“If You Must, Go To a Public House with a Good Reputation”

Code of conduct in public houses in the light of etiquette rules of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century

Abstract

For townspeople frequenting public houses and coffee shops represented one of the most characteristic forms of social life in the 19th century. For this reason this was a common subject of books on etiquette rules in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Their authors, mostly Catholic moralists, advised townspeople to go only to public houses that enjoyed a good reputation and only on special occasions. They taught the guests and publicans how to behave there. Women, in particular, were warned about what to wear on public premises and when they were allowed to visit them in the first place. Unlike churches, public houses teemed with various threats to an individual’s purity. It was particular public houses of a lower rank, the obscure taverns and dives, that featured a lively intoxicated life, which often resulted in scuffles and fights, gambling and indecent dancing.