The 18th Century Drawing Room, History

Unlike the excess inspired by the Gilded Age and Industrialism, the decor of the 18th century drawing room reflected the Enlightenment-era shift toward politeness, conversation, and social ritual. The space would serve for tea services, musical performances, games of card, and refined discourse.

However, they were still designed as a means to impress guests and demonstrate the merit and morals of the family within. The walls often feature intricate plaster detailing, silk coverings, as well as mirrors and paintings hung about. The furniture was positioned in the best means of elevating the conversation, and would prioritize comfort comparable with what we saw of the Victorian parlor.

According to Eleanor John, a historical writer for the Regional Furniture Society, who studied the inventory of a number of drawing rooms from the 1740s through 1800s, found that the decor of these rooms were “remarkably consistent and suggest that there was a recognised convention for the furnishing of this type of room which was closely adhered to”:

John details some of the inventories she gathered and itemizes the data pulled from them to further explain the expectations of the style:

“All feature curtains and carpets and a suite of chairs; most have a sofa and card tables, the latter either described as a pair or two. The absences are potentially equally informative. None feature clocks, beds or case furniture. Only one has a dining table and none of the others have objects associated with eating. Tea things appear in 3 out of 8 of the drawing rooms. Notably there are no pillar and claw tables, whereas they are fairly common in parlours and dining rooms.”

Of the many inventories, two here  give a clear image of the rooms remain consistent cross decades: 

Transcription from the inventory of John Jackson’ home taken in 1786:

Drawing Room
a Steel Stove Grate Bow fender & fire Irons
a Landskep and figures in a Carved & painted frame two Marble obelisks 2 Urns, Small Jarr damaged

7 Cartoons of Raphall Collor’d framed & Glazed two Mohogany (sic) Card Tables, an Inlaid
Marble Slabb on a Carved frame
A Large China Jarr (sic) and Cover

Two Double Branch Gilt Girandoles
a Pier Glass in a Carved and Gilt frame
a Sopha two Bolsters and Chex Cases
Six Mohogany (sic) Chairs Crimson Morine (sic) Seats Brass Nailed and Cases to Do
Two Elbow Chairs the Same = Three Crimson Morine festoon (sic) Window Curtins (sic) with Carved Cornishes Compleat
a Mohogany (sic) Stand for a tea Kettle
a Large Wilton Carpet

Transcription from the inventory of George Blachford’s home taken in 1793:

Drawing Room
A pair of Stripe Dimity festoon Window Curtains A Square Pier Glass 50 x 27 in Gilt frame

A pair of Sattin wood Card Tables Lined & Baize Covers – Ten Vase back Jappand Elbow Chairs Cane Seats, with Cushions & Dimity Cases
A Sopher [sofa?] to Correspond with Cushion & Case

A Pair of Cut Glass Lustres with Drops &c
for Two Lights each — A Jappand Codill [quadrille?] Box — A Jappand tea Caddy — A Wilton
Carpet pland to Room 39 yds — Two Large
Chinese Figures & Gause Vails
A Bright Steel Stove Steel Cut fender Shovel
Tongs & Poker

A number of these items listed can be found crafted by Fisher or bought to bring the structure expected of the room together. The furniture style is particularly easy to spot the specification of the room, with the two rooms above also including :

Two Elbow Chairs the Same [meaning Mahogany] AND 
Elbow Chairs Cane Seats, with Cushions

A Large China Jarr (sic) and Cover AND
A Bright Steel Stove Steel Cut fender Shovel, Tongs & Poker

The decorations and amusements are also present, with decorative vases and the like scattered around the room artfully. Though the lists above mention a card table, Fisher’s room sports an ornate chess table:

These minatures show the attention to craftsmanship for the style that Mrs. Fisher dilegently honed.

Additionally, there is also a discussion about the gendered aspects of this room. According to the Hammond Harwood House’s history on Jane Austen drawing rooms, these spaces were also more commonly used by women of the household, as the men would remain within the dining room or retire to a games room and the women would remove to this secondary space to take up  creative work, such as needlepoint, or continue conversation.  

They served as symbols during the era, uplifting the symbol of feminine domestic influence while also bearing a reflection of the rigidity of the social structures separating men and women during the period.