A Fancy Ball is one of the most exhilarating of all entertainments. Free from the licentiousness, which is too often practised under a mask, there is yet a sufficient absence of restraint—a sufficient feeling of joyous excitement—to banish busy care, and to lead the votaries of Terpsichore to the very height of enjoyment.
So begins the coverage on page four of The Yorkshire Gazette (York, England) on Saturday, September 27, 1828, of a Fancy Dress ball held the previous evening at the York Assembly Rooms and Festival Concert Room. Note the distinction between a masquerade (with the guests anonymous "under a mask") and a fancy, or fancy dress, ball, for which people wore costumes but did not mask.
Music was provided by the band of the King's Dragoon Guards, though "Litolff's fiddle" is also mentioned, possibly a reference to Martin Louis Litolff, formerly a military band member in Napoleon's army and father of the more famous Henry Litolff (as described on the younger Litolff's Wikipedia page). On December 24, 1802, a Mr. M. Litolff, "Musician, lately arrived from France", advertised his services as a teacher and accompanist in London's Morning Post:
I don't know anything about his career or whether it was likely for him to have played as part of, or alongside, a military band in England, or whether the reference was merely a poetic flourish on the writer's part.
A roped-off space in the center of the Festival Concert Room was reserved for the dancers, presumably to protect them from the crowds: the estimated attendance was 2400 people, which I would say qualifies as a crush. Attendees trickled in from 9:00pm to half past midnight and beyond.
There was not much mention of dancing in the article, probably because there wasn't much of it:
Dancing parties were formed occasionally; but the room was too hot, and too much crowded, to render dancing a pleasant exercise. And the majority of the company preferred lounging about the room to treading the mazes of the dance.
The author of the text seems to have been judgmental about the poor acting of some of the attendees who failed to adequately sustain their characters:
It presents an infinite variety, too, of characters, and if some of them are not so well supported as they might be, it is the ‘way of the world,’ and we meet with the same occurrences every day of our life, why them should we be severe with those, who go to laugh the house away, even if they happen to assume a character, which is not in exact keeping with their conduct? It is not the first time such a thing has occurred, and will not be the last.
Sadly, the juicy specifics of the disconnect between character and conduct are lost to history.
The main interest of the author, however, was in what people wore. The entire remainder of the page, three and a half columns of text, is dedicated to an incredibly lengthy list of names, roughly alphabetical by surname, of the attendees, mostly including their costume, or "character". I counted 828 names, though it was difficult to be precise, since there were some duplicates, groups of sisters listed only as "The Misses ____", and occasionally a moment when I wasn't sure whether a name was an attendee or a character!
Lists like this -- and they are relatively common, though not usually this long -- always make me wonder how on earth they were assembled. Did the guests submit their characters beforehand, perhaps when they ordered their tickets? Did the reporter literally run around asking people their names and characters and taking notes for hours? For over eight hundred people? Perhaps they were quizzed at the door as they entered?
It's impossible to list all the costumes here, but a few noticeable trends:
National/ethnic costumes were very popular. Swiss costumes, particularly Swiss peasants, were the most common, but I also spotted references to Polish, Spanish, Highland/Scotch/Scottish, Turkish, Austrian, Lithuanian, Milanese, Neapolitan, Circassian, Italian, Albanian, French, Russian, Tyrolese, Sardinian, Savoyard, Venetian, Peruvian, Bavarian, Sicilian, Greek, German, American, Danish, and Hungarian dress.
Other popular costumes were standards like gypsies and flower girls and religious costumes which may or may not have been parodies: nuns, monks, Quakers, and at least one bishop and one Jew. There were historical costumes, mostly of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, some generic but some being specific historical figures, including at least two Earls of Rochester, probably the notorious second Earl. Going further back in history, a Mary Stewart and an Elizabethan knight made appearances.
From literature and theatre came two Ladies of the Lake, Dr. Cantwell from the comedy The Hypocrite, Don Giovanni, and a number of characters from Shakespeare's plays. The Merchant of Venice was represented by a Portia, a Jessica, and a Shylock. There was also a Catherine (Kate) from The Taming of the Shrew and the inevitable Hamlet.
From art, there was a "Van Dyke", a "Reuben sad boy" (probably meaning a Rubens, though I'm not sure which work) and one Mr. Robert Baker as "an itinerant tradesman of the time of Charles II." A citation was provided: "This character may be seen in Hogarth’s picture of the execution of the idle apprentice, in the right hand corner." And, lo and behold, he can:
The entire engraving, William Hogarth's The Idle 'Prentice Executed at Tyburn: Industry and Idleness (1747), may be seen, among other places, at the website of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Some other particularly interesting costumes that I wish I had pictures of:
- Mr. Barstow of Naburn as "a young widower, in mourning on one side for the wife he has lost, and on the other in wedding for a new one"
- Mr. Rees Davies of Hull as "one of those pilgrims who are so often to be met with in Italy and other Catholic countries who make it their profit as well as their religious duty to visit the shrines of some of their departed lady saints"
- Mr. Bowline of Welborne as "a new way to pay old debts"
- John Clayton, as "a friend"
- Miss E. Morse as a "virgin of the sun"
- Mr Wallis as a "Physician of the old school"
At least two gentlemen changed costumes, presumably having coordinated in advance. Both Major Yarburgh and Colonel Athorpe started as Cupid and later changed to a Windsor uniform, a dark blue coat trimmed in red. which was introduced by George III and is still in use today.
