Emily Post
Emily Post was a prominent American author and etiquette expert whose name became synonymous with social manners in the 1920s. After her divorce in 1905, Post began her literary career by writing magazine articles and serialized stories, ultimately gaining fame with her foundational book, *Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home* (1922). This comprehensive guide set the standard for polite behavior, outlining rules for various social interactions, including letter writing, hosting, and household management. Post’s philosophy emphasized the importance of pleasing the greatest number of people while minimizing offense.
In 1927, she released an updated edition that adapted her guidelines to reflect the evolving American society, incorporating advice for the middle class. Following the success of her etiquette books, she became a household name, addressing etiquette questions through a weekly newspaper column. In 1946, she established the Emily Post Institute, which has continued to promote etiquette and manners through her family members, ensuring her legacy endures in contemporary discussions about social conduct.
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Emily Post
- Born: October 27, 1872
- Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
- Died: September 25, 1960
- Place of death: New York, New York
Emily Post’s name became synonymous with etiquette in the 1920s. Her etiquette rules provided the ultimate standard of behavior in polite American society for men and women of the era to follow.
Emily Post’s literary career began after her divorce in 1905, when she started writing magazine articles and serialized stories as a means to support herself. She found moderate success as a novelist, but it was her book Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home (1922) that brought her national recognition. At over six hundred pages long, it was the most comprehensive list of etiquette rules that had ever been published. Etiquette provided rules for the upper class of the 1920s on how to interact with one another, including instructions on writing letters, introducing people, setting the dinner table, hosting guests, being a guest, writing thank you notes, and directing servants in the household. Post’s main philosophy of etiquette was for people to strive to please the greatest number of people while offending the least.
In 1927, Post released a new edition of Etiquette. This updated version took into account the changes in American society in the past five years and included rules for those of the middle classes who, for example, could not afford the servants that Post had originally assumed her audience would have. The new additions covered topics such as how to be an attentive host while preparing a meal for guests and how to dress for formal affairs on a limited budget.
Impact
After the release of her books, Emily Post became a household name. Countless people sought out her answers to their etiquette questions, which she answered in a weekly newspaper column. Over the following decades, she continued to update Etiquette in addition to writing many more books on the subject. Post founded the Emily Post Institute in 1946; when she retired, her work was continued by her granddaughter-in-law, Elizabeth Post, who was in turn succeeded by daughter-in-law Peggy Post in 1995. Members of the Post family still remain the leading experts on etiquette and manners in the United States.
Bibliography
Claridge, Laura P. Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners. New York: Random House, 2009.
Kolbert, Elizabeth. “Place Settings.” The New Yorker, October 20, 2008, 88–92.
Post, Emily. Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics, and at Home. New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1922.