The House Servant's Directory: Or, a Monitor for Private Families : Comprising Hints on the Arrangement and Performance of Servants' Work - Hardcover

Roberts, Robert; Hodges, Graham Russell

 
9780765601148: The House Servant's Directory: Or, a Monitor for Private Families : Comprising Hints on the Arrangement and Performance of Servants' Work
Hardcover
ISBN 10: 0765601141 ISBN 13: 9780765601148
Publisher: Routledge, 1997

Synopsis

Robert Roberts' The House Servant's Directory, first published in 1827 and the standard for household management for decades afterward, is remarkable for several reasons: It is one of the first books written by an African American and issued by a commercial press, and it was written while Roberts (ca. 1780-1860) was in the employ of Christopher Gore (1758-1827), a former senator from and governor of Massachusetts (and ancestor of the novelist Gore Vidal). Gore Place, where Roberts worked from 1825 to 1827, is one of the grandest neoclassical mansions built in America. Not only was the extraordinary set of recommendations that Roberts made about relations between servants and their masters unique for its time, but his many recipes for cleaning furniture and clothing and for purchasing, preparing, and serving food and drink for small and large dinners are also still useful today. As portrayed in Graham Hodges' introduction, Roberts' own story is a unique window into the work habits and thoughts of America's domestic workers and into antebellum African American politics. Of particular note is Roberts' contribution to the emergence of new self-perceptions of black manliness. Written at a time when male Americans in general were reconsidering the construction of masculinity, Roberts' advice to his fellow servants fostered black dignity for work that few felt merited respect, and his counsel to employers on proper treatment of their servants insisted on their humanity and respect for their skills.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Roberts, Robert; Hodges, Graham Russell

From the Back Cover

Robert Roberts' The House Servant's Directory, first published in 1827 and the standard for household management for decades afterward, is remarkable for several reasons: It is one of the first books written by an African American and issued by a commercial press, and it was written while Roberts (ca. 1780-1860) was in the employ of Christopher Gore (1758-1827), a former senator from and governor of Massachusetts (and ancestor of the novelist Gore Vidal). Gore Place, where Roberts worked from 1825 to 1827, is one of the grandest neoclassical mansions built in America. Not only was the extraordinary set of recommendations that Roberts made about relations between servants and their masters unique for its time, but his many recipes for cleaning furniture and clothing and for purchasing, preparing, and serving food and drink for small and large dinners are also still useful today. As portrayed in Graham Hodges' introduction, Roberts' own story is a unique window into the work habits and thoughts of America's domestic workers and into antebellum African American politics. Of particular note is Roberts' contribution to the emergence of new self-perceptions of black manliness. Written at a time when male Americans in general were reconsidering the construction of masculinity, Roberts' advice to his fellow servants fostered black dignity for work that few felt merited respect, and his counsel to employers on proper treatment of their servants insisted on their humanity and respect for their skills.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Routledge
Publication date
1997
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0765601141
ISBN 13 
9780765601148
Binding
Hardcover
Edition number
1
Number of pages
240

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780765601155: The House Servant's Directory: Or a Monitor for Private Familes: Comprising Hints on the Arrangement and Performance of Servants' Work

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  076560115X ISBN 13:  9780765601155
Publisher: Routledge, 1997
Softcover