Etiquette ( / ˈ ɛ t i k ɛ t , - k ɪ t / ) is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a society , a social class , or a social group . In modern English usage, the French word étiquette (label and tag) dates from the year 1750.
97-554: In the third millennium BCE , the Ancient Egyptian vizier Ptahhotep wrote The Maxims of Ptahhotep (2375–2350 BCE ), a didactic book of precepts extolling civil virtues such as truthfulness, self-control, and kindness towards other people. Recurrent thematic motifs in the maxims include learning by listening to other people, being mindful of the imperfection of human knowledge, that avoiding open conflict whenever possible should not be considered weakness, and that
194-823: A funeral . As didactic texts, books of etiquette (the conventional rules of personal behaviour in polite society) usually feature explanatory titles, such as The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness: A Complete Hand Book for the Use of the Lady in Polite Society (1860), by Florence Hartley ; Amy Vanderbilt 's Complete Book of Etiquette (1957); Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior (1979), by Judith Martin ; and Peas & Queues: The Minefield of Modern Manners (2013), by Sandi Toksvig . Such books present ranges of civility, socially acceptable behaviours for their respective times. Each author cautions
291-743: A behavioural model in which manners are a means of mitigating social differences, curbing undesirable personal behaviours, and fostering co-operation within the social group. Natural selection favoured the acquisition of genetically transmitted mechanisms for learning, thereby increasing a person's chances for acquiring locally adaptive behaviours: "Humans possess a reliably developing neural encoding that compels them both to punish individuals who violate group norms (common beliefs or practices) and [to] punish individuals who do not punish norm-violators." Social manners are in three categories: (i) manners of hygiene , (ii) manners of courtesy , and (iii) manners of cultural norm . Each category accounts for an aspect of
388-545: A club required member approval and payment. Thus, a club was dependent on class and vice versa. Historian Robert Morris proposed that clubs were "part of the power nexus of capitalism , and essential to the continuity of elite dominance of society." Several private members' clubs for women were established in the late 19th century; among them the Alexandra Club , and the self-consciously progressive Pioneer Club . Women also set about establishing their own clubs in
485-485: A clubhouse of 22 stories and a worldwide membership of over 11,000, is the largest traditional gentlemen's club in the world. Membership in the Yale Club is restricted to alumni, faculty, and full-time graduate students of Yale University, and the club has included women among its members since 1969. While class requirements relaxed gradually throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and, from the 1970s onwards; "relics of
582-495: A commitment to sociality is a risk: 'If threats, such as these, are left unchecked, the costs of sociality will quickly exceed its benefits. Thus, to maximize the returns on group "living", individual group members should be attuned to others' features or behaviors.' Therefore, people who possess the social traits common to the cultural group are to be trusted, and people without the common social traits are to be distrusted as 'others', and thus treated with suspicion or excluded from
679-421: A complicated system of codified behaviours, which governed the range of manners in society—from the proper language, style, and method for writing letters, to correctly using cutlery at table, and to the minute regulation of social relations and personal interactions between men and women and among the social classes. In a society, manners are described as either good manners or as bad manners to indicate whether
776-611: A contemporary private members' club with the business facilities of an office. It was for this reason that the Institute of Directors acquired one of the older clubhouses in Pall Mall as more business-friendly. Clubs in Ireland include two prominent Dublin social clubs, each having both male and female members, a range of facilities and events, and a wide network of reciprocal clubs: The Kildare Street and University Club (formed on
873-438: A convenient retreat for men who wished to get away from female relations, "in keeping with the separate spheres ideology according to which the man dealt with the public world, whereas women's domain was the home." Many men spent much of their lives at their club, and it was common for young, newly graduated men who had moved to London for the first time to live at their club for two or three years before they could afford to rent
970-443: A daily publication founded in 1711 by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele , regularly advised their readers on the etiquette required of a gentleman , a man of good and courteous conduct; their stated editorial goal was "to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality… to bring philosophy out of the closets and libraries, schools and colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and coffeehouses"; to which end,
1067-399: A family environment. A gentleman's club offered an escape. Men's clubs were also a place for gossip. The clubs were designed for communication and the sharing of information. By gossiping, bonds were created which were used to confirm social and gender boundaries. Gossiping helped confirm a man's identity, both in his community and within society at large. It was often used as a tool to climb
