Rare pictures of the way we used to picnic

It was the writer William Somerset Maugham who said there were “few things so pleasant as a picnic lunch”, and as these rarely-seen archive pictures from his era demonstrate, he had no shortage of disciples.
Two women with a travel tea kettle at a picnic by the river, circa 1925. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)Two women with a travel tea kettle at a picnic by the river, circa 1925. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Two women with a travel tea kettle at a picnic by the river, circa 1925. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

By the time of Maugham’s birth in 1874, picnics – or Pic Nics in the language of the day – were beginning to become democratised. They had originally been devised as lunch on the go for huntsmen on horseback, but during the 18th century they had become the preserve of the aristocracy, and were held usually indoors to the accompaniment of live music and dancing.

But with their adoption by the new middle classes they became excuses to get out of town. The coming of the railways and then the motor car further fuelled their appeal.

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By the time these pictures were taken, a small industry had evolved in the production of baskets, cutlery and sets of plates especially for the purpose. In Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame refers to cold chicken, cold ham and cold tongue inside the wicker basket stored beneath Mole’s seat.

A group of shirtsleeved men enjoying a picnic in a field.   (Photo by F J Mortimer/Getty Images)A group of shirtsleeved men enjoying a picnic in a field.   (Photo by F J Mortimer/Getty Images)
A group of shirtsleeved men enjoying a picnic in a field. (Photo by F J Mortimer/Getty Images)

More detailed instructions were provided in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. To feed 40, she said, four meat pies, four roast chickens, two roast ducks, four dozen cheesecakes and a large plum pudding would be required.

The musical content remained, but the live musicians became redundant in an age of the wind-up gramophone which played 78rpm discs one at a time.

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May 1923:  Young ladies enjoying a cup of tea and music when camping on the Chiltern Hills.  (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)May 1923:  Young ladies enjoying a cup of tea and music when camping on the Chiltern Hills.  (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
May 1923: Young ladies enjoying a cup of tea and music when camping on the Chiltern Hills. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

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