A Christmas Dance A Long Time Ago

A Christmas Dance a Long Time Ago, drawn by C. J. Staniland, 1871. 'Christmas is the season for all old-fashioned pastimes. The antiquated country dance, in which a party of young folk, dressed in the attire of a hundred and fifty years ago, disport themselves with such frank and unaffected glee, is a pleasant scene...The costume of the period here shown belongs to the younger generation of the good knight's contemporaries, about the end of Queen Anne's reign, or early in the time of George I. The brocaded skirts and peaked stomachers, the high-heeled shoes, the ribbon-tied and delicately-powdered hair, the tiny patches of sticking-plaster on the cheeks of these young ladies; and the pigtails, the broad-skirted coats and vests, the large sleeve-cuffs, the long neck-cloths of lace, the sword stockings, and shoe-buckles of these young gentlemen, tell us the historical date of their festive meeting...The ball-room in which they are now assembled, with its musicians' gallery, may either be a special apartment of the aristocratic mansion, or one hired for this entertainment in the best inn of the neighbouring town. Every reader shall be left free to hold his or her own opinion'. From the Christmas supplement to "Illustrated London News", 1871. Creator: Unknown. (Photo by The Print Collector/Heritage Images via Getty Images)