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Private Passion, Public Order; Gaming, gender and the middle classes in eighteenth-century England by Janet E. Mullin Master of Arts (History), University of New Brunswick (2000) A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Doctor of Philosophy In the Graduate Academic Unit of History Supervisor: Beverly Lemire, D.Phil. Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta Examining Board: R. Steven Turner, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Studies, Department of History, University of New Brunswick Wendy Churchill, Ph.D. Department of History, University of New Brunswick Gary K. Waite, Ph.D. Department of History, University of New Brunswick Randall Martin, Ph.D. Department of English, University of New Brunswick External Examiner: Margaret R. Hunt, Ph.D. Department of History/Women's & Gender Studies, Amherst College This thesis is accepted Dean of Graduate Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK January, 2008 ©Janet E. Mullin, 2008 Library and Archives Biblioth^que et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'6dition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre r6f4rence ISBN: 978-0-494-63792-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-63792-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 14-1 Canada DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of my grandmother, Rose F. Anewalt, -with love, pride, and profound gratitude. ii ABSTRACT Gaming was everywhere in eighteenth-century England. Although most of the tales of the games of that period centre around the extravagant, often reckless, play of the aristocracy, the middle classes were also finding that games, particularly cards, were an excellent way to enjoy their leisure hours. Their increasing prosperity meant that they could afford to enjoy the fashionable pleasures of polite society, and for the first time they had the time in which to do so. Since their businesses and homes were unprotected from financial disaster, however, they stood to lose everything if they indulged in the high stakes and risky games of their "betters". Their solution was to evolve an entirely distinct leisure culture, one which combined the agreeable pastimes and comfortable, elegant settings that befit their wealth with the restraint and moderation of their working lives. From the pages of the personal papers of the middle classes, a picture emerges of social play, in which the men, the women, and, often, the children of the middling sort sat down to cards in private homes, inn parlours, and the assembly rooms of the new resort towns. Over the period, card play became an innate part of the genteel world, in the process spawning a vast array of leisure-driven industries and trades. The middle classes were a motive force from both sides of the counter, as suppliers of the burgeoning consumer market and as buyers of the increasing range of goods available. The exploding publishing industry allowed the expression of opinions on cards and gaming in general, ranging from outright damnation of all games to sly satires in their defense. Plays, pamphlets, verses, and caricatures spilled from publishers' presses, embodying the attitudes and priorities of the society that made them. In enjoying one another's company over their cards, the middle classes formed and strengthened neighbourly and commercial bonds, weaving social webs that served iii purposes beyond mere entertainment At the same time, they devised their own way of enjoying themselves according to their own lights, true to the principles that had made them what they were. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A project of this complexity always spawns a long list of thank-yous, and this one is falling right into line. First of all, I want to thank my supervisor, Dr Beverly Lemire, for her unfailing assistance, support, and amazingly short turnaround times. Dr Gary Waite, my co-supervisor, field supervisor, and Teaching Apprenticeship 'master', was and is a wonderful example for a fledgling lecturer. Dr Lianne McTavish, my third field supervisor, was infinitely patient in guiding my first efforts at image analysis. Thank you all so much. I am most grateful to the members of my examining committee, Dr Wendy Churchill, Dr Gary Waite, Dr Randall Martin, and Dr Margaret Hunt, for their patient reading and thoughtful criticisms. Thank you for giving my dissertation the benefit of your expertise and experience. The staffs of the following libraries and archives have been of enormous help to me: the Harriet Irving Library at the University of New Brunswick, with special thanks to the long-suffering folks of Document Delivery and Microforms and the Electronic Text Centre; the British Library, the Museum of London, the Guildhall Library, the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, all in London; the National Archives, Kew; the Yale Center for British Art and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, both of Yale University; Fairfax House, York; and a long, long list of English county archives, far too many to list here (see Bibliography for a complete list of archives). In addition, thanks go to the following institutions for permission to reproduce images: the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, the Geffrye Museum, the Guildhall Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of London, and the Wellcome Library, all in London; the Bath and North East Somerset Council; the East Riding [Yorkshire] Archives and Local Studies Service, Beverley, Yorkshire; the York Conservation Trust and Fairfax v House, York; the Yale Center for British Art, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Lewis Walpole Library, all of Yale University; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; the Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY; the McCormick Library of Special Collections, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; the A. M. Brown Memorial Library, Brown University, Providence, RI. You have all made this researcher's life so much easier. Many, many thanks to you. I wish to gratefully acknowledge financial assistance from the Department of History, the School of Graduate Studies, and the History Graduate Students' Society, all at the University of New Brunswick; the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; the Yale Center for British Art; and the O'Brien Foundation. I can only hope that I have done justice to their generous support Finally, with loving gratitude, thanks to my family, my friends, my fellow graduate students at the Department of History, and most especially to my husband, Bill, whose patient proofreading, commenting, and trip-planning skills made this whole process work so smoothly. Thank you, thank you, thank you. VI Table of Contents DEDICATION ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v Table of Contents vii list of Tables viii List of Figures ix Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: As Time Goes By: Cycles of middling card play 37 Chapter Three: Parlour Games: Social play and the middling sort 58 Chapter Four: Saying When: Risk management at work and at play 96 Chapter Five: The Lady Stak'd: Middling women, card play, and the gamestress stereotype... 135 Chapter Six: The Business of Cards: The commercialisation and formalisation of card play.... 165 Chapter Seven: There Might Be No Harm: Morality and social practice 218 Conclusion 240 Bibliography 244 Appendix 276 Vita vii List of Tables Table 1: Coaches Leaving Bath's Inns, 1791 210 Table 2: Trades and Businesses in Bath, 1791 211 viii List of Figuies Figure 1: "The Fruits of Early Industry and Economy" George Morland, c. 1783-1789 5 Figure 2: "The Idle "Prentice at Play in the Church Yard, during Divine Service" William Hogarth, 1747 41 Figure 3: "The Strong Family" (detail) Charles Philips, 1732 52 Figure 4: "A Card Party" attrib. Isaac Cruikshank, 1794 66 Figure 5: An example of parallel amusements: "The Wanstead Assembly"