An inexpensive but welcomed addition (expecially in the hot summer South) to your 18th century costume is the simple folding fan. It originated in Japan at the end of the 12th century. Later the Chinese started to
produce folding fans of sandalwood or ivory with gold and silver decorations.
Oriental fans were imported to Europe in the 15th and 16th
centuries. It was 1549 when the folding fan first appeared on the French court
fashion scene.
In the 17th
century, fan production started in France, mainly in Paris and the popularity
of French fans reached its peak in the mid-eighteenth century. Representing the
highest level of craftsmanship in the 18th century, elegant French
fans were made of various materials such as tortoiseshell, ivory, and
mother-of-pearl, with applied lacquer painting and engraving.
In the British
colonies, the 18th century witnessed a considerable development in
trade between China and the West. Apart from such commodities as tea, silk and
porcelain, an increasingly large proportion of Chinese exports includes fancy
goods such as fans and fan sticks.
Many
milliners and merchants in colonial Virginia imported Chinese and European
fans. They were advertised repeatedly in the local newspaper: ”white Fans,
coloured Fans,” “black Paper Fans,” “fans in cases, common fans, all sorts of
wedding, mourning, second mourning, and other genteel fans.”
Fan mounts
were often made of paper and usually decorated on both sides. One scene
generally covered the entire leaf. Perhaps the most common subjects for the
painted decoration of Chinese paper fans were flowers, fruit, birds and insects.
Bamboo was a
popular material for fan sticks because of its strength and durability. The
bamboo sticks were sometimes washed over with a reddish, semi-transparent
lacquer.
Women in 18th
century England, the English colonies, France and Europe carrying a fan was
both fashionable and functional. In fashionable circles, it was said that a
woman’s mood was reflected in her use of her fan. To satirize this practice,
Joseph Addison wrote the following article for an English daily periodical, The
Spectator, No. 102, on June 27, 1711.
"Women are armed with Fans as Men with Swords, and sometimes do more Execution with them; to the End therefore that Ladies may be entire Mistresses of the Weapon which they bear, I have erected an Academy for the training up of your Women in the Exercise of the Fan, according to the most fashionable Airs and Motions that are now practiced at Court. The Ladies who carry Fans under me are drawn up twice a Day in my great Hall, where they are instructed in the Use of their Arms, and exercised by the following Words of Command,
Handle your Fans,
Unfurl your Fans,
Discharge your Fans,
Ground your Fans,
Recover your Fans,
Flutter your Fans.
By the right of observation of these few plain Words of Command, a Woman of a tolerable Genius who will apply her self diligently to her Exercise for the Space of but one half Year, shall be able to give her Fan all the Graces that can possibly enter into that little modish Machine. . . .The Fluttering of the Fans is the last, and indeed the Master-piece of the whole Exercise; but if a Lady does no misspend her Time, she may make herself Mistress of it in three Months. I generally lay aside the Dog-days and the hot Time of the Summer for the teaching this Part of Exercise for as soon as ever I pronounce Flutter your Fans, the Place is filled with so many Zephirs and gentle Breezes as are very refreshing in that Season the Year, though they might be dangerous to Ladies of a tender Constitution in any other.There is an infinite Variety of Motions to be made use of in the Flutter of a Fan: There is the angry Flutter, the modest Flutter, the timorous Flutter, the confused Flutter, the merry Flutter, and the amorous Flutter, Not to be tedious, there is scarce any Emotion in the Mind which does not produce a suitable Agitation in the Fan: insomuch, that if I only see the Fan of a disciplin’d Lady, I know well whether she laugh, frown, or blushes. I have seen a Fan so very angry, that it would have been dangerous for the absent Lover who provoked it to have come within the Wind of it; and at Times so very languishing, that I have been glad for the Lady’s Sake the Lover was at a sufficient Distance from it."
In “Fanology or The Ladies Conversation Fan” by Charles Francis Badini,
printed in 1797, described how women could be communicated with their fans and without uttering a single word. The
letters of the alphabet were divided into five hand positions (the letter J
being excluded).
Position 1: Hold fan in left hand and touch the right arm = letters A -E
Position 2: Hold fan in right hand and touch the left arm = letters F -K
Position 3: Place the fan against the heart = letters L - P
Position 4: Raise the fan to mouth = letters Q - U
Position 5: Raise the fan to forehead = letters V - Z
You would
then use the same motions to indicate which number of the letter in each
combination. So for example, if you wanted to spell S.O.S, for the letter S you
would place your fan in position 4 and then place it in position 3, for the
letter O, position 3 then position 4 and for S again, position 4 then position
3. (Fanology)
A simpler communication
form was to flap the fan for the letter’s position in the alphabet. For
example: one flap for “a,” two flaps for “b” and so on. There was a 27th
flap to signify a full stop. This technique was called the Ladies Telegraph.
In the 19th
century fan maker Jean-Pierre Duvelleroy printed a pamphlet that detailed
further meanings to hand fan positions. They included:
Whether used
for communication or not, the 18th century fan was an important
accessory. My favorite is the sandalwood fan for it’s delicate and intricate designs,
as well as the wonderful aroma. A few drops of perfume can also be added for a stronger
fragrance.
Fans are not
just an item of the past. They are often present day favors for
celebrations such as weddings and family picnics. I sometimes tuck one in my purse in case I need it
for this Southern heat and humidity. The
only drawback is that people nowadays haven’t a clue what I’m saying to them if
I use the language of the fan. . .or maybe. . .that’s a good thing. . .(grin).
