One of the weirder books I've ended up flipping through lately is Milwaukee Under the Charter, From 1847 to 1853, Inclusive, by James S. Buck. This is the third volume of a series on the Pioneer History of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which amasses a bizarre collection of historical trivia about life in Milwaukee in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Buck is not exactly a scintillating author, and he jumps around somewhat randomly from events to people to what seems like the history of every building in the city. You get chapter summaries like this one for the year 1847:
Opening Address—Democratic Policy and its Effects—War on the Constitution—Meeting of January 30th, at the Council Room—L. P. Crary—S. P. Coon—Job Haskall—Ordinance Passed—Business Directory—Sketch of J. F. Birchard and of Edward Emery—R. W. Pierce—Graffenburg Pills—Bridges—Sketch of Hon. J. H. VanDyke—McGregor Female Seminary—August Greulich—Badger Supper—An Old Settler—David Bonham—Political—Noonan vs. King—The Earthquake—Steamers—April Election—Retirement of Solomon Juneau—Reliance Works of Decker & Saville—Sketch-New Board—Jonathan Taylor—Torch Light Procession—Report of School Commissioner—John B.Smith—Incidental—Council Proceedings—Tavern Inspectors—Leonard Kennedy, Sketch of—Report of Finance Committee—Brick Sidewalks—Painting a Painter—The Empire Mill—Assessments—Legislative—Fall Election—William Shew's Speech—Exports and Imports.
Not obvious from that list is the inclusion of one dance history gem: a public announcement of a ball to be held on January 8th, 1847, in honor of the anniversary of the battle of New Orleans, which was presumably taken from a newspaper or some other piece of ephemera. Since Buck did not burden himself with anything so tedious as footnotes, or even a bibliography, and I have not, so far, been sufficiently motivated to track down a piece of ephemera for which I have so little information to start with, I don't know the exact source of this ball announcement. That makes me a little uneasy. But I have no ball cards, or photos of cards, from the 1840s in my collection, and I can't see any reason why Buck would misrepresent something as innocent as the details of a ball. So I feel reasonably comfortable that this is a reliable transcription of the mystery ephemera.
Here's the opening text of the announcement:
Anniversary Ball of the Washington Guards. At Military Hall.
The Washington Guards beg leave to direct the attention of the public to their Ball which will take place on the 8th of January next. Nothing shall be spared to make this affair one of the most pleasant and brilliant of the season. Therefore, all military men and men of military spirit, and the dancing public in general, are respectfully invited to attend.
All military men are particularly requested to appear in uniform.
Tickets $2.00, to be had at the principal hotels and of the Acting Managers.
Ball to commence at 7 o'clock.
Carriages will be ready from 6 till 9 o'clock.
I'm omitting a list of six Acting Managers, two Floor Managers, and fifteen Honorary Managers.
Happily, the announcement also included the ball program:
DANCING RULE.
PART I. PART II.
1—Waltz. 1—Polonaise.
2—Cotilion. 2—Waltz.
3—Gallopade. 3—Cotilion,
4—Cotilion. 4—Gallopade.
5—Scotch Waltz. 5—Spanish Waltz.
6—Spanish Waltz. 6—Cotilion.
7—Waltz. 7—Waltz.
8—Cotilion. 8—Cotilion.
This is just fascinating, though it raises as many questions as it answers:
- Cotilion: were these old-fashioned eighteenth-century cotillions combining "figures" and "changes", or were they quadrilles (sets of five or six figures) under the old name? Either is possible in America at this point. They might also be "potpourri" cotillons, with multiple figures, or single-figure dances. And it's very distantly possible they might be "German cotillions", the dance game variety. My guess would be quadrilles, but it's simply impossible to tell from the name.
- Gallopade: a galop for couples? A choreographed circle, country dance, or quadrille galopade? Again, one can't be certain. A survey of the terminology used in America in this period might help, or might be just as inconclusive.
- Spanish Waltz: the classic mid-century Spanish Dance, the sole popular survivor of the waltz country dance genre of earlier in the century, seems most likely, or it might be something unusual like a Cacucha Waltz.
- Scotch Waltz: the Eccosoise/Ecossaise Waltz found in German sources of the 1830s, hiding under an English translation? Or something more directly Scottish in origin?
- Polonaise: I don't think I've ever before seen a polonaise on an American dance program, though very basic directions for it do turn up in some American dance manuals (e.g., Henry Whale's Hommage à Taglioni, published in Philadelphia in 1836).
I have long theorized that one factor in the appearance of the "German cotillions" in America might have been partly attributable to the wave of German immigration. Milwaukee was one of the biggest centers of settlement for German immigrants, so I am intrigued to see not only the ever-ambiguous cotillions but two other dances that might have Germanic connections.
Also of interest: where is the polka? Milwaukee to this day is one of the centers of living-tradition polka (and boozy Oktoberfests) in the United States. 1847 is long enough after the introduction of the polka for it to have made its way to Milwaukee even if it had not come with a group of immigrants. Why were they not dancing it at this ball? A survey of Milwaukee-area dance cards, were a collection of such to exist, might be very interesting indeed.
The entire announcement, as printed by Buck (not a facsimile of the original) may be seen online at Google Books starting at the bottom of page 43.
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