FANS: THEIR HISTORY AND SECRET LANGUAGE REVEALED

By Kathleen Coddington

For practicality and sheer beauty few accessories can compete with the fan. In fact, fans may be one of the oldest accessories. The earliest fans were made of nothing more than a large leaf or a bunch of long grasses used as cooling devices or to shoo away annoying insects much like a horse’s tail. Four-thousand-year-old Egyptian wall paintings depict large ceremonial fans composed of feathers along with women holding smaller hand fans of feathers or woven grasses. Fans also appear on Greek and Etruscan vases, and by the time of the Romans were an accepted fashion accessory.

The first fans were fixed, [See photo 1] meaning a cluster of feathers or a rigid frame of wood, woven grasses, embroidered fabric or heavy vellum were attached to a handle. Handles were made of gilded wood, ivory or bone. Inspired by the way bats open and close their wings, the Japanese designed the first folding fans in the 7th century. After centuries of use in Japan and China, Italian merchants brought folding hand fans to Europe in the 1500s. Originally adopted by Venetian courtesans, Catherine de Midicis introduced the new style fans to France in 1549, where they quickly became an important accessory for both men and women in the French court.

Although Italy and England developed as the first centers of fan manufacturing, soon that distinction belonged to Paris, the already established leader of European fashion. By the 18th century Paris numbered 150 master fan makers.

Folding hand fans were produced in three styles—the cockade, the brise and the pleated. [See photo 2] Cockade fans are circular, pleated fans attached to two handles. When fully extended the leaves open to a full 360 degrees, thus forming a cockade. This design is based upon the Roman flabellum, whose original purpose was to keep flies from the host during Mass. In the brise, the sticks are joined at the bottom or head with a rivet and strung together with a cord or ribbon further up, allowing the sticks to slide across each other so that the fan can open and close. Probably the most common form is the pleated fan, in which the leaves of the fan are pleated and then attached to the sticks or bones about half way down the fan.

Fan designs were diverse. Sticks and guards, the supports at each end of the fan, were usually of ivory, wood, bone, tortoiseshell or mother-of-pearl. Some were decorated with silver, gold or gems. The leaves of the fan could be made of paper, silk, satin, velvet, lace, leather or feathers, and were often decorated with sequins, paintings or decoupage. In the 1870s celluloid, an early type of plastic, made fans more affordable to the average woman because of its ability to mimic the more expensive ivory or tortoiseshell. [See photo 3.]

While the leaves of early folding fans were often decorated with flowers or oriental designs, the choice of subjects painted on fans from 1840 to 1870 tended to be Romantic in nature. Fan paintings often depict a scene of a group of people in a pastoral setting dressed in 17th or 18th century garb. [See photo 4] Fashion dictated the size of fans. Extremely small fans were favored during the early 1800s. During the Civil War the average size of a fan was about 7½ to 9 inches in length.

The Jenny Lind fan, named for the famous Swedish singer introduced to America by P.T. Barnum, was very popular from the mid-1860s to the early 1870s. [See photo 5] A brise style folding fan, the Jenny Lind consisted of broad petal shaped leaves often made of silk and sometimes tipped with tiny feathers. Like hats and parasols, fans increased in size during the 1880s and 90s.

As the folding fan spread in popularity throughout Europe, royalty and the upper classes quickly adopted it as a symbol of class and social status. During the Elizabethan era men and women of the court used fans not only as a charming fashion accessory, but also as an important social tool. Members of the court and upper class began using fans to further private social intercourse between the sexes. An alphabet of the fan spelled out meeting places for romantic rendezvous and the number of blades or sticks revealed indicated the time.

An actual codified language of the fan began to take shape between 1711 and 1740. Less awkward than the old method of spelling out of words, a combination of finger spelling (not unlike American Sign Language) and fan gestures could express entire phrases. The language of the fan appears to have been common knowledge having been noted by The Gentleman’s Magazine in 1740. Poems about fans and their language were also readily available as can be seen from the following:

The telegraph of Cupid in this fan

though you should find, suspect no wrong;

‘Tis but a simple and diverting plan

For ladies to chit-chat and hold the tongue.

(From the Original Fanology or Ladies’ Conversation Fan: a fan leaf designed by Charles Francis Bandini and Printed by William Cock, 42 Pall Mall, and Robert Clarke, 26 Strand, in 1797)

An even faster method of fan language, attributed to Fenella, who wrote a tract outlining the new language, developed in Spain. The Spanish language consisted of 55 gestures that corresponded to messages. A Parisian fan maker, Pierre Duvelleroy, published a shortened form of about 33 gestures in English. His commercially inspired marketing tool soon had fans talking in ballrooms throughout Europe and eventually the United States. Other savvy fan manufacturers soon followed suit by including a sheet of fan language with each fan sold. [See photo 6]

Like the equally popular language of flowers in which individual flowers had meanings when given or received, the language of the fan reached its height during the Victorian Era. At the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign, gentlemen of the court still used fans. Although the scenes depicted on their fans were of more manly subjects like insects, hunting scenes or the rules of a popular game, the use of fans by men virtually disappeared overnight after the Queen expressed distaste at seeing men fan themselves.

