Gracefulness: a Few Words Upon Form and Features. With Appendix

Gracefulness: A Few Words Upon Form And Features. With Appendix by Arthur Freeling. This English manual, originally published in 1825, serves as a comprehensive guide to female beauty grounded in health, posture, and natural development. The text combines moral and practical guidance, emphasizing physical education for young females while cautioning against harmful cosmetics and excessive tight lacing. It explores the anatomy and the effects of dress, stays, and modes of carriage on form, health, and fertility, offering detailed advice for mothers on infant care, sleep, exercise, and daily routines. The work includes extensive appendices with recipes for cosmetics, hair care, dentifrices, skin care, depilatories, and remedies for common imperfections, along with sections on complexion, teeth, eyes, and fragrance. Throughout, the author advocates for health as the foundation of beauty and warns against ineffective remedies, providing both theory and practical applications for cultivating graceful form.