W kręgu salonów i wizyt domowych. Towarzyskość w warszawskich mieszkaniach klasy średniej lat 1864–1914

Abstract

Within the Range of Salons and Visits. The Social Life in Middle Class Homes in Warsaw during the 1864–1914 Period The article discusses mass-scale social life in Warsaw during the second half of the nineteenth century. Social life was one of the official forms of establishing contacts between unrelated persons and as such was subjected to multiple conventions. One of its forms – next to paying visits – was the salon. In the course of the nineteenth century the custom of holding salons permeated from the upper strata to the middles classes, in particular the intelligentsia and the bourgeoisie. Salons were held in specially designated “public” space within the home, arranged even in confined accommodation. The configuration of Warsaw homes hindered a consistent separation of such space, even in large residences located in parts of buildings facing the street. Naturally, in certain cases the salon (comprehended as part of a home) had to be used also as a dining room and a bedroom, thus negating its supposed sacrosanct character known from numerous sources.