The Traveller's Club, London (original) (raw)

A window of the Traveller's Club

Charles Barry

1819

The Traveller's sits at 106 Pall Mall between the Athenaeum and the Reform Club.

[You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

“It is a club of world-wide fame, the Travellers. Even eligible candidates have sometimes been on the proposal book for ten years. The Marquis of Londonderry originated it immediately after the peace of 1814, "as a resort for gentlemen who had resided or travelled abroad, as well as with a view to the accommodation of foreigners," who, properly endorsed, are made honorary members during their stay in London. No person is eligible who has not travelled "out of the British Islands to a distance of at least five hundred miles from London in a direct line." Gambling is not permitted. All games of hazard are excluded. Cards are not allowed before dinner, and the highest stake is guinea points at whist. Mr. Timbs says Prince Talleyrand, during his residence in London, was a frequenter of the whist tables, and he thinks it was here that he made his felicitous rejoinder in regard to the marriage of an elderly lady of rank with her servant : 'How- ever could a lady of her birth make such a match?' 'It was late in the game,' responded Talleyrand; 'at nine we don't reckon honours.'"” — Joseph Hatton.

Bibliography

Hatton, Joseph. Club-Land London and Provincial. London: J. S. Vertie, 1890. Internet Archive version of a copy in the University of Toronto Library. Web. 29 February 2012.

Last modified 26 July 2005