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#17327731665421164-480: A house or flat. Gentleman's clubs were private places that were designed to allow men to relax and create friendships with other men. In the 19th and 20th centuries, clubs were regarded as a central part of elite men's lives. They provided everything a regular home would have. Clubs were created and designed for a man's domestic needs. They were places to relieve stress and worries. They provided for emotional and practical needs. They provided spaces such as dining halls,
1261-464: A library, entertainment and game rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and washrooms, and a study. In many ways, they resembled a home. Clubs had separate entrances for tradesmen and servants, which were usually located on the side of the building that was not easily seen by the public eye. Many clubs had waiting lists, some as long as sixteen years. There is no standard definition for what is considered a gentlemen's club. Each club differed slightly from others. In
1358-598: A meal, and in some clubs stay overnight. Expatriates, when staying in England, could use their clubs, as with the East India Club or the Oriental Club , as a base. They allowed upper- and upper-middle-class men with modest incomes to spend their time in grand surroundings. The richer clubs were built by the same architects as the finest country houses of the time and had similar types of interiors. They were
1455-490: A person's social status . Manners demonstrate a person's position within a social network, and a person's manners are a means of negotiation from that social position. From the perspective of public health , in The Healthy Citizen (1995), Alana R. Petersen and Deborah Lupton said that manners assisted the diminishment of the social boundaries that existed between the public sphere and the private sphere of
1552-544: A person's behaviour is acceptable to the cultural group. As such, manners enable ultrasociality and are integral to the functioning of the social norms and conventions that are informally enforced through self-regulation. The perspectives of sociology indicate that manners are a means for people to display their social status, and a means of demarcating, observing, and maintaining the boundaries of social identity and of social class . In The Civilizing Process (1939), sociologist Norbert Elias said that manners arose as
1649-406: A person's life, and so gave rise to "a highly reflective self, a self who monitors his or her behavior with due regard for others with whom he or she interacts, socially"; and that "the public behavior of individuals came to signify their social standing; a means of presenting the self and of evaluating others, and thus the control of the outward self was vital." Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu applied
1746-511: A product of group living, and persist as a way of maintaining social order. Manners proliferated during the Renaissance in response to the development of the 'absolute state'—the progression from small-group living to large-group living characterised by the centralized power of the State. The rituals and manners associated with the royal court of England during that period were closely bound to
1843-505: A son named Akhethetep , who was also a vizier. He and his descendants were buried at Saqqara . Ptahhotep's tomb is located in a mastaba in North Saqqara (Mastaba D62). His grandson Ptahhotep Tjefi , who lived during the reign of Unas , was buried in the mastaba of his father (Mastaba 64). Their tomb is famous for its outstanding depictions. Next to the vizier's titles he held many other important positions, such as overseer of
1940-426: A young man; how to walk and talk, speak and act in the company of adults. The practical advice for acquiring adult self-awareness includes explanations of the symbolic meanings—for adults—of a boy's body language when he is fidgeting and yawning, scratching and bickering. On completing Erasmus's curriculum of etiquette, the boy has learnt that civility is the point of good manners: the adult ability to 'readily ignore
2037-552: Is an element of culture shock for businesspeople. In 2011, etiquette trainers formed the Institute of Image Training and Testing International (IITTI) a non-profit organisation to train personnel departments in measuring and developing and teaching social skills to employees, by way of education in the rules of personal and business etiquette, in order to produce business workers who possess standardised manners for successfully conducting business with people from other cultures. In
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#17327731665422134-543: Is replaced by an aristocracy of ballot. Frederick Lewis Allen showed how this process operated in the case of the nine "Lords of Creation" who were listed in the New York Social Register as of 1905: 'The nine men who were listed [in the Social Register] were recorded as belonging to 9.4 clubs apiece,' wrote Allen. 'Though only two of them, J. P. Morgan and Cornelius Vanderbilt III , belonged to
2231-449: Is the base of all evil and should be guarded against, and that generosity towards family and friends is praiseworthy. Confucius (551–479 BCE ) was a Chinese intellectual and philosopher whose works emphasized personal and governmental morality , correctness of social relationships, the pursuit of justice in personal dealings, and sincerity in all personal relations. Baldassare Castiglione (1478–1529 CE ), count of Casatico,
