Pic-Nic
Date
1987
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
This study examines the picnic from 1840 to 1900 as it was celebrated in the American Northeast: as a gathering of family or friends who travel to a scenic spot for luncheon and revels. The evidence ranges over the fields of material culture, including paintings, photographs, etiquette manuals, cookbooks, period fiction and artifacts from market baskets through multi-acre groves. The image of the picnic is explored through visuals and accounts, and an ethnographic reconstruction is done through prescriptive literature, fiction and artifacts. ☐ The picnic's primary function in society was the escape from etiquette in the childlike playing of games, overeating and flirtatious behavior. Picnickers are allowed a great latitude of acceptable behaviors and activities, and this nexus of freedom and propriety makes the picnic a focal symbol of Victorian culture. The popularity and need for the picnic is demonstrated by its acceptance and transmission through American culture. (Abstract from ProQuest citation page.)