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Sandwiches

Page history last edited by C.Taylor.6@warwick.ac.uk 6 years ago

Sandwiches

 

A minister of state passed four and twenty hours at a public gaming-table, so absorpt [sic] in play that, during the whole time, he had no subsistence but a bit of beef, between two slices of toasted bread, which he eat without ever quitting the game. This new dish grew highly in vogue, during my residence in London: it was called by the name of the minister who invented it.“ (Pierre-Jean Grosley 149)

 

Introduction

 

The sandwich, perhaps the single most convenient foodstuff ever invented, has a long and complex history. Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "an article of food for a light meal or snack, composed of two thin slices of bread, usually buttered, with a savoury (orig. spec. meat, esp. beef or ham) or other filling," the sandwich has existed for centuries (Sandwich n.). Indeed, the ancient Jewish sage Hillel the Elder was said to have wrapped meat from the Paschal lamb between two pieces of matzah during Passover while the countries of the Mediterranean and the Middle East share a long history of filled flatbreads (B. I. Epstein 115a; Sam Knight).

 

However, according to popular British mythology, the sandwich as we know it was invented by John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718–1792) during a day of especially excessive frivolity, in which he spent twenty-four hours at the gaming table eating only some cold beef placed between slices of toast (Grosley 149). This legend was first recorded in Pierre-Jean Grosley's account of his visit to London in 1765 and the myth has only been intensified by Montagu's name "Sandwich" becoming attributed to the foodstuff, being used by his friends and dining partners to refer to the refreshment (Grosley 149; Bee Wilson 22).

Knapton, George. Portrait of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. 1745, n.p., National Portrait Gallery, London.

 

Following its incarnation as a British foodstuff, the sandwich saw a rapid increase in popularity among English society, as can be exemplified by the Google Ngram view of the word's use from 1750-1850, the sharp spike in usage of the word in literature from the late 1760s presenting the sandwich's increased use in the English lexicon (Google Books Ngram Viewer).Google Books Ngram Viewer https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Sandwiches&year_start=1750&year_end=1850&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CSandwiches%3B%2Cc0 

 

Indeed, the popularity of sandwiches among the English by the end of the eighteenth century was such that the sandwich itself had become a marketing tool.  The high end grocer John Burgess advertised his “finest flavoured Gorgona anchovies,” on the basis that they were good for “making sandwiches,” across several publications no less than 103 times between September 1788 and 1789 alone (Morning Post and Daily Advertiser 06/09/1788; 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers). From Burgess' evident focus on the sandwich market, utilising the foodstuff as an advertising ploy, one can infer it was an immensely profitable business with an intensely popular product.

 

Morning Post and Daily Advertiser. 06/09/1788. 

 

Perhaps as a result of the sandwich's broad appeal, the food had a wide and at times conflicting variety of connotations in the period, ranging from fashion and gentility, through patriotic Britishness to dissipation and miserliness. However, the sandwich's impact on the eighteenth century's cuisine and culture cannot be overestimated.

 

The Fashion for Sandwiches

 

Following their eighteenth century inception, sandwiches quickly became the favourite food of voguish social circles. Indeed, the fare appears to have been a staple of modish theatrical and aristocratic parties, rendering the sandwich the 'it' food of fashionable high society. Several society columns of the late eighteenth century depict social gatherings in which sandwiches were a staple, such as "Her Grace of Marlborough," providing her guests with a "profusion," of sandwiches at her Blenheim Theatre party in March 1788 ("Opera House" 28/03/1788).

 

 "Opera House". Morning Post and Daily Advertiser. 28/03/1788.

 

Perhaps the most significant of such gatherings in highlighting the sandwich's claim to fashion is the party held by the actress Dorothea (Dora) Jordan, later the mistress of the Duke of Clarence, for a plethora of fashionable guests which included: "Mr and Mrs Sheridan," of The Rivals fame; Georgiana "Dutchess [sic] of Devonshire," the most influential tastemaker of the 1770s and 80s, and "Mr Grey," the future Prime Minister (“Theatricals” 15/05/1788; Cathy Hartley 250; L. Dutens 209; Amanda Foreman 394). Once again, the "bill of fare," included "beef sandwiches," thus cementing the sandwich's position as a voguish delicacy (“Theatricals” 15/05/1788). The modish nature of sandwiches in the period is further emphasised by both Mrs Jordan and her guests' evident stylishness and popular influence on the public as presented by Thomas Gainsborough's detailed portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire, and by Mrs Jordan's portrait by John Hoppner being reprinted for popular consumption (Gainsborough 1785-1787; Jon Jones 1791). 