2328-461: Is the manner in which the mob express their silly joy at silly things; and they call it being merry. In my mind there is nothing so illiberal, and so ill-bred, as audible laughter. I am neither of a melancholy nor a cynical disposition, and am as willing and as apt to be pleased as anybody; but I am sure that since I have had the full use of my reason nobody has ever heard me laugh. In the 19th century, Victorian era (1837–1901) etiquette developed into
2425-590: Is the oldest extant fox hunting club in North America. The Golden Square Mile is home to several of Montreal's clubs, including Club Saint-James, which was founded in 1857. At the end of the nineteenth century, twenty of its most influential members felt that the St James was becoming 'too overcrowded' and founded the smaller Mount Royal Club in 1899. Overnight it became the city's most prestigious club, and in 1918, Lord Birkenhead commented that it "is one of
2522-700: The Knickerbocker Club , in 1933 the grandsons of six of them did. The following progress is characteristic: John D. Rockefeller, Union League Club; John D. Rockefeller, Jr., University Club ; John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Knickerbocker Club . Thus is the American aristocracy recruited.' The oldest existing American clubs date to the 18th century; the five oldest are the South River Club in Annapolis, Maryland (founded c. 1690/1700 ),
2619-544: The Knickerbocker Club , the citadel of Patrician families (indeed, both already belonged to old prominent families at the time), Stillman and Harriman joined these two in the membership of the almost equally fashionable Union Club ; Baker joined these four in the membership of the Metropolitan Club of New York (Magnificent, but easier of access to new wealth); John D. Rockefeller, William Rockefeller, and Rogers, along with Morgan and Baker were listed as members of
2716-1261: The Mississippi River are The Pacific Club in Honolulu (1851); the Pacific-Union Club (1852), Olympic Club (1860), and the Concordia-Argonaut Club (founded 1864), all in San Francisco; and the Arlington Club in Portland, Oregon (1867). Today, gentlemen's clubs in the United States remain more prevalent in older cities, especially those on the East Coast . Only twelve American cities have five or more existing clubs: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. New York City contains more than any other American city. The Yale Club of New York City , comprising
2813-672: The Prisse Papyrus , is on display at the Louvre . Gentlemen%27s club A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally set up by men from Britain's upper classes in the 18th and succeeding centuries. Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the British Empire : in particular, Australia , India , Ireland , Pakistan , and Bangladesh . There are also many clubs in major American cities, especially
2910-611: The Royal Thames Yacht Club and the Royal Ocean Racing Club ) have a specific character that places them outside the mainstream, while other clubs have sacrificed their individuality for the commercial purpose of attracting enough members, regardless of their common interests. (See article at club for a further discussion of these distinctions.) The oldest gentleman's club in London is White's, which
3007-851: The Schuylkill Fishing Company in Andalusia, Pennsylvania (1732), the Old Colony Club in Plymouth, Massachusetts (1769), the Philadelphia Club (1834), and the Union Club of the City of New York (founded 1836). The Boston Club of New Orleans, named after Boston (card game) and not the city, is the oldest southern club, and third oldest "city club", founded in 1841. The five oldest existing clubs west of
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3104-583: The Union League Club (the stronghold of Republican respectability); seven of the group belonged to the New York Yacht Club . Morgan belonged to nineteen clubs in all; Vanderbilt, to fifteen; Harriman, to fourteen.' Allen then goes on to show how the descendants of these financial giants were assimilated into the upper class : 'By way of footnote, it may be added that although in that year [1905] only two of our ten financiers belonged to
3201-480: The West End of London . Today, the area of St James's is still sometimes called "clubland". Clubs took over some parts of the role occupied by coffee houses in 18th-century London . The first clubs, such as White's , Brooks's , and Boodle's , were aristocratic in flavour, and provided an environment for gambling, which was illegal outside of members-only establishments. The 19th century brought an explosion in
3298-414: The false door of Ptahhotep and an offering table in front of it. Most walls of the mastaba are decorated with reliefs, but mostly only the lower parts of the scenes are preserved. They are mainly showing offerings bearers. The only family member preserved in the tomb decoration is the son Akhhotep. The name of the wife is not preserved. For a long time it was believed by many scholars that Ptahhotep wrote
3395-536: The retail branch of commerce, the saying "the customer is always right" summarises the profit-orientation of good manners, between the buyer and the seller of goods and services: There are always two sides to the case, of course, and it is a credit to good manners that there is scarcely ever any friction in stores and shops of the first class. Salesmen and women are usually persons who are both patient and polite, and their customers are most often ladies in fact as well as "by courtesy." Between those before and those behind
3492-433: The subconscious level. Manners are likely to be a central part of the dispositions that guide a person's ability to decide upon socially-compliant behaviours. In Purity and Danger: An Analysis of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo (2003) the anthropologist Mary Douglas said that manners, social behaviors, and group rituals enable the local cosmology to remain ordered and free from those things that may pollute or defile
