[Ads-l] The dainty motoriste, glove boxes, and horse carriages

[Amy West]

On 2/1/16 12:00 AM, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> Date:    Mon, 1 Feb 2016 02:01:19 +0000
> From:    Joel Berson<berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject: Re: The dainty motoriste, glove boxes, and horse carriages
>
> As Dorothy Levitt noted in 1909, ordinary tasks and repairs for a (perhaps hand-cranked) motor car might get the dainty motoriste's hands dirty or greasy (one of the items she puts in her glove box is soap).  That was perhaps the main reason for wearing gloves.  I suspect managing (horseful) carriages would not have the same risk; perhaps any necessary tasks would have been performed by the stable-boy.
>
> Is "motoriste" the feminine form?
>
>
> Joel
I believe gloves are typically worn when driving (horsed) carts & 
carriages as well.

And, no I don't think gloves were worn primarily for keeping the hands 
clean in this situation: notice that she describes wearing/using 
different gloves if having to do repairs. I think gloves were worn both 
because the dress code of the period called for them and utility (grip, 
warmth, cleanliness, and in that order).

---Amy West

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