When Your Wrist Fan Speaks
Fans have been sending messages since their inception. Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, surrounded
herself by slaves who fanned her in an effort to ward off the scorching heat. The fan was seen as a sacred instrument by
the Egyptians and was used in religious ceremonies in many ancient cultures. It was a symbol of royal power.
Over time, fans became more than ceremonial symbols, tools
to cool us, or another pretty accessory, they became an instrument for ladies
to speak in secret code.
Allowing your wrist fan to do the talking became second
nature to some in Regency England.
During this time a person was often judged and defined by the cut of
their jib, or in this situation, the fineness of your fan. Fans gained popularity in the 16th
century, but these were fixed fans, often made from feathers or wood. The folding fan originated in Japan and over
time came to replace the fixed fan by the end of the 17th century. Fixed fans had become gauche and a lady would
be considered quite out of fashion is she carried one.
The folding fans, made from vellum or paper, were considered
stylish, but they could be costly. Fans
were often painted with historic commemorative events, Biblical passages,
Asian, mythological, or pastoral scenes.
Fans were used both in the day and night time hours, but eventually they
were restricted to the evening. During
the Regency period, Vernis Martin fans were highly sought. The Martin brothers came up with a special
technique for the hand painted scenes, and their fans had the mother of pearl
handle guards. Not only did artists
partake in this new canvas, but ladies also took to painting their own fans.
There were three types of folding fans. The old folding
type had sticks fastened together and pleated fabric or paper fastened to
the sticks. The cockade fan was pleaded paper, attached with two sticks, and opened
into a full circle, with the sticks forming the handle. From what I learned during my research,
cockade fans were not used in ballrooms.
The brisé fan had numerous sticks put together that were painted
individually to form a scene.
Fans, like many accessories, followed fashion trends, and
when dresses became more colorful and elaborate, so too did the fans. Over the centuries, a type of fan language
evolved, this was likely a way for the young to cope with the stifling rules of
social etiquette at the time. When
proper decorum insisted that a lady could not approach a man they’re interested
in or reject a man that they’re not, what is a lady to do? Seems they create their own type of sign
language to send their rejections or encouragement with the hopes that parents
will be none the wiser. I can’t imagine
what occurs if you move your fan in a way that wasn’t intended, but I think it
would be great to add to a story. Some
historians argue that fan language didn’t exist. But Charles Francis Badini’s book, Fanology or Ladies’ Conversation Fan,
was published in 1797 and fan usage was published in many etiquette books and
magazines at the time. Perhaps it was
all a ploy to gain more fan sales. Badini’s
book listed the gestures and what these secret flicks of the wrist
conveyed.
Here’s a small list of gestures from his
book:
Carrying Open fan: come
speak with me
Twirling the fan in the
right hand: I love another
Twirling the fan in the
left hand: We are being watched
Placing the fan near your
heart: I love you
A half-closed fan pressed
to the lips: You may kiss me
Letting the fan rest on
the right cheek: Yes
Letting the fan rest on
the left cheek: No
Dropping the fan: We will be friends
After reading a small portion of the gestures
I tend to wonder how many men actually read the subtle clues ladies were giving
them across a dance floor. Seems you
could hold an entire conversation just by moving your fan. The fan reached its peak during the Victorian
era, but they fell out of favor in the mid-20th century.
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A special thank you to inkwellinspirations.com,
angelpig.net, and ageofsteam.com
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