Please excuse me as I salivate over a wonderful additions to my collection. A gift from my dear sweet mother, this tiny pamphlet, written entirely in verse and is titled The School of Good Manners.It is dated 1822, and so became my earliest book. Some helpful readers have clued me in that the author was Nancy […]
Tag: etiquette
Glove Etiquette
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I’ve heard that dressy gloves are really in at the present. Since I’ve never had occasion to wear them, I’d like to know if they’re taken off for dinner, and where the proper place to lay them would be? Signed, Ms. Jordan A Dear Ms. Jordan: Betcha didn’t think that I’d […]
Her Face Looked Like a Sequined Jacket!
Q Dear Miss Abigail: The other day I heard about a friend of a friend who’d had his tongue forked ~ that’s right, split up the middle. Then yesterday I saw a picture in the paper of a woman with some 200-odd piercings. Her face looked like a sequined jacket. Don’t you think this piercing […]
Don’t Sit with Clasped Hands
I stumbled across this little jem when paging through Margery Wilson’s The Woman You Want to Be, a book about charm. I really, truly, had no idea that sitting with clasped hands was a no-no. You learn something new every day! 1942: Don’t Sit with Clasped Hands Never sit hour after hour and day after day […]
How to Light a Cigarette
Q Dear Miss Abigail: What is the proper etiquette for lighting someone else’s cigarette? A friend of mine said if you’re using a lighter you light their’s first and your’s next, but if you’re using matches you light your’s first because of the sulfury taste of matches. I though you always light their’s first, but […]
Stop Drinking and Listen To Your Mother
Q Dear Miss Abigail: If you let your thirty-one year old son live with you, and you’re trying to help him get on his feet, and you’re selling him a car, shouldn’t he respect you and quit drinking? Signed, Dolly A Dear Dolly: Oh, goody. This is an easy one ~ YES! In fact, if […]
Etiquette for Engaged People
I’m just bursting with joy! My baby sister Jennifer Grotke and her wonderful guy Tony Perez announced their engagement this week, so of course I had to check out some advice for the recently engaged. This is from Lillian Eichler’s Etiquette in Public, first published in 1924. Congrats to the happy couple! 1924: Etiquette for Engaged […]
Thank You for the Nookie, Honey
Q Dear Miss Abigail: Is it appropriate to say “Thank you” after you’ve had sex? How does the male perceive this? Mary A Dear Mary: I suppose it depends on the male, but if he’s given you “a wonderful time” it’s only natural that you would thank him for it. I’m sure he’ll be pleased. […]
His Culture is Coming Between Our Courtship
Q Dear Miss Abigail: Oh, Miss Abigail, I need your help! How can I get my foreign man to see: “When in America do as the Americans?” His culture is coming between our courtship! Help! Signed, Plenty of Couscous and Confusi A Dear Couscous: Though you have not stated what the particular problems are, I […]
Dear Lovey Dovey
Q Dear Miss Abigail: My boyfriend is going away for a month and I was just wondering if you had any neat things that we could do to keep in touch. Plus, he’s sixteen and I’m thirteen so it’s really hard for me to trust him while he’s down there. Signed, Anonymous A Dear Anonymous: […]