneath Rhett's "I am not a marrying man" statement:

"The main reason, therefore, why the number of marriages in this class of our population is declining is because the men choose to have it so, and not because the women are beyond their capacity to support. Three-fourths of the bachelors of our acquaintance are rich enough to bear the expense even of the most fashionable women; and, what is equally certain, they are bachelors just because they are rich. Wealth often indisposes men to marry, but it rarely has this effect on women. At the period of life when marriage begins to charm the fancy and awaken the sensibilities our fast young men are preoccupied. They have already, in most cases, surrendered their souls to other captors. Dissipation and licentiousness have utterly unfitted them for poetry and love, and they vastly prefer a midnight debauch, to the pleasures of the fireside and the companionship of a devoted wife."

--excerpted from the November 2, 1867 inaugural edition of Harper's Bazar

Ah, exactly like I suspected! It was bitchery and abomination* dissipation and licentiousness that kept Rhett from enjoying the tame pleasures of the hearth and "the companionship of a devoted wife." You will notice, though, how poetry and love are tied together and opposed to debauchery. If Scarlett had been of a more flowery language, that's what she would have told her husband instead of "You can't understand Ashley or me. You've lived in dirt too long to know anything else."

"Dissipation and licentiousness have made you utterly unfitted for poetry and love. Good night."

On a second thought, thank God she wasn't that eloquent. 

*TM: William Faulkner, don't you all faint at once.

A Victorian Birthday Cake

Today we invite you to have a slice of cake with us, in true Victorian fashion, and wish "Many Happy Returns of the Day!" to one of our readers.

Angel food cake

Due to the continuous improvement of kitchen appliances during the 19th century, cakes became affordable desserts, but differentiated cakes assigned to  specific festivities, like birthday cakes, only rose to popularity during the second half of this century. The first explicit mention of the phrase "birthday cake" in an American cookbook dates from 1870. (If you're interested, you can read more about the history of cakes here.)

Birthday cakes were more common for children's party, and were gaily decorated with sprinkles and colored candles. They didn't say "Happy Birthday!", since that phrase only became popular in the 20th century, they said "Manny Happy Returns," or a similar phrase, followed by the person's name. 

These decorations were the only things setting birthday cakes apart from other cakes, for the actual lists of ingredients was the same. Home-baked cakes would sometimes be sent to a specialist to be iced and decorated for this purpose. 

The cake we selected for you today is a variation of the famous Angel food cake, called Silver Cake. It comes from a 1881 book of Southern cooking by a Mrs. Fisher, herself an interesting character, an ex-slave who moved to San Francisco in the late 1870s and was, by her own account, urged to share her knowledge by the ladies there. Since she wasn't able to read or write, she dictated the recipes.

"The whites of one dozen eggs beaten very light, one pound of butter, one pound of powdered sugar; rub the butter and sugar together until creamed very light, then add the beaten whites of the eggs, and beat all together until very light; two teaspoonfuls of the best yeast powder sifted with one pound of flour, then add the flour to the eggs, sugar and butter, also add one-half teacupful of sweet milk; mix quickly, and beat till very light; flavor with two teaspoonfuls of the extract of almond or peach, put in when you beat the cake the last time. Put to bake in any shape pan you like, but grease the pan well before you put the cake batter in it. Have the stove moderately hot, so as the cake will bake gradually, and arrange the damper of stove so as send heat to the bottom of the cake first."

--excerpted from What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc

Well, happy birthday to our reader and my best online friend, and hope you all enjoyed this small glimpse into the Victorian world.