My aunt, Mrs. LeFevre, of New York City, is here with me for a short
stay, and Mr. Doe and I hope that you and Mr. Roe can give us the
pleasure of your company at dinner, on Tuesday, October ninth, at
seven o’clock, when, with a few other friends, we hope to pass a
pleasant hour in your society.
Cordially yours,
MARIAN DOE.
_Mrs. Marian Doe, St. Caroline’s Court._
Asking for Invitations.
Asking for invitations for one’s visiting friends, while permissible on
some occasions, such as requesting the favor of bringing a gentleman
to a ball where dancing men are always at a premium, or an unexpected
guest of your family to a reception or evening party, should never
be resorted to when a dinner party is in question, for, to gratify
the request would, in all probability, throw the whole of a carefully
arranged table into disorder. This rule is only to be broken when the
guest to be included is some really celebrated character whose addition
to the company would compensate for the extra covers to be laid and
the re-arrangements to be made before the unexpected guest can be
accommodated. No one, however, should feel offense when a request of
this nature is refused. The hostess, in all probability, had good and
sufficient reasons for her course of action. Invitations for a married
couple should never be requested.
Evening Parties, Balls and “At Homes.”
Invitations to these entertainments are issued in the name of the
hostess only, and are sent out from ten days to two weeks in advance.
Informal occasions, however, give very short notice, and it is well to
use the word “informal” in the invitation, that guests may not put
themselves to inconvenience as regards dress. It must be remembered
that this term is too often misleading in its nature, and many a
sensitive guest has been seriously annoyed by finding herself, after
a too literal interpretation of the “informal” character of the
entertainment, in a crowd of gay butterflies, a misuse of the word that
should be seriously protested against.
Invitations to evening parties and private balls are less elaborate
than formerly; the word “party” or “ball” is never used unless on
the occasion of some public affair, such as a charity ball, but any
especial feature of the evening may be mentioned in the invitation.
To an evening party where dancing may, or may not, be a feature of the
entertainment, the following, either engraved or written on a small
sheet of note paper, is a very good form:
[Illustration: _Mrs Stuyvesant Wentworth
Requests the pleasure of the company of
Mr and Mrs Mark Cowden,
On Wednesday evening, July 4th,
At nine o’clock_
_Informal._]
All invitations are to be considered as “formal” unless the word
“informal” appears on the card. If the card states that the
entertainment is to be “informal,” the invited guest is fully justified
in considering it so, and dressing accordingly. Neither host, hostess,
nor other guests can take any exception if the invitation is treated
just as it reads.
If dancing is the feature of the evening, the same form may be used
with the word “Dancing” added in the lower left hand corner. Or:
[Illustration: _Mrs. John Burrows,
At Home,
Thursday evening, October first,
At nine o’clock.
1080 LeFrance Avenue_
_Quadrilles at ten._]
If the ball is at a public place, as at Delmonico’s, in New York, the
following form is appropriate, always making use, in case of so public
an entertainment, of the host’s name in connection with that of the
hostess:
[Illustration: _Mr. and Mrs. George Douglas
Request the pleasure of your company,
Thursday evening, December twelfth,
At nine o’clock_
_Delmonico’s._]
Another form that would be equally appropriate is as follows:
[Illustration: _Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Saltus,
Sanger Halle,
Wednesday evening, January twentieth_
_German at nine._ _R. S. V. P._
]
If any of these occasions are intended to introduce a _débutante_, her
card may be enclosed. If they are given in honor of a friend, or some
celebrated individual, the following form is appropriate:
[Illustration: _Mrs. Henry Alexander Requests the favor of your company
on Tuesday evening, October tenth, From eight to eleven o’clock, To
meet the Rev. Prof. Dr. Kemp, Of the Princeton Theological Seminary_
_684 West 49th Street._ _R. S. V. P._
]
[Illustration: FREE FROM THE RESTRAINTS OF SOCIETY.]