 

"Theatricals". World. 15/05/1788.

 

Gainsborough, Thomas. Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire. 1785-1787, n.p., Chatsworth House, Derbyshire.

Jones, Jon (after John Hoppner). Dorothy Jordan as Hypolita. 1791, mezzotint, National Portrait Gallery, London.

 

However, it was not just at private parties that the sandwich was growing in popularity. Potentially due to its convenience, the sandwich became the theatre's snack of choice, being distributed to audience members in the intervals between shows and provided by theatre managers at post-show parties ("Theatrical Intelligence Extraordinary" 08/09/1788; "The Mirror of Fashion" 29/04/1797). This was especially true of the King's Theatre, at which the management provided sandwiches "for those of the company ... up stairs during the whole of the night," thus lending the sandwich a level of exclusivity and intrigue since only the actors and their personal guests would be able to consume the delicacies ("The Mirror of Fashion" 29/04/1797).

"The Mirror of Fashion". Morning Chronicle. 29/04/1797.

 

Finally, by the end of the eighteenth and the turn of the nineteenth century, the sandwich had cemented itself as the party food we know it to be today. Records indicate that the foodstuff had infiltrated the balls and larger gatherings of high society, the Express and Evening Chronicle of May 1798 detailing the menu of "beef, veal and ham," sandwiches at the fashionable Ranelagh Masquerade from which one may infer that the sandwich had outgrown its status as the delight of private parties and graduated to a popular foodstuff of society functions ("Ranelagh Masquerade" 01-03/05/1798).

 

Sandwiches and the Aristocracy

 

Not only was the sandwich invented by a high profile member of the aristocracy, but it ultimately became a favourite food of the upper classes. Thus, the sandwich gained connotations of refinement and elegance, as exemplified by the Earl of Sefton's chef d'hôtel Louis Eustache Ude significantly including a refined selection of sandwiches (such as those lined with béchamel and including salad trimmed with "extraordinary care") in his influential 1813 cookbook The French Cook (Knight; Ude 437-440). Perhaps most important in illustrating the aristocratic nature of sandwiches is the royal family's endorsement of the snack, the anonymous text A Diary of the Royal Tour, in June, July, August and September 1789 declaring George III and his family "never fail[ed] to carry," sandwiches with them whilst on progress (97). The sandwich being consumed by the family of highest status in the country could not but associate the fare with class and gentility.

 

So strong was the association between sandwiches and the aristocracy that many sandwich vendors began to advertise their wares to an exclusively gentile market. The Scottish vendor William Hickson notably markets his Gorgona anchovies to the "Nobility and Gentry," on account of their being perfect for making sandwiches, thus suggesting that the sandwich market was intrinsically aristocratic in the period ("Advertisements and Notices" 05/04/1800).

 

 

"Advertisements and Notices". Caledonian Mercury. 05/04/1800.

 

Why sandwiches became so intrinsically linked to the upper classes is a mystery. While one can conjecture on the causes, such as its being consumed by fashionable aristocratic circles or perhaps the fact that for the labouring classes bread could cost more than one half of the weekly food budget thus rendering a foodstuff which requires two slices of bread a frivolous waste, it is unlikely that a definitive answer on the subject will ever be found (E. P. Thompson 82). Nevertheless, the association between sandwiches and the upper classes remained throughout the period as evidenced by the playwright Francis Ludlow Holt implying in his 1805 play The Land We Live In that the lower classes simply could not appreciate the foodstuff, the servile character Robert declaring "damn your sandwiches," (Holt 64).

 

However, it is worth noting that by the end of the eighteenth century, the sandwich appears to have become somewhat democratised. This is most apparent in the sandwich's inclusion in the 1827 cookbook Domestic Economy, and Cookery, for Rich and Poor which (as its title suggests) catered for a wide range of classes such as "sea-faring men, travellers, and children," and even went so far as to include estimated costs of dishes, something the sandwich's previously aristocratic audience would have been less concerned about (Anonymous 206-207,1).

Anonymous. Domestic Economy, and Cookery, for Rich and Poor. 1827 pp 206-207.

 

Thus, it is evident that the sandwich had become a more universal dinner by the turn of the nineteenth century. While the sandwich had not disappeared from aristocratic gatherings, as suggested by the frequent appearance of "cucumber sandwiches," in Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), it would appear that they had become a far more common sight on less illustrious tables (Wilde 2).