3589-773: The 19th century, the family was considered one of the most important aspects of a man's life. A man's home was his property and should have been a place to satisfy most of his needs, but for elite men, this was not always the case; it was not always a place that provided privacy and comfort: perhaps because the homes of elite families often entertained guests for dinners, formal teas, entertainment, and parties. Their lives were on display, and often their lives would be reported in local papers. A gentleman's club offered an escape from this family world. Another explanation would be that men were brought up as boys in all-male environments in places like schools and sports pastimes, and they became uncomfortable when they had to share their lives with women in
3686-504: The 21st century, numerous new private women's clubs had formed in support of previously male-dominated pursuits, including professional affiliations and business networking . In 2023, The Daily Telegraph reports that an "[A]bsolutely chilling" discordance around admitting women to men-only clubs persisted in the UK, as the SFGate also reports in the U.S. Membership is by election after
3783-466: The Chinese and Australian approaches to conflict resolution. The Chinese business philosophy is based upon guanxi (personal connections), whereby person-to-person negotiation resolves difficult matters, whereas Australian business philosophy relies upon attorneys-at-law to resolve business conflicts through legal mediation; thus, adjusting to the etiquette and professional ethics of another culture
3880-1025: The Commonwealth Club, the Kelvin Club, the Newcastle Club, the Royal Automobile Club, the Tattersalls Club in Sydney and the Union, University and Schools Club allow women to enjoy full membership. Sydney has the Australian Club , the Royal Automobile Club of Australia , the Tattersalls Club and the Union, University & Schools Club . The City Tattersalls Club , which named itself after
3977-595: The Courtier (1528), by Baldassare Castiglione , identified the manners and the morals required by socially ambitious men and women for success in a royal court of the Italian Renaissance (14th–17th c.); as an etiquette text, The Courtier was an influential courtesy book in 16th-century Europe. On Civility in Children (1530), by Erasmus of Rotterdam , instructs boys in the means of becoming
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4074-823: The Faculty Club associated with the University of Toronto , the Arts and Letters Club , and a number of other clubs. Other Ontario cities have their clubs: the Rideau Club at Ottawa; the Hamilton Club; the Frontenac Club at Kingston , and The Waterloo Club by letters patent. The Halifax Club was founded in 1862. The Union Club (Saint John) in Saint John, New Brunswick was founded in 1884 through
4171-836: The Tattersalls Club, no longer has exclusive membership criteria. Newcastle has the Newcastle Club. Melbourne has the Melbourne Club , the Alexandra Club, the Athenaeum Club (named after its counterpart in London), the Australian Club (unrelated to the identically named club in Sydney), the Kelvin Club and the Savage Club . Geelong has The Geelong Club . Brisbane has the Queensland Club ,
4268-631: The United States have at least one traditional gentlemen's club, many of which have reciprocal relationships with older clubs in London, with each other, and with other gentlemen's clubs around the world. In American English , the term "gentlemen's club" is commonly used euphemistically by strip clubs . As a result, traditional gentlemen's clubs often are called "men's clubs" or "city clubs" (as opposed to country clubs ) or simply as "private social clubs" or "private clubs". Christopher Doob explains in his book Social Inequality and Social Stratification in U.S. Society : The most exclusive social clubs are in
4365-569: The admissions committee's standards for values and behavior. Old money prevails over new money as the Rockefeller family experience suggests. John D. Rockefeller , the family founder and the nation's first billionaire, joined the Union League Club , a fairly respectable but not top-level club; John D. Rockefeller, Jr. , belonged to the University Club , a step up from his father; and finally his son John D. Rockefeller, III , reached
4462-528: The advent of mobile working (using phone and email) has placed pressures on the traditional London clubs which frown on, and often ban, the use of mobiles and discourage laptops, indeed any discussion of business matters or 'work related papers'. A new breed of business-oriented private members' clubs, exemplified by One Alfred Place and Eight in London or the Gild in Barcelona, combines the style, food and drink of
4559-535: The age of exclusion" reported SFGate in the United States in 2004 "seem to be in no danger of going the way of other 19th century institutions." At Montreal, the Beaver Club was founded in 1785. Every year, some of its members travelled back to England to sell their furs, where they established the Canada Club in 1810; it still meets twice yearly as a dining club. The Montreal Hunt Club, founded in 1826,
4656-432: The aristocracy and politicians were likely to have several clubs. The record number of memberships is believed to have been held by Earl Mountbatten , who had nineteen in the 1960s. Public entertainments, such as musical performances and the like, were not a feature of this sort of club. The clubs were, in effect, "second homes" in the centre of London where men could relax, mix with their friends, play parlour games , get
