Snobs Collection

When the party entered, illustration from Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
XJF451373 When the party entered, illustration from Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, edition published in 1894 (engraving) by Thomson

The Best People, by Gray and Hopgood
The Best People, a comedy by David Gray and Avery P Hopgood. First produced in England at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool, March 1926, and later the same month at the Lyric Theatre, London

I don t want him, my dear by H. M. Bateman
" I don t want him, my dear - you buy him." Two sophisticated women regard an unpromising male specimen and discuss the merits of purchasing him. Date: 1930

Eton College - Boys seen in the school shop - Picture dated February 1964

Eton College - Boys seen in the school shop - Picture dated February 1964

Worshipping at the Altar of Debretts Peerage - gazing upward at The Book of Snobs, popularly known as The Snobs Bible. Date: 1918

Cartoon, German women as seen by the French, WW1
Cartoon, German intellectual women as seen by the French. Date: 1916

Offended two or three young ladies, the Bingley sisters from Pride
XJF108190 Offended two or three young ladies, the Bingley sisters from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1894 (engraving) (b/w photo) by Thomson, Hugh (1860-1920); Private Collection; British

How to be unsuccessful in modern society - 2
The hearty shows enthusiasm at a gathering of intelligentsia. Date: 1929

Class distinction between two schoolboys, discussing another boy: I have heard today that his father keeps a store! Date: circa 1895

POSH GROUP
A rather snobbish looking group of spectators, well-to- do parents and relatives of boys taking part in the games on Sports Day at Cheltenham Boys College, Glos. England. Date: 1929

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When the party entered, the room was filled with the elegant charm of Pride and Prejudice's aristocrats, their refined manners and airs of superiority illustrated in Jane Austen's classic novel. Yet, beneath the polished facade, the Best People, as depicted in Gray and Hopgood's cartoon, hid their own insecurities and prejudices. H.M. Bateman's "I don't want him, my dear" caricatured the snobbishness of some, while Eton College's school shop boys, with their blazers and privileged looks, worshipped at the altar of Debrett's Peerage. Even in wartime, as seen in the German women as seen by the French cartoon, class distinctions persisted, offending two or more young ladies, the Bingley sisters from Pride and Prejudice. In modern society, one might find themselves unsuccessful, as shown in the "How to be unsuccessful in modern society - 2" comic, due to a lack of the POSH (Privilege, Old Money, and Social Hierarchy) group's acceptance. Class distinctions may have evolved, but the snobbery that comes with them remains a timeless phenomenon.