 

A Patriotic Dish

 

The sandwich also came to be closely related to a sense of Britishness and patriotism. Its is significant that the first documented sighting of a sandwich occurred in the Cocoa Tree Club in London, a setting the contemporary diarist Edward Gibbon characterised as "that respectable body," which provided "a sight truly English," (Gibbon 24/11/1762). Indeed, Gibbon seems especially pleased to note the "twenty or thirty men of the first men in the kingdom," supping on sandwiches, thus indicating that the sandwich was a patriotic and honourable nutriment (Gibbon 24/11/1762). 

 

However, this appears to have been a conflicted association. It is noteworthy that in The Land We Live In, Robert (while a laughable character) denounces sandwiches as a symbol of modern, effeminate, Francophile fashion, utterly opposite to the values of his own "Old English Hospitality," (Holt 64). While it is ambiguous as to how far we are supposed to sympathise with Robert's opinions (he also foolishly declares he would rather play a "Jew's harp," than sing in minims and quavers, which he deems "all French,") it is significant to note his apathy and his assertion that sandwiches simply could not be patriotic (Holt 64).

 

 

Holt, Francis Ludlow. The Land We Live In: A Comedy in Five Acts. London, John Bell, 1805. pp. 64.

 

Moreover, the food's inclusion in Ude's 1813 The French Cook may appear to undermine the foodstuff's claim to Britishness (437-440). However, it is worthy of note that, despite its inclusion in the cookbook following his work in Britain, Ude remained sceptical if not disparaging of the sandwich's allure, declaring in the text that "Of all things in the world, sandwiches have least need of explanation ... everyone knows how to make them, more or less,” (Ude 440). Consequently, it would appear that by the turn of the nineteenth century, the sandwich had lost its nationality, as it were, with no country willing to claim it for their own. 

 

A Supper of Dissolution

 

Alongside connotations of fashion, gentility and Britishness, the sandwich rather contrarily was also related to dissolution and debauchery. Such associations may be traced to the sandwich's eighteenth century origin, John Montagu being a relatively contentious figure, not only due to his supposed gambling habit, but also his potentially corrupt political practices. Montagu notably exploited his fellow MP John Wilkes' blasphemous private writings in order to discredit and ruin him, leading to his opposition likening Montagu to John Gay's character "Jemmy Twitcher" in The Beggar's Opera (N.A.M. Rodger; Gay 39). The sandwich being associated with immorality is further evidenced by its inclusion in the Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser's satirical column "The Mental Physician" as a means (alongside several other modes of corruption) for a soldier to gain a good pension (27/07/1780).

 

"The Mental Physician". Gazetteer and New Daily Advertiser. 27/07/1780.

 

Not merely relating to corruption, the sandwich also came to be associated with laziness and lack of agency. It is significant that Frederick Reynolds' 1803 play Delays and Blunders features a slovenly lawyer "Paul Postpone," who stops for "sandwiches," since one should "never talk business on an empty stomach," despite his clerk's insistence that he begin to work as his employer has "put it off from day to day," and has not even "read [his] client's instructions," (11-12). From such dialogue, it can be inferred that the consumption of sandwiches, certainly amongst the mercantile and professional middle classes, could be associated with procrastination and sloth. 

 

However, perhaps the sandwich's most notable dissolute connotation was its association with sexual proclivity. Firstly, some of the sandwich's notable consumers were famed for their sexual exploits, the Duchess of Devonshire conducting an affair with future Prime Minister Charles Grey whilst living in a scandalous "ménage à trois," with her husband and his mistress Lady Elizabeth Foster (illustrated below), while Dorothy Jordan had thirteen children by three notable gentlemen, most famously the future King William IV, with whom she had ten of her children, thus potentially making the sandwich debauched by association (Foreman 260,394,206; Hartley 250).

 

Guérin, Jean-Urbain. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and Lady Elisabeth Foster. 1791. Miniature painted on ivory. The Wallace Collection.

 

The sandwich connoting sexual transgression is further emphasised by its inclusion in records of the trial of Robert Gordon, Esquire, for adultery with Mrs. Biscoe, being mentioned as having been consumed by Mrs Biscoe and her complicit associates shortly before her elopement (J. Ridgeway 15). Indeed, the prosecution's assertion that the Mr Hopes (who could have prevented the error) merely "went away about their business," after they had "eat [sic] their sandwiches," implicates the sandwich in the permitting of the elopement (Ridgeway 32). Moreover, the letters of John Keats from this period display a connection between sandwiches and sexual appetite. In a letter to his friend Mrs Wylie, Keats describes a fantasy he experienced in the Highlands, explaining that on his travels he longed "for some famous Beauty" to approach him while he leaned "rather languishingly on a rock," and "to get down from her Palfrey in passing ... and give me---a dozen or two capital roastbeef Sandwiches” (210). The sensual tone of the piece and his likening the dream to ladies' romance novels emphasises, whilst in a tongue in cheek manner, the carnal activities sandwiches had come to suggest (Keats 210). Thus, it is evident that the sandwich connoted dissipation in the eighteenth century, being associated with corruption, sloth and heightened sexuality.

