What-is-it question CLXXXI.

[dognose]

We haven't had one for a while, so can you guess the purpose for which this item was made for?



This piece was made by Atkin Brothers of Sheffield in 1893. The illustration shown is the actual size of the piece, about 3 1/2" (9cm).

Any takers?

Trev.

[AG2012]

If not sugar thongs, a wide variety of food may be picked up with this; I doubt it was made for a single purpose.

[dognose]

No, not sugar tongs, this piece was designed to be used with a particular type of food, and......at a particular time of day!

Trev.

[dragonflywink]

Looks like individual asparagus tongs.....

~Cheryl

[dognose]

No, not individual asparagus tongs. This piece is linked to an etiquette, now long forgotten.

Trev.

[AG2012]

This is described as ``bacon serving tongs``

[oel]

To pick up your morning sausage for breakfast?

Oel

[dragonflywink]

Kipper/sardine tongs?

~Cheryl

[dognose]

I'm afraid you are all at the wrong mealtime. The meal in question is afternoon tea, and this item would be used by a lady.

Trev.

[dragonflywink]

Finger sandwich or ladyfinger tongs?

~Cheryl

[dognose]

Well done, Cheryl.

But this is not just one of those pieces made to make the user look more elegant, there was good reason to use such an item. The etiquette of the Victorian afternoon tea demanded that ladies retained their hats and gloves whilst tea was served, this was not just so that they would look their best, but the removing and replacing of such articles, especially the gloves, took a considerable time. Kid gloves, so popular in their day, required the use of glove stretchers and a lot of patience to fit them onto the wearer's hands. Such a struggle in the host's hallway, following tea, would perhaps appear unladylike, thus the retention of the gloves, but the price paid for this retention was the soiling of the gloves that occurred whist handling the sandwiches, butter, etc. would have been extremely difficult to remove and this etiquette must have been the ruination of many pairs of gloves.

Below is the snippet from which the illustration that I posted was taken. It appeared in the 'Watchmaker, Jeweller, Silversmith, and Optician' of the 1st August 1893.



Trev.

[dragonflywink]

Ughhh - takes me back to a '60s childhood of forced white-glove wearing, was so grateful when they finally went completely out of fashion.....

~Cheryl

[JLDoggett]

Really Cheryl, I will have to let my mom know... LOL and they are so good when handling your silver.

[dragonflywink]

Hehe ~ Okay, with a very respectful nod to your Mom, will revise to 'when gloves became less a requirement and more a fashion statement'; oddly enough, while I dislike wearing them, do much admire an elegant pair of gloves. My own well-dressed Mom, who once had a large, well-kept glove collection, at 86, now only wears gloves to garden. Personally, they were a source of aggravation - was around 1970 when I was finally allowed to have bare hands at church or any other 'dress-up' occasion (fortunately, was years earlier that she let me stop wearing those silly white anklets in favor of knee socks or tights). Do occasionally pull on a pair of flimsy cotton throwaways to protect material I'm working with, but always get them off as soon as possible.

~Cheryl