Dance Card: 1906

Here's another interesting dance card which, combined with the 1894 one I posted back in August, perfectly illustrates the final collapse in popularity of most of the nineteenth-century dances by first decade of the twentieth century.  While the waltz survives and the recently popular two-step holds its own...that's it.  The entire Order of Dances on the card consists of alternating waltzes and two-steps.  Click the image to see the list more closely.  There is provision for four unspecified extra dances at the end, but otherwise it's a monotonous alternation of those two dances. 

You can see why the Turkey Trot and then the one-step were considered a welcome change of pace!

The card was printed by "Jaccard" in Kansas City, Missouri, and appears to be from a fraternity or sorority ball, judging from the Greek letters in the small red logo on the front cover (again, click to enlarge).  It is helpfully dated 1906 in a large monogram above.  The white cord for the pencil survives, though the pencil itself is long gone.

While modern custom attaches the cord through a hole punched in an upper corner, this one has the cord knotted around the fold.

Edited 10/19/10 to add:

Karen Ann in the comments writes:

Phi Lambda Epsilon was founded February 12, 1892 at Clinton Academy, Missouri. There are currently seven extant chapters. It is described as a "national educational fraternity."

 

Comments

[Karen Ann]

Phi Lambda Epsilon was founded February 12, 1892 at Clinton Academy, Missouri. There are currently seven extant chapters. It is described as a "national educational fraternity."

[Cathy]

I'm curious as to why so many of these that are not filled in seem to survive. Do you have any in your collection that have the dances filled out?

[Cor Vanistendael]

Dear Susan,

Dancecards can be a very tricky source towards changing dance-fashion. Dance-preferance as illustrated on this dancecard is largely a matter of the personal preferences of the organiser of the ball. Which can be traditionalist, innovative, avant-garde, etc. and every proposition in between. As long as we don't have access to personal comments on this particulary ball (Did the crowd present at the ball like about the dances on the dancecard? Was the dancecard followed at all? For how long, and why?), it might be a bit too early to draw to conclusions about changing dance fashion. If you can read Dutch or have my articles translated in English, you can find more about my opinions on http://dansanterfgoed.blogspot.com

[Susan de Guardiola]

Karen Ann: Thank you! I'll add this to the post.

Cathy: The unused ones may have been extras from the event, or perhaps belonged to someone who didn't actually use it. I have a number of dance cards from events I've attended where I just never bothered to use it to book dances. I do have ones with names filled in -- this Yale card from 1921, for example, was half-filled.