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Laughter [ Communication ]

… was scrutinised with vigour by notable thinkers and theorists of sociability; broaching issues of wit, sincerity, taste and bodily control, nothing exposes the anxieties and aspirations inherent in sociability quite like laughter. Practices > Communication Mots-clés Laughter humour Wit Taste Politeness impoliteness Manners civil society In May 1787, author-turned cleric Thomas Monro devoted an issue of … guffaw – especially triggered by a ‘lowbrow’ joke – was anything but. Broaching issues of wit, sincerity, politeness, taste and bodily control, nothing exposes the anxieties and aspirations inherent in sociability quite like laughter. The …

Private theatre performances [ Politics & Society ]

… In exploring the practice, this entry will evaluate the role of worldly connivance in the constitution of collective taste. Practices > Politics & Society Mots-clés Dramatic art Worldliness Connivance Entertainement Taste Community Performing plays in one’s home was not specific to the eighteenth century, but it is during this period … not merely worldly pleasure or ‘fashionable entertainment, 12 as Dominique Quéro has stated, it was a space where new tastes could find expression, and where new forms of theatre could be explored. Society theatre was essentially a testing …

Toasting glass [ Food & Drink ]

… glassware become part of clubs’ identity-sustaining paraphernalia. Glasses also served to express individuals’ tastes and social standing, or political identities. Objects > Food & Drink Mots-clés Glass Tableware drinking Toasting … on an increasingly industrial scale. Glasses reflected developments in sociability, such as the emphasis on good taste and elegance, as well as the requirements of the custom of toasting, and individuals’ and societies’ wish for … Technological improvement, the diversity of drinking venues, expanding markets, political divisions and changes in taste linked to the pursuit of social distinction all contributed to a greater variety of toasting glasses. Punchbowls …

Luxury [ Taste & Manners ]

… displays of wealth and power to the widespread and sociable use of commodities like porcelain and silk. Such displays of tasteful and fashionable objects enhanced individual status, in domestic settings and in public spaces. McKendrick even … provocatively praised its merits for the community and its positive impact on employment and free trade. Concepts > Taste & Manners Mots-clés Luxury Mandeville Hume Porcelain Shopping Tea-table Consumerism Women The rise of consumer … nations. They flock into cities; love to receive and communicate knowledge; to show their wit or their breeding; their taste in conversation or living, in clothes or furniture. (Hume 107) Ur ban culture, taste, politeness, conversation, all …

Debating societies [ Clubs & Societies / Associational culture ]

… Résumé Debating societies became well-established institutions in London and provincial cities, catering for the taste for public debate among the lower and middling sorts. Topics could be frivolous, but when societies debated … not have members but customers and they were open to the general public. Their success is probably due to the public’s taste for public speaking and oratory; and to the managers’ savvy choice of topics appealing to various intellectual … p. 57–86. Topics ranged from the frivolous to the political and the religious. Managers tried to cater to the public taste; some societies specialized in more political topics while others eschewed them. Debates closely followed the …

Pleasure gardens [ Sports & Leisure ]

… forms of leisure, they can also be linked to the rising significance of culturally conditioned notions such as taste, fashion or visibility. Places > Sports & Leisure Mots-clés Pleasure visuality entertainment Vauxhall Ranelagh … played an active role in activities and trends like gossip and fashion, reflecting varied cultural phenomena such as taste, companionship or being on display. Providing amusement for those willing to pay for it, they operated on a … forms of leisure, they can also be linked to the rising significance of culturally conditioned notions such as taste, fashion or visibility. … Pleasure … visuality … entertainment … Vauxhall … Ranelagh … Gardens … Pleasure gardens …