19th Century Advice for Table Manners

by Sandra Merville Hart

Good table manners are perhaps not as important to some these days as they were a century ago, but they still matter. As the 19th century advisor points out, good manners are a “kind consideration” of the feelings of others and all began for sound reasons. Most of this advice is still followed today.

Remove gloves after sitting at the table. Lay them in your lap beneath the napkin.

Food goes to the mouth—not the other way around.

Chew quietly with closed lips.

Cut food with a knife but eat with a fork.

If a fork can’t hold the food, use a spoon.

Don’t lean your arms on the table or sit too far back.

It’s good for your health to eat slowly—and it’s considered good manners.

Bread should be broken, not cut. Don’t crumble it into soup or gravy.

It’s considered bad manners to mix food on the plate.

Eat fish with a fork.

Cut game or chicken, but don’t hold it with the bones in your fingers.

Hold oranges with a fork and peel them without breaking the inner skin.

Don’t cut pastry with a knife. Break it apart and eat with a fork.

Bread and butter is a dish for dessert. (Surprising!)

Never help yourself to anything on the table using your own utensils.

Never pick your teeth at the table.

When eating a cherry-stone or other substances removed from the mouth, pass them into a napkin held to your lips and then return it to the plate.

Try to ignore accidental spills.

When done with your meal, place your fork and knife side by side on the plate with the handles to the right.

Most of these tips from the 1870s have stood the test of time. As an author of historical novels, tips like these enhance my understanding of the time period.

Sources

Compiled from Original Recipes. Buckeye Cookery and Practical Housekeeping, Applewood Books, 1877.