Gravy Boat (1838, 1852, 1853, 1854)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Those boat-shaped things used to pour gravy.  Perhaps useful for the slang term "gravy train."
   OED's first citation is 1895, from the Montgomery Ward Catalogue.  OED has 1747 for "sauce boat."


(MAKING OF AMERICA--MICHIGAN, BOOKS)
Author: Gilman, Caroline Howard, 1794-1888.
Title: Recollections of a southern matron. By Caroline Gilman.
Publication date: 1838.
(Pg. 350:  ...one of the waiters, with a zeal worthy of a better course, jostled by another, who was reaching above my shoulder to deposit a gravy-boat, and knocked it over.)


(NORTH AMERICAN WOMEN'S LETTERS AND DIARIES)
1. Gurney, Eliza Paul Kirkbride. "Letter from Eliza Paul Gurney to Hannah B. Mott, 1852"
[Page 226 | Paragraph | Section | Document]
the midnight watches, remembering what he said about cherishing our scruples and attending to them, and thus having more laid upon us, I endeavored to search and see whether there was anything in my own habitation that gave me uneasiness. The result of my cogitations is, I have ordered two silver gravy-boats and a silver dish to be put out of the way, and not to be forthcoming again. They were placed on the table without my direction, and I felt a little uneasy with it at the time, but I was beginning to get accustomed to seeing them there, and very likely the "scruple" would not have been

2. Koren, Else Elisabeth Hysing. "Diary of Else Elisabeth Koren, November, 1853"
[Page 19 | Paragraph | Section | Document]
This was not a pleasant day, especially because it was so disagreeable in the saloon-- foul air. Stormy weather continued yesterday, though it was a little better after noon For a few minutes the ship would be quite still, then it would lurch. The noon meal was fairly peaceful; I think only the gravy boat overturned. We sat on deck for a while yesterday. nevertheless, and saw a ship pass us; it is cheerful to see a sailing vessel once more. But we were driven below by a sea which struck us head on, and as there are not many places that are comfortable in so strong a wind, we

Results Bibliography
Gurney, Eliza Paul Kirkbride, 1801-1881, Letter from Eliza Paul Gurney to Hannah B. Mott, 1852, in Memoir and Correspondence of Eliza P. Gurney. Mott, Richard F. ed.. Philadelphia, PA: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1884, pp. 377. [Bibliographic Details] [Biography] [1852] S139-D119
Koren, Else Elisabeth Hysing, 1832-1918, Diary of Else Elisabeth Koren, November, 1853, in The Diary of Elisabeth Koren 1853-1855. Nelson, David T.. Northfield, MN: Norwegian-American Historical Association, 1955, pp. 381. [Bibliographic Details] [Biography] [11-1-1853] S288-D003

(ACCESSIBLE ARCHIVES)
June, 1854
Godey's Lady's Book
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Vol XLVIII Page 569
COSTLY CHINA.
HAVING seen much of primitive districts ourselves, where "china" is known as crockery, and dinner sets are "dishes," we can tell how incredible it will seem to some of our more remote readers, when we tell them there is a single set in our city now on sale, at the price of two thousand dollars. The cost of a small farm swallowed up in one set of dinner dishes, liable to breakage, too more liable than less precious ware. We quite agree with a favorite handmaid, to whom the advertisement was read "

"La, ma'am, I shouldn't like to have the washin' and handlin' of 'em."

Imagine the ease with which the possessor of this treasure would preside over his table, with his property at the mercy of careless or hurried waiting-men; his most elegant courtesies cut short by the imminent danger of a soup-tureen, valued at fifty dollars; the point of his choicest bon mot lost by the capsizing of a << gravy-boat>> . Better a dinner of herbs, from white stone ware, so far as equanimity is concerned.


April, 1860
Godey's Lady's Book
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Vol LX Page 364
COOKING OF MEATS, ETC.
BEEF A LA MODE. Round of beef is best for this purpose. With a sharp knife make incisions in the meat about an inch apart; make a dressing of butter, onion, and bread-crumbs, in the proportion of a pint of crumbs, one small onion finely chopped, and an ounce of butter, with pepper and salt to the taste; fill the incisions with this dressing; put the meat into a pot, with as little water as will suffice to cover it; cover it tightly down, and let it simmer for six or eight hours; when the meat is done, dish it up, and thicken the gravy with a little flour; put the meat in again, let it boil up once, and then serve it.

VEAL POT-PIE. Cut up a portion of the best part of the neck of veal, wash, and season it with pepper and salt; line the sides of the pot with paste, put on the veal, with some pieces of paste rolled out and cut into squares, cut up some pieces of butter rolled in flour and add to it, pour in as much water as will cover it, and lay a sheet of paste on the top, leaving an opening in the centre; put the lid on the pot, and put it over a moderate fire; let it cook slowly till the meat is done; place the soft crust on a dish, then put the meat over it, and on the top lay the harder crust, with the brown side up; serve the gravy in a boat. To have the crust of a pot-pie brown, set the pot before the fire, and turn it frequently.
ROAST LEG OP LAMB. Make deep incisions round the bone and in the flesh; prepare a dressing of bread-crumbs, salt, pepper, sweet marjoram, or savory, and as much butter as will make the crumbs adhere together; fill all the incisions with the dressing; season the meat with salt and pepper; roast it before a clear fire, and, when nearly done, dredge flour over, and baste it with the gravy; skim the fat off the gravy, and add a little flour mixed with water; let it boil once, and serve it in a << gravy-boat>> .