In the 19th century, a room designated for dining emerged. These newly created dining rooms often were furnished with sideboards or serving tables in addition to a table and chairs. Stemmed wine glasses and a decanter to hold wine were often placed on the sideboard or server. At the same time that this fashion of genteel entertaining was rising, there was a massive “temperance” (anti-alcohol) movement sweeping through the United States. This movement denounced the evil moral and social consequences of alcohol such as beer or hard cider that was consumed by ordinary people with meals or as a treat in itself, as well as “hard” alcohol such as rum, and the alcohol that was the main ingredient in most medicines and “tonics.”
Wine decanter. ca. 1820. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/2000-20-505/. Accessed on December 6, 2024.
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