Old instructional videos are the best. They tend to be super-serious about whatever they’re teaching, and they pay no mind to length at all. The YouTube age, this is not.
This particular video from 1945 is called “Dinner Party,” and it’s an etiquette video for young people. I like the whole conundrum with the olives around 4:20, which include this sentence “Now our hostess feels better about the olives.”
There’s also a moment where they’re dipping celery into salt to eat alongside their soup. I wasn’t aware this was a thing, though I did notice an unusual amount of celery present when I researched Thanksgiving menus of the past. Maybe celery once had fancy dinner associations?
There’s a funny bit at 5:40 where the host seems petrified when it’s time to serve the meat. The voiceover includes this line,”A lady is not flattered by being offered a portion the size that might appeal to a hungry lumberjack.”
And you’ll discover the “zig-zag way of eating meat” at 10:50!
Also, I think they’re serving milk from a pitcher…..
If you know of other old etiquette videos, like this 1947 video featuring Emily Post, please point me in their direction!
It's good etiquette to share what you like!