 

"An Infamous Fraud Upon the Rights of Men and Women" (Jane Austen 248)

 

In another display of the sandwich's contrary connotations, the sandwich was also seen as a measly foodstuff by the British eighteenth century population. Despite being a convenient, fashionable and evidently popular foodstuff, the sandwich was frequently presented as a meagre substitution for a substantial meal and looked down upon as a bill of fare. Indeed, such is the prejudice against the sandwich's ability to satisfy its consumer that many saw the sandwich as a reasonable food for fasting days, the Morning Post and Daily Advertiser of December 1776 asserting that "the court set in the gambling-houses of eminence, have agreed to eat nothing on the fast-day but Sandwiches [sic]" (Morning Post and Daily Advertiser 13/12/1776). Moreover, the sandwich is notably absent from the leading cookery book of the Regency ("Regency"). Elizabeth Raffald's 1786 The Experienced English Housekeeper: For the Use and Ease of Ladies, Housekeepers, Cooks, &c., catering (as the title suggests) to a dignified or professional clientele explicitly ignores sandwiches, thus indicating that they were looked down upon as a meal and seen as unsuitable for society hostesses (1).

 

Raffald, Elizabeth. The Experienced English Housekeeper: For the Use and Ease of Ladies, Housekeepers, Cooks, &c.  London: R.Baldwin. 1786. pp.1. 

 

The relation between sandwiches and measliness perhaps stems from the sandwich's association with work and productivity as opposed to ease and relaxation. It is significant that the newspaper coverage of the trial of John Horne Tooke for treason emphasised the fact that the Judges were deliberating conscientiously by stating that they never went "out of court," but instead had "sandwiches brought to them," thus suggesting that the sandwich was a poor dinner substitute for the diligent man ("High Treason. Trial of John Horne Tooke" 19/11/1794). So potent is the association between sandwiches and work, both in the eighteenth century and today, that Knight has argued the correlation must have been present since the sandwich's inception in the 1700s (Knight). Even the supposedly glamourous, dissolute Fourth Earl of Sandwich is said to have been a measly eater, his friend Lord Denbigh remarking the Earl's dishes were either "meagre, or ... absolutely obsolete," (Knight). Moreover, Knight has observed that the main meal for the eighteenth century aristocracy was usually taken at four pm, thus interfering with the Earl's duties as Lord High Admiral, implying that the Sandwich may well have been taken up by Montagu as a means of "eating at his desk," (Knight). Thus, the sandwich may well have been perceived as a convenient, if dissatisfying substitute for a more robust dinner in addition to connoting delicacy and fashion.

 

Moreover, the sandwich was seen as particularly measly if presented to guests of a large party or ball. Despite the foodstuff's invasion of larger social gatherings, Jane Austen herself comments on the unsuitableness of a sandwich buffet in her 1815 novel Emma. When the practical Mrs Weston suggests sandwiches be served at the ball she and her husband are holding, the prospect is shouted down by the rest of the company as a "wretched suggestion," declaring that "a private dance, without sitting down to supper, was ... an infamous fraud upon the rights of men and women" thus indicating that the sandwich was incongruous with refined, tasteful dances (Austen 248). This is potentially a result of the cost-effectiveness of a sandwich buffet, such a spread being able to cut the costs of a dinner and dance by 75% (Knight). Such an obvious show of miserliness and frugality could easily be interpreted as rudeness and a lack of generosity. Notably, the commentators on the fashionable Ranelagh Masquerade of May 1798, while complimentary of the bill of fare, seem rather surprised that sandwiches could be “as acceptable and as highly relished as ... greater dainties,” and note rather spitefully that The Ranelagh “is the first time that a Masquerade on an economical plan has been conducted to the actual satisfaction of the company,” ("Ranelagh Masquerade" 01-03/05/1798). Such an asteism suggests a general bias against sandwiches as a generous food offering, thus emphasising the foodstuff's reputation as measly and a disappointing substitute for refined "dainties" ("Ranelagh Masquerade" 01-03/05/1798). Consequently, despite the sandwich's approaching some level of grandeur, it is evident that they could never supplant the extravagant dinners expected by the eighteenth century, upper class populace.

