Street Etiquette

I cannot remember exactly where I found this, perhaps Godey's Lady's Book, but I thought I would share some notes on the proper etiquette that was suggested for gentlemen and ladies in the 19th century. Many of these rules have gone by the wayside, but I find it a fascinating study on 19th century culture.

Street Etiquette for Gentlemen:

1. Avoid spitting.
2. Smoking in public suggests low breeding in England; it is accepted in streets of America, but never while with a lady.
3. Do not loaf around corners and gaze impertinently at passersby.
4. Do no pick your teeth or nose in public.
5. When walking with a lady, place her on your side away from the street and danger. Always offer your arm.
6. If a strange lady stops you for directions, tip your hat or touch its brim while answering.
7. When walking with a lady and a stranger greets her, respond for her.
8. If you see a lady on the street that you know, offer a tip of your hat and greeting to her.
9. Never "buttonhole" a man while speaking with him.
10. Insist on carrying any parcels a lady is carrying if she is walking with you.
11. Never step in front of a lady without first saying "pardon me" or "with your permission".
12. Always take off your glove to shake a man's hand. Never shake a lady's hand in public.
13. Never walk away from someone or a conversation without first saying "excuse me" or "I beg your pardon".

Street Etiquette for Ladies:

1. Do not scratch, pick your nose, yawn, or laugh loudly in public.
2. Do not recognize someone on the street by their Christian name.
3. Do not offer your hand to shake a man in public.
4. When walking on a street, avoid eye contact with a strange man.
5. If a man offers his arm or to carry your parcels, this is acceptable. Say thank you afterwards.
6. When crossing a muddy or wet street, a lady should lift her skirt and fold it into her right hand. Never lift your skirt above your ankles.
7. When attending public amusements, wear a bonnet.
8. If you require directions, you can approach a gentleman for information. Thank him for his help.
9. Never talk loudly or excessively. Sit with your ankles crossed but never your legs.
10. If a man tips his hat or bows, you should respond unless he is impertinent.
11. If leaving an activity or home late at night, arrange an escort in advance. A married lady may go home unchaperoned if necessary, but a single woman should never.

Rules for Spelling and the Use of Capitals

Another fun find from the 1880's business textbook in the one room schoolhouse at the museum! The transcribed  text is as follows:

Five Rules for Spelling

[There is a great variety of rules for spelling, but most of them have so many exceptions as to be a hindrance rather than a help. The following rules have few or no exceptions, and may therefore aid the learner.]

Rule I. Verbs of one syllable, ending with a single consonant, preceded by a single vowel, and verbs of two or more syllables, ending in the same manner, and having the accent on the last syllable, double the final consonant whenever another syllable is added; as, get, get' ting; o mit, o mit' ted.

Rule II. The plural of nouns ending in y, when y is preceded by a consonant, is formed by changing y into i and adding es; as, lil' y, lil' ies. When y final is preceded by a vowel the plural is formed by adding s; as, val' ley, val' leys.

Rule III. Nouns ending in o preceded by another vowel form their plurals regularly by adding s to the singular; as, cam' e o, cam' e os.

Rule IV. Words formed by prefixing one or more syllables to words ending in a double consonant retain both consonants; as, be fall', re buff'. The exceptions are, with al', an nul', dis til', in stil', ful fil', un til'.

Rule V. The word full, used an an affix, always drops one l; and its compounds, thus formed, make their plurals regularly by adding s to the singular; as, hand' ful, hand' fuls; spoon' ful, spoon' fuls.

__________

The Use of Capitals

1. Every entire sentence should begin with a capital.
2. Proper names, and adjectives derived from these, should begin with a capital.
3. All appellations of the Deity should begin with a capital.
4. Official and Honorary Titles begin with a capital.
5. Every line of poetry should begin with a capital.
6. Titles of books and the heads of their chapters and divisions are printed in capitals.
7. The pronoun, I, and the exclamation, O, are always capitals.
8. The days of the week, and the months of the year, begin with capitals.
9. Every quotation should begin with a capital letter.
10. Names of religious denominations should begin with a capital.
11. Any word of special importance may begin with a capital.

Sometimes I think the Victorians were far more intellectual than those of us in the 21st century. You would be hard pressed to find a majority of college students today that could comprehend this, much less follow these rules. Am I wrong to think that?

DIY Wedding Planning Book

My favorite (and only biological) sister is getting married. :) She expressed to me that she has no idea what she is doing when it comes to planning a wedding. Unlike some brides who have their entire weddings planned out by the age of 12, I also had no idea what I was doing when it came to planning my wedding. My biggest help was a wedding planning book I had purchased in addition to an e-book I had downloaded. Some of it was very useful to me, and some of it was stuff I did not use. Since I was not working full-time hours when I started my wedding planning, I ended up creating documents on the computer for my own use.

Thank you, Target! This binder seemed sturdy enough to hold all of my sister's wedding planning sheets.

I just finished putting together a wedding planning book for my sister similar to what I used for all of my wedding plans. Hopefully, it will be of use to her as my wedding planning book was of use to me. I ended up changing the font and format slightly to better suit her personality, and I told her she could use as much or as little of the pages she desired. If it helps her at all in her wedding planning process, all of the work put into the book will have been worth it. Chalk one up for the Matron of Honor!

I separated the pages into different sections with pocket dividers. The pockets will most likely come in handy for my sister once the vendor literature starts to accumulate. Some of those pamphlets are worth holding on to.

Everything was organized into a sturdy 3-ring binder. The one I purchased for my sister had a clasp for holding a paper notepad on the inside of the front cover. Having paper to take notes on during wedding planning is a must. I divided the different planning sheets into eight sections since I had purchased an 8-pack of sturdy pocket dividers. If there are any tiny pamphlets she acquires, which there most likely will be, I figured my sister could keep them in the pockets of the dividers. The papers were slid into sheet protectors. While possibly cumbersome to have to pull out the paper to write on, I thought it best to do it this way to protect the paper from the numerous times one goes through the pages in a wedding planning book.

I used sheet protectors because of how frequently I flipped through the pages of my own wedding
planning book.

If anyone else is seeking assistance in planning a wedding, feel free to download as many or as few of the pages I included in the book I made for my sister as you want. Every bride creates a wedding that is her own, and there really is no correct or incorrect way to plan.