4753-698: The author of the collection of wise sayings known as The Maxims of Ptahhotep , whose opening lines attribute authorship to the vizier Ptahhotep: Instruction of the Mayor of the city, the Vizier Ptahhotep, under the Majesty of King Isesi . They take the form of advice and instructions from a father to his son and are said to have been assembled during the late Old Kingdom. However, their oldest surviving copies are written in Middle Egyptian dating to
4850-666: The best chance of biological survival, by way of opportunities for reproduction . From the study of the evolutionary bases of prejudice , social psychologists Catherine Cottrell and Steven Neuberg said that human behavioural responses to ' otherness ' might enable the preservation of manners and social norms . The feeling of "foreignness"—which people experience in their first social interaction with someone from another culture—might partly serve an evolutionary function: 'Group living surrounds one with individuals [who are] able to physically harm fellow group members, to spread contagious disease, or to "free ride" on their efforts'; therefore,
4947-764: The best clubs I know in the New World, with the indefinable atmosphere about it of a good London club". In 1908 the University Club (McGill University), affiliated with McGill , opened. The Forest and Stream was formed by Frank Stephen and some of his gentlemen friends and associates on 27 November 1884 at a meeting held at the St. Lawrence Hall in Montreal. The club's original founders were Andrew Allan, James Bryce Allan, Hugh Montagu Allan, Louis Joseph Forget, Hartland St. Claire MacDougall, Hugh Paton, and Frank Stephen. It
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#17327731665425044-525: The ceremonious royal court favourably impressed foreign dignitaries whom the king received at the seat of French government, the Palace of Versailles , to the south-west of Paris. In the 18th century, during the Age of Enlightenment , the adoption of etiquette was a self-conscious process for acquiring the conventions of politeness and the normative behaviours (charm, manners, demeanour) which symbolically identified
5141-508: The club a private space and attempted to control the spread of information from the outside. Under no circumstance was the club to be depressing or too involved in the pains of reality. Whether from "the streets, the courts, Parliament , or the Stock Exchange ," the chaotic nature of work life was put on hold. Young bachelors and other members were in many ways shielded from the true problems of society, especially female ones. While it
5238-480: The club could be represented as " homosocial domesticity". Similar to male coffeehouses of the Ottoman Empire , the clubs were a home away from home. They were alternative, competing spaces in the sense that it had some similarities with the traditional home. One of the key attractions of these clubs was their private, often exclusive, nature. They were getaways from the tight, restrictive role expected from
5335-424: The club, only the wealth and importance of the club and its amenities was displayed instead of their possibly inferior possessions or structures at home. In English clubs, this domesticity was particularly emphasized. These clubs, primarily in London, were usually very "quiet" and their members were well-behaved: again pointing to the calm familiarity of the household. In addition, club staff were tasked with keeping
5432-438: The concept of habitus to define the societal functions of manners. The habitus is the set of mental attitudes, personal habits, and skills that a person possesses—his or her dispositions of character that are neither self-determined, nor pre-determined by the external environment, but which are produced and reproduced by social interactions—and are "inculcated through experience and explicit teaching", yet tend to function at
5529-413: The connection between the members was membership in the same branch of the armed forces, or the same school or university. Thus the growth of clubs gives some indication of what was considered a respectable part of the "Establishment" at the time. By the late 19th century, any man with a credible claim to the status of "gentleman" was eventually able to find a club willing to admit him, unless his character
5626-583: The counters, there has sprung up in many instances a relationship of mutual goodwill and friendliness. It is, in fact, only the woman who is afraid that someone may encroach upon her exceedingly insecure dignity, who shows neither courtesy nor consideration to any except those whom she considers it to her advantage to please. Etiquette and language Etiquette and letters Etiquette and society Worldwide etiquette Ptahhotep Ptahhotep ( Ancient Egyptian : ptḥ ḥtp "Peace of Ptah "), sometimes known as Ptahhotep I or Ptahhotpe ,
5723-488: The death of his son, in 1768; most of the letters were instructive, concerning varied subjects that a worldly gentleman should know. The letters were first published in 1774, by Eugenia Stanhope , the widow of the diplomat Philip Stanhope , Chesterfield's bastard son. Throughout the correspondence, Chesterfield endeavoured to decouple the matter of social manners from conventional morality , with perceptive observations that pragmatically argue to Philip that mastery of etiquette
5820-458: The early 18th century, Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury , wrote influential essays that defined politeness as the art of being pleasing in company; and discussed the function and nature of politeness in the social discourse of a commercial society: 'Politeness' may be defined as dext'rous management of our words and actions, whereby we make other people have better opinion of us and themselves. Periodicals, such as The Spectator ,