 


 

Annotated Bibliography

 

Primary Sources

 

 

Secondary Sources

  • Epstein, I. Soncino Babylonian Talmud. 1sted., London: The Soncino Press, n.d. 115a. The Ancient World Online. http://ancientworldonline.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/online-soncino-babylonian-talmud.html. Web. 03 November 2017.

    • Epstein's translation of the Talmud was useful in illustrating the falsity of the sandwich's mythical origin in the eighteenth century, exemplifying the fact that food resembling sandwiches had been consumed for centuries.  
  • Foreman, Amanda. The Duchess. 4th ed., London: Harper Perennial, 1998. pp. 206, 260, 394. Print. 
    • This biography was useful in that it offered a presentation of the Duchess of Devonshire's intriguing, and at times scandalous, life thus providing a depiction of a famous sandwich consumer and thereby hinting at the connotations the sandwich may have held for eighteenth century society. This book was also particularly well referenced, meaning that it provided further avenues of research, such as Dutens' memoirs, and assisted in identifying historical figures, such as Charles Grey.
  • “Google Ngram Viewer”. Google Books. books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Sandwiches&year_start=1750&year_end=1850&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CSandwiches%3B%2Cc0. Web. 14 February 2018.
    • The "Ngram Viewer" presented an illustration of the increasing popularity of sandwiches amongst the British public and its publications over the late eighteenth century.  
  • Hartley, Cathy. A Historical Dictionary of British Women. 2nd ed., London: Europa Publications Limited, 2003. pp. 250. Print.
    • Like Foreman's biography of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Hartley's book on influential British Women provided a depiction of Dorothea Jordan's remarkable life and multiple love affairs, from which one may infer that the sandwich potentially carried connotations of fashion and debauchery as a result of its affiliation with the actress.
  • Knight, Sam. “How the Sandwich Consumed Britain”. The Guardian. 24 November 2017. www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain. Web. 10 January 2018.
    • Knight's article was a useful secondary source regarding the history of the sandwich, providing information on its origins and its eighteenth century connotations in addition to the sandwich's modern legacy. However, the article was at times tainted by Knight's evident bias against the sandwich and its role in inventing a less leisurely pace of life. Moreover, the source was at times irritating due to Knight's lack of substantial references, meaning it was difficult (and in some cases impossible) to find the primary source Knight was referring to.  
  • "Regency". The Supersizers Go... BBC, BBC Two, London, 24 June 2008.
    • This BBC Two documentary from 2008 was an interesting overview of the food consumed in the Regency Period. While it did not discuss sandwiches specifically, the documentary did lead me to other sources, such as Raffald's cookbook, which were more useful in researching sandwiches in the eighteenth century. 
  • Rodger, N.A.M. “Montagu, John, fourth earl of Sandwich (1718–1792)”. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 23 September 2004. https://0-doi-org.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/10.1093/ref:odnb/19026. Web. 10 November 2017.
    • Rodger's concise biography of the sandwich's 'inventor' was beneficial to the study although it did not explicitly reference the beverage. In providing a profile of the Earl the DNB entry gave an indication as to the sandwich's potential reputation both at its conception and beyond.
  • “Sandwich n.2”.Oxford English Dictionary. 1989. 0-www.oed.com.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/view/Entry/170596?rskey=Qe5Fu2&result=2&isAdvanced=false. Web. 3 November 2017.
    • The Oxford English Dictionary entry was useful in providing an official definition of the foodstuff. This was especially important considering the sandwich's absence from Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) due to its being written approximately ten years before the invention of the modern sandwich. 
  • Thompson, E.P. “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century”. Past & Present, No. 50, 1971, pp. 76-136. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/650244.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A64619c75152311c34dcf1bebd7d9352f. Web. 16 February 2018. 
    • Thompson's article was useful in providing statistics on the extortionate cost of bread at times in the eighteenth century, from which one can infer that prohibitive costs may have affected the lower class' consumption of sandwiches.
  • Wilson, Bee. Sandwich: A Global History. 1st ed., London: Reaktion Books Ltc. 2010. pp. 22.  Print.
    • Despite its title, which suggested the source would be invaluable in a study of the sandwich, this textbook was ultimately only useful in illuminating the cause behind the sandwich's name and did not provide valuable presentations of the sandwich's reputation in the eighteenth century.

 

 

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