MIXED PICKLES'
Vintage Dance Bibliography
Resources from Our Library of Period Dance Manuals
These primary sources are the most valuable places to look
to learn about the steps and technique of dancing
done in past periods. Sometimes they are wonderfully clear, sometimes distressfully vague.
Dance manuals usually begin with a comment on the current dances and
state
of ballroom dancing and often have chapters on appropriate ballroom dress and behavior.
They can give us a feel for the mood
and aesthetics of their period.
*
 1930 |
1868 |
1890 |
1882 |
1926 |
| Early 19th Century | |||
| Sketches Relative to the Practice of Dancing | Francis Peacock | Aberdeen; 1805 | |
| A Description of the Correct Method of Waltzing | Thomas Wilson | London; 1816 | |
| A Companion to the Ballroom | Thomas Wilson | London; 1816 | |
| Elements and Principles of the Art of Dancing | V.G. Prof. of Dancing | Philadelphia; 1817 | |
| The Address; or An Essay on Deportment | Thomas Wilson | London; 1821 | |
| Elements of the Art of Dancing | Alexander Strathy | Edinburgh; 1822 | |
| The Quadrille and Cotillion Panorama | Thomas Wilson | London; 1822 | |
| Analysis of the London Ball-Room | Thomas Wilson | London; 1825 | |
| Mid 19th Century | |||
| The Ball-Room Bijou | Fisher & Bro. Pub. | Philadelphia; 185? | |
| Etiquette of the Ballroom | Mrs. Nicholas Henderson | London; 185? | |
| The Amateur's Preceptor | Prof. D.L.Carpenter | Philadelphia; 1854 | |
| The Fashionable Dancer's Casket | Charles Durang | Philadelphia; 1856 | |
| The Drawing Room Dances | Cellarius | Boston; 1858 | |
| The Art of Dancing | Edward Ferrero | New York; 1859 | |
| Almanach de la Danse | Polkarius | Paris; 1860 | |
| Hillgrove's Ballroom Guide | Thomas Hillgrove | New York; 1868 | |
| Beadle's Dime Ball-Room Companion | anon. | New York; 1868 | |
| Dancing Home and Abroad | C.H. Cleveland. Jr. | Boston; 1878 | |
| Late 19th Century | |||
| Allan's Reference Guide to the Ball-Room | Mozart Allan | Glasgow; 1880? | |
| How to Dance | Frank Toussey, Pub. | New York; 1882 | |
| Cartier's Waltz Instructor | P. Valleau Cartier | New York; 1882 | |
| Universal Dancing Master | Lucien Carpenter | Philadelphia; 1882 | |
| The Dance of Modern Society | William Wilkinson | New York; 1884 | |
| Dancing | Allen Dodworth | New York; 1885 | |
| The Way to Dance | Wehman Bros. Publ. | New York; 1890 | |
| Prompting; How to Do It | John M. Schell | New York; 1890 | |
| Round Dancing | M.B.Gilbert | Portland ME; 1890 | |
| The Perfect Art of Modern Dancing | Butterick Publ. | New York; 1894 | |
| Gems of the Ballroom Call Book | E.T. Root & Sons Publ. | Chicago; 1896 | |
| The German | Two Amateur Leaders | Chicago; 1897 | |
| Traite de Danse | Lussan-Borel | Paris; 189? | |
| Dancing | Marguerite Wilson | Philadelphia; 1899 | |
| Modern Quadrille Call Book | Prof. A.C. Worth | Chicago; 1902 | |
| Encyclopedie Mondaine | Washington Lopp | Paris; 1903 | |
| Cake Walks | F. Leslie Clendenen | St. Louis; 190? | |
| Ragtime | |||
| The Fascinating Boston | Alfonso Josephs Sheaf | Boston; 1913 | |
| Secrets of the Tango | S. Beach Chester | London; 1914 | |
| Social Dancing of To-Day | Troy and Margaret Kinney | New York; 1914 | |
| Dance Mad or The Dances of the Day | F. Leslie Clendenen | St. Louis; 1914 | |
| The Tango and Other Up-to-Date Dances | J.S. Hopkins | Chicago; 1914 | |
| Modern Dancing | Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Castle | New York; 1914 | Dances of Today | Albert W. Newman | Philadelphia; 1914 |
| 1920's | |||
| Dancing Made Easy | Charles Coll | New York; 1922 | |
| The Waltz - The Foxtrot - The One Step | Prof. Charles J. Frank | Philadelphia; 1922 | |
| Good Morning | Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford | Dearborn, MI; 1926 | |
| How to Charleston Correctly | Bemis Walker | Minneapolis; 1926 | |
| Dancing All the Latest Steps | Betty Lee | New York; 1926 | |
| Dancing | Betty Lee | New York; 1930 | |
| 1930's | |||
| Modern Ballroom Dancing | Lillian Ray | New York; 1932 | |
| The Art of Dancing | Johnson Smith & Co. | Detroit; 1935 | |
| Modern Ballroom Dancing | Lillian Ray | New York; 1936 | |
| The Art of Social Dancing | Lawrence A. Hostetler | New York; 1936 | |
| New Variations in Social Dance | Lawrence Stetler | 1937 | |
| Let's Dance | Arthur Murray | 1937 | Let's Swing It | Arthur Murray | 1937 |
| How to Dance | Louis Shomer | New York; 1937 | |
| How to Dance the Big Apple | Norma Goldman | Newark NJ; 1938 | |
| Teach Yourself the Latest Dance Steps | Lawrence Hostetler | 1938 | |
| How to Become a Good Dancer | Arthur Murray | New York; 1938 | |
| How to Become a Good Dancer | Arthur Murray | New York; 1941 | |
 1938 |
 1902 |
 1919 |
 1937 |
 1914 |
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