Norton recalls Edith Wharton “had a passion for picnics, a passion not shared by quite all of her guests, some of whom, unskilled at balancing a loaded plate on their knees, would have secretly preferred a hot square meal served on solid mahogany: but they dared not avow their unworthiness, and picnics were the rule on all fine days and nearly all the days were fine in those first years…. It was amazing what those knowingly packed hampers could contain —what eggs and cheese and olives, what salads & mayonnaise, what chicken and lamb … what chocolate and oranges: nothing was forgotten, and portions were efficiently dealt out by the hostess to each in turn.
Wharton was particular about where she picnicked. Norton writes, day after day we were able to take luncheon out and picnic, the choice of the spot being the subject of grave discussion. There must be a view, shelter from the wind, shade if required, a ‘back’ to lean against, a flat place for the basket, which no one but Edith was allowed to touch. When all these conditions were fulfilled each guest only received his portion of a delicious meal, to which nothing was ever lacking, and which concluded, I remember with black olives and cheese, & excellent coffee.”
Featured Image: Edith Wharton picnics with Robert Norton (nd)
See Robert Norton MS. “Memories of Edith Wharton,” Edith Wharton Collection, Yale University later published in Percy Lubbock. Portrait of Edith Wharton New York: D. Appleton, 1947; William R. Tyler. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Third Series, Vol. 85, (1973), 91-104