In my recent exploration of some of the nooks and crannies around Historic Sugartown, I came across some folding hand fans in the General Store. Five fans in total, in various conditions and differing types, caught my eye and I thought to myself, “I wonder if I can identify a few of these!”

Folding hand fans are thought to have originated in Asia between the 7th and 10th centuries where they became a part of daily life. Fans gained popularity in Europe from the 16th century onwards and continued to spread across many countries, including the Americas. Folding hand fans will fall into different categories:

Folded or Pleated fans, which have a leaf of pleated fabric, paper or leather mounted on or supported by a series of sticks, which are joined at one end by a rivet. The two full-length supporting sticks on either side of the fan are called “guards” and keep the fan protected when it is closed. 

Brisé fans, which have no leaf, are made from separate sticks that widen towards their outer ends and overlap to create the fan itself. The sticks are linked together at the top, often by ribbon or string. The base of the fan is secured in the same fashion as a folded fan, with a rivet at the bottom. 

And finally, the cockade fan. This fan can be either the pleated or folded variety, or similar to the brisé fan and made of sticks. How the cockade fan differs from the other two is in its shape: while pleated and brisé fans are often semicircular, cockade fans open to a full circle and close to a single guard. 

Of the five fans in the General Store, four are pleated or folded and one is a brisé. One of the folded fans is housed in a “B. Altman & Co.” box, a luxury department store founded in the 19th century in New York City. Whether the fan and box go together, I am unsure, but B. Altman & Co did in fact sell a wide range of hand fans that look to be similar to this boxed one during the 19th century. Due to the delicate nature and condition of most of the folded fans, I did not want to examine them too closely, but I was able to partially identify the brisé fan as a Victorian-era hand fan carved from bone, likely originated from Asia. 

What really interested me about the hand fans in my internet digging, aside from their range of designs and materials, is the history of using fans as a form of communication. In “fashionable society,” women often used their fans to communicate with both men and women alike. The positioning and holding of a fan could say anything from “go away” to “I love you.” There was a publication in London, titled “Fanology or Ladies Conversation Fan” by Charles Francis Badini that contained details on holding an entire conversation just through fan movements. The publication was printed on-you guessed it- fans! 

So, while I could go on for ages about how these fans and the culture and norms that drove their use and production are wildly interesting, I’ll keep it short and sweet by saying this: Folded? Pleated? Brisé? I’m a huge fan.