What is Etiquette (circa early 1900s)

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For the fun of it, we thought we'd post some rules of etiquette from the early 1900s. See how much things have changed, or how things have stayed the same:

General Behavior:

Comparatively, few people behave any better than they have to, but the more civilized among us were taught from our earliest infancy (as infancy at large is hardly being taught today) that certain ways of conducting ourselves were not to be indulged in by persons with any pretensions to refinement. In this age of the world, almost everybody seems to have pretensions to refinement, but almost nobody cares to learn the self-restraint which is one of its rudiments or to practice that kind of thoughtfulness for fellow mortals which is another.

The word "lady" and the word "gentleman" have been entirely taken over by the great masses, with whom they have become simple brevets of mortality. We may call a countess a "woman", but we should find the term much resented by the modern cook; and for one tenement-house dweller to refer to another as anything but "the lady next door" or the "lady down the street" would be little less than an insult.

Editors note: Wow, did they have NOTHING better to do back then but to come up with that stuff?

But we continue....

Manners in the Street:

Street manners, to begin with, are greatly to be deplored, and the series of don'ts which might be set down for the perusal of the ignorant or the ruthless are almost without end. Many people are so self-centered, so almost pathetically sealed up in the dull chamber of their brains, that they do not notice how they incommode their neighbors.

Editor's note: What?? Their message is to convey what is proper etiquette, but I guess the original author didn't think it was rude to say that some people are "patheticlaly sealed up in the dull chamber of their brains..."

Ok, let's get down to the nitty gritty:

1. Don't, if walking, pass directly in front of an oncoming person. Look ahead a little. It is not polite to be so absorbed in oneself that one is oblivious of other people's convenience.

Editors note: OK, they have a point there....

2. Don't talk or laugh loudly in the street or public places.

3. Don't carry an umbrella or stick carelessly.

Editors note: Duh!

4. Don't straggle along in a line which some unfortunately hurried pedestrian can not pass.

Editor's note: Ok, they have a point...

5. Don't loiter before shop-windows, making a conspicuous, even if charming, effect. This, in foreign cities in particular, is likely to attract the kind of attention which ladies find unpleasant.

Editors note: Speaking of loitering in front of shop-windows...why not view www.shopthegiftbasketstore.com in the privacy and comfort of your own home...so the only one watching you would be your cat, or the kids who are waiting for you to fix dinner...

6. Don't, if of the stronger sex, get into any conveyance while still nursing in the hand a lighted and smoke trailing cigar to the discomfort of other passengers and in defiance of the rules.

Editors note: ...of the stronger sex????....

Editors note on second thought: Ok, #6 isn't so bad....with regard to the smoke.

7. Don't, even in these days, smoke when walking with a feminine acquaintance in the streets of the more formal character. But, at ceremonious hours of the day, and in ceremonious clothes, it would look most unsuitable.

Editors note: Geesh..........

Ok, let's move on to some questions and answers:

Question: Who should give the first sign of recognition when a man and woman meet?

Answer: The woman is supposed to have this privilege. It is intended as a protection, for only in this way does she have the opportunity of refusing an acquaintance which she may not care to pursue. It is not unusual, however, for a woman to find herself in a position which recognition is denied.

Editor's note: Wow, that kind of power actually sounds good....

At the theatre:

Question: Should the man or woman go first?

Answer: Generally, the man has the tickets. It is the man who finds the usher and shows the, after which, if the way is clear, the woman may go first down the aisle. If a theatre-party is to be seated, the giver of it is careful to tell her guests how they follow each other, so that the confusion of settling a number of people be lessened.

Editors note: sigh......the more things change,the more things stay the same.