The Do's and Don'ts of Victorian Letter Writing.

Before the modern age of emails, texting, faxes, and instant messaging we had the hand written letter. The Victorians wrote letters of apology, letters of congratulations, letters of introduction, just to mention a few.

The proper Victorian lady was obliged to convey news and information through an attractive letter. Her talent for letter-writing was not only a social obligation, but a skill that she was expected to cultivate, naturally or through practice. Her aptitude for letter-writing indicated her level of breeding. Both ladies and gentlemen were judged not only by the elegance and eloquence of words chosen, but by their penmanship.

Regardless of its purpose, each letter was expected to conform to a very strict list of basic do's and don'ts:

1. Do not write an anonymous letter.
2. Do not conduct private correspondence on a postal card, as they are considered a "cheap" version of a letter.
3. Do not use lined paper for formal letters.
4. Do not write on a half-sheet of paper for the sake of economy.
5. Do not underline words. Let your choice of vocabulary and expressiveness of thought convey your depth of feeling.
6. Do not use abbreviated words, as it indicates the letter was written hastily.
7. Do not erase misspelled words in letters of importance; do recopy the entire letter.
8. Do not use a postscript except in very friendly letters.
9. Do not fill up margins with forgotten ideas and messages but instead add an extra sheet to the letter.
10. Do give every subject a separate paragraph.
11. Do write letters by hand; the typewriter was considered the most vulgar thing to use on a personal letter!
12. Do match the writing style to whom the letter was addressed to; for example, a letter to a business tradesman should be polite but distant in its tone.
13. Do not refold the letter; rather, do be sure to fold it correctly the first time.
14. Do read the letter over carefully before sending.

So true now in this modern age the letter is a dying art, that is no longer even taught in our schools. Within the Victorian Lifestyle Household, this art and its strict protocols of structure could very easily be adapted as both a necessity for its staff, and a punishment in some cases as well.

Vintage Photography

Greetings and Salutations,

              Well here I am once more, as part of the beginning of this blog, I wish to share with you one of my favorite hidden depravities. One would not think it so the way mundane history portrays those of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, but during the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods photography became quite popular amongst the upper and middle class families. This led to a very underground hidden movement of pornography pictures. Some are quite tame by our own standards of today, while others would be considered taboo even nowadays. That said I find them far better in comparison as there is so much more raw truth to them, they were unscripted, pure sexuality.

To show you what I mean I shall share with you a few of those in my personal collection.

 

 

 

 

When it comes to the taboo, well by societal pleasures any kind of real pleasure derived from sexual  experimentation was absolutely absurd and "unnatural" particularly for women. More so for men that fancied other men, Pictures of such fancies and sexual exploits though became quite common to find as affectionate tokens between gay men of the time. Especially those that were so bold as to favor cross dressing! Oh the shame of it all!

 

 

From there we move on to the more BDSM side of things with its hidden subculture of perverted depravity that ranged all over the board of what was showcased as "fun" in these underground societal pockets.

 

 

 

 

Lastly we have the truly taboo, pictures that tend to be difficult to track down but I have just such one in my collection that will be sure to amuse many. Nowadays most look down their nose at those that would even accidently involve an animal but this was not the case in these early sexual explorative days. Any willing tongue was a woman's best friend before the time of the vibrator in every underwear drawer.