5917-467: The editors published articles written by educated authors, which provided topics for civil conversation, and advice on the requisite manners for carrying a polite conversation, and for managing social interactions. Conceptually allied to etiquette is the notion of civility (social interaction characterised by sober and reasoned debate) which for socially ambitious men and women also became an important personal quality to possess for social advancement. In
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#17327731665426014-433: The emotional responses of shame and disgust are innate behaviours. Public health specialist Valerie Curtis said that the development of facial responses was concomitant with the development of manners, which are behaviours with an evolutionary role in preventing the transmission of diseases , thus, people who practise personal hygiene and politeness will most benefit from membership in their social group, and so stand
6111-413: The event, gentlemen's clubs , such as Harrington's Rota Club, published an in-house etiquette that codified the civility expected of the members. Besides The Spectator , other periodicals sought to infuse politeness into English coffeehouse conversation, the editors of The Tatler were explicit that their purpose was the reformation of English manners and morals; to those ends, etiquette was presented as
6208-571: The faults of others, but avoid falling short, yourself,' in being civilised. Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home (1922), by Emily Post documents the "trivialities" of desirable conduct in daily life, and provided pragmatic approaches to the practice of good manners—the social conduct expected and appropriate for the events of life, such as a baptism , a wedding , and
6305-405: The first book in history. His book was entitled The Maxims of Ptahhotep . As the Vizier , he wrote on a number of topics in his book that were derived from the central concept of Egyptian wisdom and literature which came from the goddess Maat . She was the daughter of the primordial and symbolized both cosmic order and social harmony. Ptahhotep’s instruction was written as advice to his people in
6402-418: The functional role that manners play in a society. The categories of manners are based upon the social outcome of behaviour, rather than upon the personal motivation of the behaviour. As a means of social management, the rules of etiquette encompass most aspects of human social interaction; thus, a rule of etiquette reflects an underlying ethical code and a person's fashion and social status . The Book of
6499-434: The group. That pressure of social exclusivity, born from the shift towards communal living , excluded uncooperative people and persons with poor personal hygiene. The threat of social exclusion led people to avoid personal behaviours that might embarrass the group or that might provoke revulsion among the group. To demonstrate the transmission of social conformity , anthropologists Joseph Henrich and Robert Boyd developed
6596-429: The guest flow could be more easily controlled than at the home. Members' social status was marked by the prestige of the club, but within it, the lines were blurred. Prominent guests could be invited to dinner or to lounge at the club over the house. Staff would monitor these guests and their arrival for the members and, as employees of the members, could personally tailor the experience. Thus, by holding important events at
6693-426: The hopes of maintaining this said " social order ". He wrote perspicacious advice covering topics from table manners and proper conduct for success in court circles to handy hints to the husband for preserving his wife’s beauty. Ptahhotep also wrote more social instructions such as ways to avoid argumentative persons and cultivate self-control. Ptahhotep's grandson, Ptahhotep Tjefi, is traditionally credited with being
6790-478: The integrity of the culture. Ideas of pollution, defilement, and disgust are attached to the margins of socially acceptable behaviour in order to curtail unacceptable behaviour, and so maintain "the assumptions by which experience is controlled" within the culture. In studying the expression of emotion by humans and animals, naturalist Charles Darwin noted the universality of facial expressions of disgust and shame among infants and blind people, and concluded that
6887-421: The late First Intermediate Period of the Middle Kingdom . Some scholars have argued that this means that the book was likely composed in the Middle Kingdom and that the authorship is fictional. The 1906 translation by Battiscombe Gunn , published as part of the "Wisdom of the East" series, was made directly from the Prisse papyrus in Paris, rather than from copies, and is still in print. A manuscript copy,
6984-539: The late 19th century, such as the Ladies' Institute, and the Ladies' Athenaeum. They proved quite popular at the time, but only one London-based club, The University Women's Club , has survived to this day as a single-sex establishment. Traditionally barred from full membership in existing clubs of similar interest, and somewhat mobilized by the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the United States; by
7081-843: The merger of Kildare Street Club ( traditionally Conservative ) with The Dublin University Club ( academic )) and The St Stephen's Green Hibernian Club (similarly formed when the St Stephen's Green Club ( Whig ) merged with The Hibernian United Services Club ( military )). A number of other, specialist clubs flourish in Dublin such as The Royal Irish Automobile Club (R.I.A.C) on Dawson Street, Established in 1901, The United Arts Club, Royal Irish Academy , Royal Dublin Society , Yacht Clubs (The Royal Irish , The National , and The Royal St George ) of Dún Laoghaire, The Hibernian Catch Club ( catch music ), and The Friendly Brothers of St Patrick ( originally anti-duelling ). Most major cities in
