Ball-Room Companion - Miniature Library - Antique Guide Book - Scarce

Incredibly scarce - here is a wonderful miniature guide to ballroom etiquette. Routledge's Ball-Room Guide. Undated, but would have been published as part of their Miniature Library series in the 1880s. It may be tiny, but it is packed with information and was designed so it can be easily carried in a pocket or reticule. In good condition - cracks open at the gutter in the middle, giving the pages a wobble, but they remain firmly attached. More details along with sizing below.

In the mid-to-late Victorian era, attending a ball was a social minefield. This tiny book served as an on-the-go reference guide for navigating a formal dance. It contains etiquette such as detailed protocols on how a gentleman must ask a lady to dance, how introductions should be mediated by the host, dress codes, and general conduct to avoid social embarrassment. It has simplified instructions for the most popular and fashionable dances of the era, such as Quadrilles (like the Lancers and Caledonians); the Polka; the Galop; and the Sir Roger de Coverley. At the back there is a short dictionary explaining the French technical dance terms commonly called out by musicians during a ball.

Opens with a colour frontispiece illustration, else unillustrated. No inscriptions or markings of previous ownership. All edges are shiny gilt. Has the above mentioned cracked hinge to gape at the gutter.

Light-brown card boards have attractive silver and black stamped decoration. There is a small black ink mark near the fore-edge on the front. (Could this be from when a dancer had taken out there pen to mark a name on their dance card? I like to think so!). The black stamp pattern on the back has rubbed (see photos). An attractive and charming miniature book.

Your antique copy of The Ballroom Companion will be wrapped with care in tissue and ribbon* and sent well packaged. I am always happy to add a gift card with a message to the parcel.

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PLEASE NOTE DIMENSIONS of this miniature book. H 10 cm x W 7 cm, 96 pages, 44 g. I dispatch worldwide daily from the UK. (There are just a very few countries which I am unable to ship to).

* If you would prefer for your books not to be decoratively wrapped but sent simply in the full protective packaging please add a note to the order.

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