I’ll continue with one of my favorite household guidance authors, Eliza Leslie….
In her Miss Leslie’s Lady’s House-book, 1850, she says this about table linens:
“Table-Linen. – If the circumstances of the family will allow the expenditure, it is advisable always to get the table-linen of the best quality; as that which is fine and thick will last much longer and look better than if comparatively coarse and thin. There is nothing of the sort superior to the best double French damask; it being not only fine and thick, but soft and glossy, like satin’ and it looks as well after washing as before. The appearance of all table-linen is improved by being mangled in a machine, instead of ironing. A tablecloth ought to be considerably larger than the table, so as to hang down all round.”
“Napkins. – There are few genteel families who are not in the practice of using napkins at the table, to spread on the lap while eating, and for wiping the mouth and the fingers. The best size is about three-quarters square. [she doesn’t say three quarters of what] It is now more customary to hem the napkins than to ravel them with a fringe. If fringed, they must be afterwards whipped with a needle and thread, to secure them from ravelling still farther. Napkins with coloured borders look less genteel than those that are all white. The fines French double damask are the best and handsomest, and will last twice as long as any others. For a dinner party it is customary to place the napkins on the table, nicely folded in squares or diamonds, of which there are a variety of ingenious forms. But when the family dine without company, or with only two or three guests, the napkins are usually folded square, and then rolled up tightly and slipped into a ring of silver, ivory, ebony, or box-wood. These rings are generally numbered or lettered, and care should be taken to place the napkin of each person in his own ring. All table-linen should be marked in full with the whole name of the family.”
“Doilies. These are small napkins intended for wiping the fingers after eating fruit, and are placed round the table for that purpose. They are generally of coloured cotton, with a border; the colours are dark, that the stains may not be conspicuous on them. Unless they are washed very frequently, they acquire a rather unpleasant smell, and are not agreeable to use. We think it best to have white ones, as they are much nicer, and the stains can easily be removed from them. Doilies are always fringed.”
“Setting the dinner table. – Before you begin to set the table, see that every thing is ready and in good order; so that, after you once commence, you may not have to quit for the purpose of making something clean, or of remedying some inconvenience. If in winter, first see that the fire is good, and the hearth clean, and the plates set before it in the plate-warmer. In summer, if there is to be wine, attend in proper time to putting the bottles into the cooler, heaping round them pieces of ice. Also have ready, in one or more small glass dishes or saucers, a sufficiency of bright clean ice, broken into small bits, (with a dessert spoon in each dish, ) for the purpose of using while at table to cool the glasses of wine or water. Cut the dinner bread into thick oblong pieces or blocks; as it is not customary to slice bread, except for breakfast or tea; and take care to have enough in the bread-basket to supply all the persons at the table with a second piece, if required. It is extremely awkward to be obliged to replenish the bread-basket in the midst of dinner, some of the company, perhaps, waiting for it in the mean time. Every thing may be so arranged before-hand that the waiter will not have occasion to leave the room during the progress of the dinner.
First lay down the crumb-cloth; and then, if there is a woollen cover on the dining-table, remove it before you put on the linen cloth, which must be laid smoothly and evenly, so as not to hang down more on one side than the other. Bring in the things (as many at one time as you can) on your tray. Set your plates round the table, one for every person, but place them at the sides only, except those that are intended for the master and mistress of the house, who of course occupy the two ends and will not be able to carve so conveniently of any one is seated beside them.
It is always better to have too much space than too little; and it is therefore advisable to set a table rather to large for the company, than one that is in the least too small. We have seen a whole dinner party made uncomfortable all the time, from being crowded at a table of insufficient size; and in warm weather, particularly, this is no trifling inconvenience.” (She continues in detail how to properly set the table on p 257)
I currently plan to put up other notes I have from household guide books as well as some odds and ends. In the last post I said I think I will also put up some notes on the kitchen linens. This would include those used for cleaning, food prep and storage in the pantry. While entering the notes above I was thinking about visuals, primarily of dining rooms. Then while typing the part about napkins on the lap, I wondered about non-genteel usages of the napkin such as in the drinking area of a tavern. So, I think I will try to find some images other than nicer dining rooms as well.
If I Had My Own Blue Box: 
