Prompts And Fills Discussion Post

[cuddyclothes]

Someone asked about discussing prompts and fills. So here's an entry. As always, comment moderation is off, IP address logging is off. To start a thread, put the name of the prompt/kink you're discussing so we can keep them all straight.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Did you happen to know all that or did you do that research for me? Either way, thanks very much for the helpful and interesting info!

Relatedly, do you (or anyone else) have an idea of what his salary as a valet might be?

[cuddyclothes]

This is a helpful place to start:

http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/servantwages.htm

[quaffanddoff]

Their main job was to be a private servant for the lady or master
of the house: assisting them with dressing, caring for their clothes, being a
general companion and even performing secretarial duties.

I didn't really realize that the "being a general companion" bit is actually part of the job description. So even canon Bertie thinks of Jeeves as his "companion." Why is this striking me as painfully adorable right now?

[(Anonymous)]

OMG! You are right!
I guess there were those masters and valets who were more and those who were less interested in or passionate about that part of the job. And ours are a perfect match. :)

[cuddyclothes]

It is! I'm sure none of his previous valets filled the bill anywhere near so well.

[(Anonymous)]

I went through some sources and what I found ranged from £35 to £120 per year.
Working in a bachelor household with no other service staff meant more work but also more income.

[(Anonymous)]

It's tricky to tell because the sources looked at different years and different household situations.

The Pocket Guide to Edwardian England: "£35—50 per year"

Countryhousereader: "Wage: 18th century – £20; 19th century – £50; 20th century – £120 upwards"

[worth_a_wound]

Your post made me want to look into that matter more closely.

We have several answers for the question about his income but I'll add a quote from "Edwardian England: A Guide to Everyday Life, 1900-1914" by Evangeline Holland to the collection.

With an average wage of £35-50 per year, the valet attended exclusively to the personal accommodation of his master. He waited upon him during all times of dressing and undressing; brushes, folds up his clothes, or places them in readiness for him. He saw to all repairs and put away clothes in a wardrobe when not in use, making sure to cover them with brown holland or linen wrappers to secure them from dust. Boots and shoes were cleaned by the under-footman, but each morning the valet placed them in the dressing-room for his master. While the housemaid cleaned the grate, lit the fire, and swept and dusted the room, he prepared the washing-table, arranged the shaving apparatus, and laid his master's clothing out for the day.

[(Anonymous)]

I've been familiar with these stories/this world for fifteen years but it still hits me now and then how crazy it is that some rich people had personal servants to do all these little things for them.

Anyway, what I'm gathering from all this is that around £100 - £120 is about the ceiling for a valet at a country estate in the 1910s. And I'm planning to write them, of course, in an urban bachelor household in the 1920s. Plus I want to emphasize how generous Bertie is and how superlative a valet Jeeves is. I'm thinking £200 as a reasonable yearly wage to convey that? Plus in canon it seems like there's also a ton in tips for a job exceptionally well done?