[Illustration: OUT FOR HEALTHFUL EXERCISE]
Or, if very formal, the name of the guest may be given first, as: To
meet the CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE UNITED STATES and MRS. FULLER. MRS.
HAROLD COURTRIGHT, At Home, from eight to eleven o’clock, Thursday,
February seventh. _R. S. V. P._
This same precedence may be given to the name of an honored guest in a
dinner or other invitation. Still another form is where the name of the
guest is written on a separate card, thus: To meet MRS. SUMMERVILLE.
Enclose this in the same envelope.
For a club party the following may be used: THE LA SALLE CLUB requests
the pleasure of your attendance Wednesday evening, June eight, at nine
o’clock. 555 West 51st Street. _R. S. V. P._
A still more simple form for a party invitation is an “At Home” card
filled out thus: MRS. DON CARLOS PORTER, At Home, Tuesday evening,
March fourth. 1021 Broadway. Cotillion at ten. _R. S. V. P._
Masquerades.
The entire invitation for a masquerade may be engraved, or it may be
written, with the exception of the word “Masquerade,” which should be
engraved on the card. For example:
[Illustration: _Mrs. L. J. LeFevre
Requests the pleasure of your company,
Saturday evening, November twelfth,
At eight o’clock._
Masquerade.
_R. S. V. P._ _55 East Thirtieth Street._
]
Musicales, Soirées and Matinées.
Invitations to a Musicale are simply written on “At Home” cards, thus:
[Illustration: _Mrs. P. V. VanVechton,
At Home,
Tuesday, April second._
_Music at half-past three._]
Or: MRS. P. V. VANVECHTON, At Home, Tuesday afternoon, April second,
from half-past three to five o’clock. _Matinee Musicale._
If the Musicale is to be an evening affair, and dancing is to follow
the music, the following form of invitation may be used: MRS. HERBERT
HUGHES, At Home, Friday evening, January tenth, at eight o’clock. 200
Winchester Avenue. Music. Dancing at ten.
Precisely the same form is to be used in giving out invitations for
a _soirée_, save that the word “_soirée_” is substituted for that of
“_Musicale_” or “_matinée musicale_.” It may be farther added that
the term “_matinée_” applies exclusively to entertainments given in
the morning, or at any time before dinner, a distinction to which our
custom of late dinners gives a wide latitude, so that any entertainment
up to eight o’clock in the evening may receive the name of _matinée_,
notwithstanding the fact that drawn curtains and gas-lighted rooms may
give all the semblance of night-time. “_Soiree_,” however, is used only
where an evening party of a semi-informal character is denoted.
Garden Parties.
Precisely the same form of “At Home” cards can be used for these
entertainments, substituting the words “Garden Party” in the left hand
corner and sending them out some two or three days in advance. Or, if a
more formal affair is intended, use the following: MRS. WAITE TALCOTT
requests the pleasure of the company of MR. and MRS. JOHN CLAY, on
Monday, August fifth, at four o’clock. Garden Party. “The Oaks.”
If it should be desirable to include the entire family in the
invitation, the wording would be as follows:
[Illustration: _Mr. and Mrs. John Clay and Party.
Mrs. Waite Talcott,
At Home,
Tuesday, August fifth, at four o’clock.
“The Oaks.”_
_Garden Party._ _R. S. V. P._
_Carriages will meet the 3.40 train from Union Depot._]
This clause to be added only when the party is to be given at some
distance from the station. If preferred, these directions may be
written on a separate small card and enclosed in the same envelope.
In this country we are not so accustomed to giving garden parties as
people are in England, but a garden party may easily be made one of the
most inviting and enjoyable of any.
Breakfasts, Luncheons and Suppers.
Breakfast invitations may be engraved or written upon a lady’s visiting
card, thus:
[Illustration: _Mrs George Horton.
Breakfast,
Wednesday, at ten o’clock.
24 Euclid Avenue._
]
A written invitation is usually in the first person, and should read
somewhat as follow: