The Penza Literature Museum houses a glove dating back to the first third of the 19th century.

Over the course of many centuries, gloves have undergone many transformations. In addition to their primary function as a garment, they have served as an element of etiquette, a tool for flirting, and even a means of challenging someone to a duel.

Among the ancient Assyrians and Egyptians, gloves were symbols of nobility and were of great importance. Women applied honey and oils to their hands before putting on silk gloves. In ancient Greece, gloves served primarily working and protective purposes. Shepherds and farmers used them in their daily lives, while they were not common among the nobility. In ancient Rome, gladiators and athletes protected their hands during fights by wrapping long strips of untanned leather around them, leaving only their fingers exposed.

From the 17th century, only members of the upper class and wealthy citizens wore gloves with separate sheathes for each finger. By the early 18th century, lace and buttons became signs of sophistication and wealth in men’s fashion. Because of the long and lush cuffs, gloves were hardly visible and gradually lost their relevance. However, they came back in style in the early 19th century. Gloves were an essential element of both daytime and evening outfits for both women and men. In England, the founder of dandyism Beau Brummell introduced rules recommending different colors, materials, and styles of gloves for various situations. As a result, gentlemen would change their gloves up to six times a day, which gave rise to the expression “to change something like gloves.”

Until the 1930s, wearing gloves was considered good manners in polite society.