Drawing room
– History and development:
– In 18th-century London, royal morning receptions were called drawing rooms.
– The drawing room was a space for guests to gather outside the king’s bedroom.
– In the American Civil War, the drawing room was where political discussions occurred.
– An architectural manual in England from 1865 defined the purpose and size of a drawing room.
– The term drawing room is less commonly used now, especially in Britain.
– Railway usage:
– Drawing rooms were spacious and expensive private accommodations on certain passenger trains.
– A Midland Railway Drawing Room Car from 1874 was an example of such accommodations.
– In North America, a drawing room meant a room that slept three or more with a private washroom.
– Amtrak retired its drawing room sleeping cars, while Via Rail Canada still uses them as triple bedrooms.
– The traditional nomenclature of drawing rooms in railway cars is considered outdated.
– Drawing room plays:
– Drawing room plays are a genre of theatrical productions and films named after the room for entertaining visitors.
– These plays have evolved to include comedy and dramatic monologues.
– Drawing room comedy features witty banter among upper-class characters.
– Works like “The Importance of Being Earnest” and “Heartbreak House” are examples of drawing room plays.
– Drawing room plays continue to provide entertainment despite the decline of actual drawing rooms.
– Notes:
– The Oxford English Dictionary defines drawing room.
– Historical references discuss parlours and withdrawing rooms.
– An architectural manual from 1865 mentions drawing rooms.
– A 1874 Midland Railway Pullman Car was an example of drawing room accommodations.
– A 1945 ad for Pullman sleeping cars highlights the concept of drawing rooms.
– Additional information:
– The term “drawing room” was used for morning rooms and lounges in the 19th century.
– In India and Pakistan, the term drawing room is widely used in urban houses.
– The term “parlour” in the UK initially referred to more modest reception rooms.
– In North America, “salon” was used for a drawing room in the 19th century.
– Drawing room comedy is known for its wit and humor among upper-class characters.
A drawing room is a room in a house where visitors may be entertained, and an alternative name for a living room. The name is derived from the 16th-century terms withdrawing room and withdrawing chamber, which remained in use through the 17th century, and made their first written appearance in 1642. In a large 16th- to early 18th-century English house, a withdrawing room was a room to which the owner of the house, his wife, or a distinguished guest who was occupying one of the main apartments in the house could "withdraw" for more privacy. It was often off the great chamber (or the great chamber's descendant, the state room) and usually led to a formal, or "state" bedroom.
In modern houses, it may be used as a convenient name for a second or further reception room, but no particular function is associated with the name.