The Reese room is located on the second floor of Reese Library, on the Augusta University Summerville campus. The room houses the library's rare book collections, and was donated by Mary Katherine Reese Pamplin when the library was built in 1977.
Designed to look like a 19th century private library, the Reese Room acts as a museum room, and features period furniture. As a result, the room has no workspaces for researchers.
Etiquette books rose in popularity during the Victorian era (roughly 1837-1901), and informed the reader of the best practices of the time regarding social expectations, manners, dress, and advice on how to handle various social situations. Many etiquette books were published during this period, revealing their wide popularity in both the United States and Great Britain.
The content of most etiquette books is laid out by topic or subject area, and may include chapters on a variety of issues within that area. Some etiquette books were as large as an encyclopedia, while other's were small enough to fit into a pocket, for advice on the go.
While there are many theories on why etiquette books, which had existed in earlier eras in different forms, increased in popularity so dramatically during the Victorian era, some of the most predominant arguments made by scholars include: new social mobility as a result of industrialization, the evolution of a "commodity culture," and the changing ways that information was disseminated.
Schlesinger, Arthur M. Learning How to Behave, a Historical Study of American Etiquette Books. New York, Macmillan Co., 1946., 1946.