Ball donation
.jpg)
A ball donation , also known as a ladies' donation , is a small gift given by the organizer of a dance ball to the ladies when they enter the ballroom.
history
The custom of artistically designed ball donations reached its peak between 1880 and 1900, experienced its last heyday in the era of Art Nouveau , ebbed in the hardship and distress of the First World War and finally lived on in later years as a meaningless relic in the form known today. Today they are also used at traditional balls such as the Vienna Opera Ball .
The women's donation in its original form is inextricably linked with the established dance order of a ball, which in turn played a very important role for the respective lady. If it is common today that the lady visits the ball accompanied by her partner and - more or less exclusively - dances with him, the situation used to be fundamentally different. The girl or lady appeared at the ball, accompanied by her parents or a chaperone, and hoped for a variety of dance partners. Gentlemen caused by duty or inclination now asked the lady - as early as possible - to reserve certain dances announced in the dance regulations, which, in order to avoid any confusion, was entered on the dance card . This dance order or dance card was a very important accessory that the dancer should always have with her. The women's donation was nothing more than an artfully designed form or wrapping of this indispensable prop and gradually became a "treasure", an original little work of art that was competitively designed in various social areas and increasingly developed in the direction of a coveted souvenir.
A ball donation was often designed as an elaborate booklet ( carnet de bal ). The dance sequence and humorous articles were usually printed on the first pages. Then there were blank pages for the dance entries. A pencil inserted into the flap was provided for this purpose. The original form of the ball donation was the dance card. Later on, fans, jugs, vases, drinking vessels, plaques, statuettes, miniatures of buildings and musical instruments or mirrors were given as ball donations.
The actual purpose of reserving one or more dances with a lady has been more and more forgotten since the beginning of the 20th century. But the ball donation has remained the purpose of being a nice souvenir gift to this day.
Ball donation in sport
As Ball donation also nowadays donations of game balls for individuals or associations referred.
literature
- Fritz Bernhard, Elke Dröscher (photo): Ball donations . The bibliophile paperbacks, Vol. 127, ZDB -ID 720918-6 . Harenberg, Dortmund 1979, ISBN 3-88379-127-X .
- Brigitte Holl: Ball donations, treasures from gallant times. Catalog, exhibition from January 25 to May 13, 1990 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 1990, OBV .
- Hubert Kampik: Ball donations . (Exhibition catalog). Ketterer-Kunst-Verlag , Munich 1991, ISBN 3-928371-04-5 .
- Elisabeth Steiner: Balls and Ball Donations in the Habsburg Monarchy of the 19th Century . Thesis. University of Vienna, Vienna 2001, OBV .