Captain Barstow wore "quadrille dress" and Miss Theophania Fairfax was noted only as "Lady Milton’s Quadrille". There appear to be only eleven gentlemen listed in the quadrille, as opposed to twelve ladies, and Captain Barstow's name does not appear among them. Perhaps he was the twelfth? Theophania was one of the three Misses Fairfax in the quadrille group. There are two others, from Newton Kyme, on the guest list, but neither of their costumes are given.
Occasionally, more detailed descriptions of individual ladies' outfits that give some idea of the richness of the costumes were provided:
- Miss Selina Cathcart: "a Swiss costume, red petticoat, black velvet body, ornamented with gold: head dress gold"
- Miss Frederica Cathcart: "a Swiss costume, red petticoat, and black body ornamented with gold thread. Head dress of flowers"
- Miss Gossip of Thorp-Arch Hall: "an elegant ball dress, Paradise tulle, and satin, with ostrich feathers"
- Miss C H Simpson: "an elegant fancy dress, crimson and white, satin and black velvet body"
- Mrs Sampson: "gold coloured dress, with black velvet bodice and train"
- Miss Wormald: "as Queen of the Sandwich Islands, dresses in character, covered with a profusion [of] diamonds, pearls, &c."
The reporter's own opinions crept in here and there:
- Mr Hewley Baines: "splendid full dress"
- Miss Atkinson: "a highly becoming and elegant fancy costume"
- Mr. Bayley of Stockton upon Tees: "an elegantly decorated Court dress"
- Mr. Geo. Bulmer: "court dress of Geo. I. Very good."
- Miss Georgiana Smith: "splendid Turkish costume"
- Col. Tempest: "Lancaster militia 1760, character well sustained"
- Mrs. C. Brandling: "a Polish lady in full dress, very handsome"
- Miss Bould, Halifax: "a Lithuanian lady, remarkably chaste and elegant"
And, last but far from least, a reminder that not everyone bothered to wear anything unusual. There were dozens of guests listed merely as "fancy dress", but also plenty of "evening dress", "court dress" (including one "foreign court dress"), "full dress", military uniforms of many different styles, more Windsor uniforms, at least one "Civilian", the dress of various Hunt Clubs (York, Badsworth, Raby), and my personal favorite, "their own clothes". Several guests also came as university students or "collegians", possibly wearing their own student clothing.
Many people on the list had no costume at all noted.
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While York's Assembly Rooms still survive, the Festival Concert Rooms have been demolished. The York Press has an interesting article about their history which explains that they were built in 1825, were large enough for a concert of 144 musicians and an audience of 2000, and were indeed connected by a passage to the Assembly Rooms.
The full text of the actual article, minus the list of names but with the concluding list of members of the quadrille party, follows.
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THE FANCY BALL
FRIDAY EVENING, September 26.
A Fancy Ball is one of the most exhilarating of all entertainments. Free from the licentiousness, which is too often practised under a mask, there is yet a sufficient absence of restraint—a sufficient feeling of joyous excitement—to banish busy care, and to lead the votaries of Terpsichore to the very height of enjoyment. It presents an infinite variety, too, of characters, and if some of them are not so well supported as they might be, it is the ‘way of the world,’ and we meet with the same occurrences every day of our life, why them should we be severe with those, who go to laugh the house away, even if they happen to assume a character, which is not in exact keeping with their conduct? It is not the first time such a thing has occurred, and will not be the last.
The Ball of last evening was a source of great attraction: we must be at press before the last notes of Litolff’s fiddle have died away, before the ball room is cleared of its gay votaries,—therefore we have no room here to dilate on the subject; but must proceed to detail the arrangements which were made for the gratification of the company. On this occasion the suite of Assembly Rooms and the Festival Concert Room were thrown open. A roped space in the centre of the latter was reserved for the dancers, the band of the King’s dragoon guards was stationed in the stationed in the [sic] orchesta; and a rich stream of light was shed on every object from the new splendid chandeliers. The company began to arrive at 9 o’clock; and continued to follow in quick succession till half-past twelve,—and some arrived even after that hour. Upwards of 2400 persons are estimated to have been present; and, from the varied costumes—some of them very splendid ones—inwhich they were habited,—the scene had a singularly pleasing appearance.—Dancing parties were formed occasionally; but the room was too hot, and too much crowded, to render dancing a pleasant exercise. And the majority of the company preferred lounging about the room to treading the mazes of the dance. It was a gay and festive scene;—and we cannot do better than present our readers with a list of some part of the company who were present at it.
[Omitted: the list of over eight hundred names and (mostly) costumes.]
List of the Ladies and Gentlemen’s names who ___ of Lady Milton’s Quadrille party.
Two Misses Wentworth Fitzwilliam; Two Misses Tasburgh; Two Misses Milner; 3 Misses [Fairfax?]; Miss Stapleton; Miss Dundas; Miss Winn.
Lord Newark; Mr. Howard; Mr. Wentworth [Fitz]william; Two Messrs. Markham; Mr. Eg[erton?]; Mr. Thos. Fairfax; Mr. Frederick D______; Mr. Miles Stapleton; Mr. Ann; Mr Shaf_____ Weld, jun.
The elisions are where words disappeared into the folded edge of the paper when it was scanned and were thus unreadable. Words in [brackets] represent my best guess as to the unreadable bits where I had enough to actually make a guess.
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