Tissot’s portrait of a lady with a fan. Don’t you love the crescent moon jewel in her hair?
Up for some lulz? Like it’s totes cray, cray how kids speak these days, they just killin’ dat…
But the secret language of love and young people isn’t just a modern text speak phenom – it’s been going on for a very long time and in the 18th century – long before before mobile phones, Instagram or Snapchat – social non-verbal communication was also conducted on a hand-held device: a fan.
Fans were brought back from the far East to Europe during the Renaissance and they were typical souvenir ware that we might see today – a paddle construction made of palm fronds, velum – but as they caught the eye of aristocrats and style leaders, the materials became more lavish – satin and silk, hand-painted, ivory handles, gold and silver with bejewelled handles…
They became a popular fashion item in France and when the French Huguenots fled to England to avoid persecution the trend came to England in full force.
A lovely pierced ivory painted fan. a very expensive piece in its day.
In 1709, under Queen Anne, the Worshipful Company of Fan-makers was set up in England. The number of fan-makers eventually recovered in France, where, by the mid-eighteenth century, 150 masters were running workshops.
The eighteenth century was a golden age in Europe. Fans were popular at all social levels and technical developments in printing and machine decoration allowed cheaper fans to be produced alongside the bejeweled luxury items. Import controls were strict. In early eighteenth-century England, finished Indian and Chinese fans were prohibited, though the London fan-makers relied heavily on imported ivory sticks.
Women are armed with Fans as Men with Swords,
and sometimes do more Execution with them’.
The Spectator, 1711
Another beautiful fan in ivory and silk with text on it. Perhaps poetry.
It seems like nothing much has changed between the battle between and among the sexes – nothing can eviscerate self-esteem or a reputation faster than a few well chosen barbs from a feminine peer.
With handle to lips: Kiss me
Carrying it in the right hand in front of face: Follow me
Carrying in the left hand: Desirous of Acquaintance
Placing it on left ear: You have changed
Twirling in left hand: I wish to get rid of you
Drawing across forehead: We are watched
Carrying in right hand: You are too willing
Drawing across right cheek: I love you
Drawing through hand: I hate you
Below is a rather fun little recap of some of the language of the fan. Don’t forget to pay close attention. In a crowded ballroom with lots of people, activity, music and dancing, it would be dreadful to misunderstand!
Excerpt
Mindful of the gimlet-eyed mothers and the sharp-tongued dowagers, Abigail had ensured her dance card and behavior were works of art. No one man was favored over another; suggestions of a private moonlit stroll were politely refused. She had wondered if her skill at charming men and disarming women—an ability abandoned two years ago—might have deserted her, until she caught the eye of Emily Burchill sitting beside a handsome young man, Viscount Richard Hamberley.
Abigail found herself laughing on cue to a half-attended tale being related by Jane’s husband, Sir Thomas Ashford, but her main attention was on Emily’s closed fan. It slid through her gloved fingers once, twice, a third time. The message was clear. I. Hate. You.
A raised eyebrow would be Abigail’s only response, but, as she turned away, she noticed a grim face staring intently at Emily and Viscount Hamberley. She placed the face and name, William Templeton, Emily’s beau.
Interesting. Young Emily was playing a risky game. She would need to mind her manners if she was to land her suitor.