7178-548: The merger of two earlier clubs, and the Fredericton Garrison Club was founded in 1969 by associate members of the area headquarters officers' mess. The Manitoba Club is Western Canada's oldest club, founded in 1874 at Winnipeg. The Union Club of British Columbia was founded in 1879 in Victoria. The Vancouver Club was founded in 1889. Australia has a number of gentlemen's clubs. Of those listed below,
7275-525: The network analysis perspective by Maria Zozaya. Today, establishments based on the concept of the traditional gentlemen's clubs exist throughout the world, predominantly in Commonwealth countries and the United States. Many clubs offer reciprocal hospitality to other clubs' members when travelling abroad. There are perhaps some 25 traditional London gentlemen's clubs of particular note, from The Arts Club to White's . A few estimable clubs (such as
7372-659: The older ones. The gentlemen’s club in Moscow (Angliyskoye sobranie, rus. Английское собрание), founded approximately in 1772, was the centre of noble social and political life in the 18th-19th centuries, and largely determined public opinion. A gentleman's club typically contains a formal dining room, a bar, a library, a billiard room , and one or more parlours for reading, gaming, or socializing. Many clubs also contain guest rooms and fitness amenities. Some are associated mainly with sports, and some regularly hold other events such as formal dinners. The original clubs were established in
7469-592: The oldest cities – Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia. Others, which are well respected, have developed in such major cities as Pittsburgh, Chicago, and San Francisco. The most exclusive social clubs are two in New York City – the Links and the Knickerbocker (Allen 1987, 25) Personal wealth has never been the sole basis for attaining membership in exclusive clubs. The individual and family must meet
7566-494: The person as a genteel member of the upper class . To identify with the social élite, the upwardly mobile middle class and the bourgeoisie adopted the behaviours and the artistic preferences of the upper class. To that end, socially ambitious people of the middle classes occupied themselves with learning, knowing, and practising the rules of social etiquette, such as the arts of elegant dress and gracious conversation, when to show emotion , and courtesy with and towards women. In
7663-540: The pinnacle with his acceptance into the Knickerbocker Club (Baltzell 1989, 340). E. Digby Baltzell , sociologist of the WASP establishment, explains in his book Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class : The circulation of elites in America and the assimilation of new men of power and influence into the upper class takes place primarily through the medium of urban clubdom. Aristocracy of birth
7760-557: The popularity of clubs, particularly around the 1880s. At the height of their influence in the late 19th century, London had over 400 such establishments. Club Life in London , an 1866 book, begins: "The Club in the general acceptation of the term, may be regarded as one of the earliest offshoots of man's habitual gregariousness and social inclination." An increasing number of clubs were influenced by their members' interests in politics, literature, sport, art, automobiles, travel, particular countries, or some other pursuit. In other cases,
7857-468: The proposers (at least two and in many clubs more), who have known the candidate for a term of years, formally nominate the person for membership. Election is by a special committee (itself elected), which may interview the candidate and which looks at any support and also objections of other members. Some top clubs still maintain distinctions which are often undefined and rarely explained to those who do not satisfy their membership requirements. After reaching
7954-425: The pursuit of justice should be foremost. Yet, in human affairs, the command of a god ultimately prevails in all matters. Some of Ptahhotep's maxims indicate a person's correct behaviours in the presence of great personages (political, military, religious), and instructions on how to choose the right master and how to serve him. Other maxims teach the correct way to be a leader through openness and kindness, that greed
8051-515: The reader that to be a well-mannered person they must practise good manners in their public and private lives. The How Rude! comic-book series addresses and discusses adolescent perspectives and questions of etiquette, social manners, and civility. In commerce, the purpose of etiquette is to facilitate the social relations necessary for realising business transactions; in particular, social interactions among workers, and between labour and management. Business etiquette varies by culture, such as
8148-417: The social ladder. It revealed that a man had certain information others did not have. It was also a tool used to demonstrate a man's masculinity. It established certain gender roles. Men told stories and joked. The times and places a man told stories, gossiped, and shared information were also considered to show a man's awareness of behaviour and discretion. Clubs were places where men could gossip freely. Gossip
8245-446: The stoic gentleman. Like the home, men could act and behave in ways not usually acceptable in public society. For men who lived their lives at the club, the home lost its status as their base. Members would use this address for official documentation, mailing, and appointments. Meals, formal or informal, were provided and tastes could be catered for by the club staff. Spaces within the club were designated for these various functions, and
