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The Dance Card as History 7.
While the custom of dancing itself goes on, most every-
8.
thing else has changed, including the music, the dance
moves, and the attire. Certain other elements of those for-
mer times have not survived into the present. For example,
the dance card has pretty much gone the way of the Lindy
Hop.
Dance cards were little printed programs, measuring
about 3 x 4 inches, that listed the order and kind of dances
to be performed during the evening–waltzes, two-steps, etc.
Opposite each number on the list was a blank space to be
filled in with the name of a prospective partner. The card
itself was usually enclosed in an attractive printed folder that
served as a souvenir of the evening. To facilitate the sign-up,
a tiny pencil might be suspended from the program by a
fancy cord (Figs. 4-7).
Bits of paper ephemera, like dance cards, can provide real
insights into the small, now-forgotten details of ordinary life as it was
Fig. 7.
once lived. For instance, how else might we discover whether young peo- “Save the last dance for me!”
ple in a place like rural Vermont were enjoying the same dance steps that Depicting an elegant couple rendered
were popular in the Boston suburbs or in New York City during the late in sumptuous chromolithography,
nineteenth century? Without these little traces of historical litter, it would displays gold highlights and serrated Fig. 8. Invitation for the New Year’s Ball
be harder to find out (Figs. 8-11). edges. Starting off with a grand in Fig. 7, to be held at the Union House
Serious students of dance history consult these lists to determine what march at 8 p.m., the evening’s in Cuttingsville, Vermont, a small village
dances were popular and where and when they were introduced. Patterns program counted 25 separate dances, near Rutland. The two-dollar admission
price for the special evening was equivalent
will emerge through the comparison of multiple examples from different mostly quadrilles and waltzes, and to more than $50 today.
concluded at midnight with the
regions. Taken together, the systematic study of dance cards, Domino quadrille.
ballroom guides, diaries, and letters can reveal much to historians about
changing fashions in the 19th century ballroom (Figs. 12-13).
Today, ephemera collectors may come across vintage dance cards Fig. 9. “A Fancy
tucked into a pack of old letters, pasted into a Calico Ball” took place
scrapbook, or mixed in with picture post- in March 1895 at
cards and similar items on a dealer’s table. Cuttingsville’s Union
House. Calico Balls
Prices are modest, generally, just a few were often charity
dollars, because fundraising events
demand is low and where the ladies
most people don’t dressed in printed
know much about cotton fabrics, rather
them. Yet it is than fine silk or satin
worth remember- gowns. Furthermore,
ing that, on a spe- as this invitation
cial evening long requests, “Every Lady
ago, each of these is expected to furnish
little cards was once her Escort a Necktie
grasped by a hand that to match her Dress.”
10.
trembled with excitement
9.
and anticipation.

Fig. 10. The 1908
New Hampshire Fig. 12. Any excuse for a dance! How about
“Governor’s Reception” 12. an early “Leap Year Party” for 1912 in
was clearly anticipated Lynnfield, Massachusetts? Come as a couple
as a romantic occasion. and save money!
Note that the back of
one of the heart-shaped
dance cards bears an
attendee’s handwritten
assessment, “Good Time.”

Fig. 11. In addition to a
concert by Foss’ Orchestra Fig. 13. Tickets for a “Soldiers
from Laconia, the Governor’s Memorial Dance” later the
Reception scheduled at least same year (1912) in Lynnfield
six waltzes, three two-steps, were issued in three versions:
two Schottische waltzes, Ladies, Gents, and Couples,
and two barn dances with varied admission charges
for the evening. for each. The dances for this

Where are the earlier event included the Pan
generation’s galops American, a contemporary
and quadrilles? two-step waltz that had
originated just a few years 13.
earlier at the 1901 world’s
11. fair in Buffalo, New York.

26 Journal of Antiques and Collectibles