REVIEW: Karl August Hoffmann, Unentbehrliches Galanterie-Büchlein für angehende Elegants (1827)

 This booklet is (in part) hilarious, in part fascinating and instructive, and in other parts, sententious. It is part of what in German is called Anstandsliteratur or Benimmbücher or, in reference to the most famous of these, simply 'Knigge' (I read Knigge's original 1788 tome recently but only in part so won't be reviewing it here).  In English, this is called etiquette book. Anyway, Hoffmann's 'indispensable gallantry-booklet for would-be elegants' of 1827 is a how-to for young men (and some women) on how to comport oneself in fashionable society.

 

A whole section is devoted to the clothes of the elegant young man. Neckcloths should not be tied too tightly with neckbindings, causing the face to look apoplectically red. Does the end of the neckcloth hang down to the chest, it needs to be fixed with a tasteful 'bosom pin'.  Trousers are these days worn wide, and in winter are black or brown, in summer according to fashion. Note: the German here has the wonderful word 'Beinkleider' (leg clothes) which unfortunately is no longer in use. Dark stripes are en vogue but yellow nankin definitely out and only worn by provincial tradesmen. Neckcloths, shirt and jabot (known in North Germany as waiscoat or 'Weste') must be absolutely clean as must gloves and stockings.

 

Shoes are suited to the dress coat and very fine stockings, to a ball or to polite society. Still, boots are more manly. 

 

It is absolutely tasteless always to wear spurs or a moustache or a knout instead of a walking stick, or to walk about with 'bare neck and uncovered breast'.

 

Dancing too fast, as is currently popular, damages health, and one must not drink anything after such exertions, at most a glass of almond milk, imbibed very slowly. One must be careful with the Russian or so-called hopping waltz if one does not understand the 'pas'. Do not always choose the same lady for the cotillion. Contre, Ecossaise, Anglaise, Française, Tempête are handsome when executed by good dancers but alas, they are now only rarely danced. The graceful menuet, too, and the polonaise with its delicate movements and positions have fallen out of favour.

 

At concerts, do not chat loudly during the music and do not bash out the beat with your hand or foot. Alas, applauding has become the fashion.

 

Do practise your singing, not to be neglected by any young man.

 

And now to masculine physical beauty ('männliche Körperschönheit'). Some young people see manly beauty as a 'face like milk and blood, a fine skin, delicate hands and a small cute foot'; this, however is daft, especially if the foot is to be pressed into narrow shoes and the 'slim figure' shown off via 'straps' ('Riemen'). Pomades and beauty waters are not to be used by men but a 'blooming but manly facial colour' is to be preferred.  Please note: 'A browned cheek does more honour than womanish delicacy and whiteness of skin which betrays weakness.'

 

I have learned the terms 'Modeaffe' (literally: fashion monkey) and 'Geck' which in English would be 'dandy' or 'fop'.

 

I do love the 18th and 19th C. word for women: 'Frauenzimmer' (women's rooms).

 

It is of course psychically proven that passions have a terrible effect on the human body and must be avoided.

 

One must be polite to women's silly loves of animals, their pets (lap dogs, pugs given sweets on a plate, white mice, 'an ugly cat' and, apparently, a 'personal monkey' ('Leibaffe')).

 

And oh dear, what of young women? 'When, as is unfortunately too often the case, the young girl, hardly grown out of her child's shoes, prefers reading novels instead of cooking a good soup...' Better not to mention it!

 

I enjoyed reading this. As everything we are told 'not to do' is inevitably something that everybody was doing, from the novel reading to the talking during concerts to the binding one's neckcloth too tightly, this is also an excellent insight into mores. It furnishes useful historical research for one's own historical fiction (as per advice from K.J. Charles whose blog post on the subject led me to find this gem of a digitised Benimmbuch).

 

Off to pet my 'personal monkey'.