8342-633: The top of a long waiting list, there is a possibility of being blackballed during the process of formal election by the committee. In these circumstances, the principal proposer of such a person may be expected to resign, as he failed to withdraw his undesirable candidate. More often, the member who proposes an unsuitable candidate will be "spoken to" at a much earlier stage than this, by senior committee members, and he will withdraw his candidate to avoid embarrassment for all concerned. The clubs are owned by their members and not by an individual or corporate body. These kinds of relationships have been analyzed from
8439-483: The treasury , overseer of scribes of the king's document , overseer of the double granary and overseer of all royal works . His mastaba is located at Saqqara. The entrance is on the South-east and decorated with two pillars. It follows a room with two further rooms on each side. The middle of the complex is occupied by a court with ten pillars. Going further north, several other rooms follow with one containing
8536-504: The virtue of morality and a code of behaviour. In the mid-18th century, the first, modern English usage of etiquette (the conventional rules of personal behaviour in polite society) was by Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield , in the book Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World and a Gentleman (1774), a correspondence of more than 400 letters written from 1737 until
8633-456: Was also a tool that led to more practical results in the outside world. There were also rules that governed gossip in the clubs. These rules governed the privacy and secrecy of members. Clubs regulated this form of communication so that it was done in a more acceptable manner. Until the 1950s, clubs were also heavily regulated in the rooms open to non-members. Most clubs contained just one room where members could dine and entertain non-members; it
8730-488: Was an ancient Egyptian vizier during the late 25th century BC and early 24th century BC Fifth Dynasty of Egypt . He is credited with authoring The Maxims of Ptahhotep , an early piece of Egyptian "wisdom literature" meant to instruct young men in appropriate behavior. Ptahhotep was the city administrator and vizier (first minister) during the reign of Pharaoh Djedkare Isesi in the Fifth Dynasty. He had
8827-460: Was an Italian courtier and diplomat , soldier, and author of The Book of the Courtier (1528), an exemplar courtesy book dealing with questions of the etiquette and morality of the courtier during the Italian Renaissance . Louis XIV (1638–1715), King of France, used a codified etiquette to tame the French nobility and assert his supremacy as the absolute monarch of France. In consequence,
8924-402: Was an important means for social advancement, for a man such as he. Chesterfield's elegant, literary style of writing epitomised the emotional restraint characteristic of polite social intercourse in 18th-century society: I would heartily wish that you may often be seen to smile, but never heard to laugh while you live. Frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill-manners; it
9021-423: Was definitely an escape, it was not an escape from domesticity. Men knew and enjoyed the matching elements of the home life; it was more of a transfer or alternative reality. Despite the opportunity for mobility within the club, secrecy and exclusivity supported the patriarchal authority. With the absence of female voices and set of rigid institutional structures, members created internal stability. Induction into
9118-841: Was formed with 15 shareholders and is still open today. Quebec City has the Literary and Historical Society , the Stadacona Club, and the Garrison Club, which was founded by officers of the Canadian Militia and opened to the public in 1879. The Toronto Club is the oldest in that city, founded in 1837. Others include the National Club , the Albany Club , the York Club , the University Club of Toronto,
9215-685: Was founded in 1693. Discussion of trade or business is usually not allowed in traditional gentlemen's clubs, although it may hire out its rooms to external organisations for events. Similar clubs exist in other large UK cities, such as: In London, the original gentlemen's clubs exist alongside the late 20th century private members' clubs such the Groucho Club , Soho House and Home House , which offer memberships by subscription and are owned and run as commercial concerns. All offer similar facilities such as food, drink, comfortable surroundings, venue hire and in many cases accommodation. In recent years
9312-415: Was objectionable in some way or he was "unclubbable" (a word first used by F. Burney). This newly expanded category of English society came to include professionals who had to earn their income, such as doctors and lawyers. Most gentlemen belonged to only one club, which closely corresponded with the trade or social/political identity he felt most defined him, but a few people belonged to several. Members of
9409-647: Was often assumed that one's entire social circle should be within the same club. Harold Macmillan was said to have taken "refuge in West End clubs ...: Pratt's , Athenaeum , Buck's , Guards , the Beefsteak , the Turf , [and] the Carlton ". Although gentlemen's clubs were originally geared towards a male audience, domestic life played a key role in their establishment and continuity. Defying classic gender norms,
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