Napkin Rings

Good Morning, Charleston. Like my mother before me, I always set the table at least a day before guests join us to break bread. That way, one has time to eyeball one's work, tweak and contemplate seating, if that's an issue. I was just polishing some of the long rectangle sterling napkin rings I've been collecting for some time. A couple of them have just a single letter of the alphabet on them. As I understand it, these were used in large homes when guests would come for an extended stay. Since the group would be sharing many a meal together, one was assigned a letter of the alphabet (or a number) so as to reuse one's cloth napkin since laundry was a true chore. Even when settings for meals were changed, ie. lunch on the piazza, dinner in the dining room, one could easily find their place to take a seat according to their corresponding letter or number assigned them. Makes sense. #explorecharleston #charlestonsc #charlestonprotocolyall