For women however, the mass production of fans made them available to all levels of society. Upper class ladies could afford expensive fans of pleated silk or lace, while lower class women could purchase cheap printed paper fans from street vendors. There were even conversation fans, designed to be shared by couples with questions for the gentleman on the left side and possible responses for the lady printed on the right side.

Ladies at all levels of society regarded the hand fan as much more than a mere fashion accessory. Besides cooling them at balls and social gatherings, fans could be used to flirt discreetly. Despite the rigid conventions and morality of the time, ladies elevated flirtation to an art. Fans conveyed secret messages and flirtations could be encouraged or discouraged by the mere flutter of a fan. To hone their skills, ladies could even attend “The Academy for the Art of Using a Fan,” offered by an enterprising upper class London woman.

Nineteenth century fan language differed substantially from the language popular during the eighteenth century that derived from the European style. Daniel R. Shafer’s 1877 book, Secrets of Life Unveiled, details the more commonly known American version.

Allowing the fan to rest on the right cheek indicated yes, while resting it on the left cheek meant no. If a lady allowed her fan to dangle from her left hand she sent the message that she was engaged. If she dangled it from her right hand she sent the opposite message. Fanning very slowly warned an approaching gentleman that the lady in question was married. Gently touching one finger to the edge of her fan conveyed the message I need to speak to you. Please wait for me could be expressed by opening the fan as fully as possible while drawing it across her cheek indicated I love you. Placing the handle of the fan on her lips was an invitation to a kiss.

Not all messages were of the teasing, romantic nature. Abruptly drawing a closed fan through her hand sent the harsh message of I hate you. Closing a fan with a snap indicated I am jealous, while swiftly moving the fan back and forth from hand to hand meant I’ve seen you look at another. Of course the lady could easily end a lover’s quarrel by clasping both hands under her completely open fan to beg forgiveness for her bad temper.

Fluttering was a skill that required practice, subtlety, gracefulness and a thorough knowledge of fan language. Imagine the embarrassment if an incorrect message was conveyed. How the average gentlemen learned the language remains a bit of a mystery, although it is likely that lovers may have devised their own personal gestures. And if all the couples in the ballroom knew and used the language, one must wonder exactly how much of a secret could it have been? In addition to using their fans for conversation, ladies often asked escorts or dance partners to autograph the leaves of their fans to keep as a memento of the occasion. [See photo 7]

By the beginning of the 20th century, the advent of air conditioning made fans unnecessary. The graceful, subtle secret language of the fan gradually faded as men and women conversed openly with each other. While fans may have ceased to talk, their beauty endures. And, as any woman who has ever picked up a fan knows, it is nearly impossible to resist the urge to open and close a fan without a flirtatious flutter of the wrist. So perhaps the language of the fan is not altogether forgotten after all.

All fans are from the author’s personal collection.

SOURCES

Alexander, Helene. Fans. Buckingham Shire, England: Shire Publications, 2002.

Bennett, Anna G. Fans In Fashion. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco,

1981.

Hart, Avril, and Emma Taylor. Fans. NY: Costume and Fashion Press, 1998.

Kenny, Adele. “Fantastic Victorian Fans.” Antique and Auction News. 31 October 2003:

n.p.

Tcherviakov, Alexandre F. Fans: From the 18^th to the Beginning of the 20^th Century.

Bournemouth, England: Parkstone Press, 1998.

Zimmerman, Fredricka. The 1860”s Lady. Available at ww.floridareenactorsonline.com

1 September 2004.

PHOTOGRAPH CAPTIONS

Photo 1 – Fixed feather fan with bird, circa 1860s

Photo 2 – Painted vellum cockade fan (circa 1860s), pierced ivory brise fan (circa

1890s), pleated paper fan (circa 1870s – 1880s)

Photo 3 – Tortoiseshell and ivory celluloid ostrich feather fans, circa 1860s –1870s

Photo 4 – Painted wood and pleated paper fan and white silk and silver sequined ivory fan, circa 1860s

Photo 5 – Jenny Lind fan of brown silk and ivory, circa 1860s

Photo 6 – Language of the Fan – Unidentified fan manufacturer

Photo 7 – Pleated paper fan, autographed on back, circa 1870s – 1880s

About the Author

Kathleen Coddington lives in Bath, Pennsylvania with her husband Cornelius and three cats. A former public school librarian for 30 years, she loves researching, especially mid-Victorian fashion and material culture. The Coddingtons have been reenacting for six years. They are members of two units, the 88th PA PVI, where Kathleen served as assistant. civilian coordinator for two years, and the 5th VA. In addition to collecting antique fans, she also collects Victorian jewelry and silver plate. The Coddingtons are learning Victorian dance with the hope of one day becoming dance callers.