Indeed, Sir

I suspect they were unusually high, given the regard in which he was held by both Bertie and Bertie's friends when he solved their problems.

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coffee-n-retcon.livejournal.com

Oooo!!! I know a bit about this one! Yes! If you arrived for a visit without your own attendant, one was usually loaned to you (usually a footman who was not reguarly anyone's valet or the butler himself for a guest of unusual distinction.) It was customary to tip upon leaving.

Often the tip would not be cash, but clothing. In fanfic it's common for people to write of Jeeves and bespoke suits. In reality, most valets and butlers were dressed in other people's used clothes (so good quality, but often not the best fitting or up to date.)

The tips mentioned for Jeeves are quite unusually high, but he is a quite unusual valet. Paragons should receive more generous thanks.

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saylee.livejournal.com

That's good to know, thanks. Maybe Jeeves can afford the bespoke suits of fanfic because he receives such high (well-deserved) tips?

He also seems to rake in a fair bit through betting, so I'm inclined to believe he has money to spend.

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This would explain why Jeeves often ends up giving Bertie's offending clothing to other people, wouldn't it? ;)

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I have that book too! Full of great information and stuff that generally supports my passion for Jooster slash :D

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Indeed! I'm not halfway through it yet, but wanted to share that with all and sundry so that folks could use it if they needed it.

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margi-lynn.livejournal.com

That is almost as good a read as the actual books, just because the author takes such a joy in the canon.

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leaper182.livejournal.com

I haven't read the book you're referring to, but the information about potential wages for valets is something I'll definitely bookmark. I've never had a story where someone's actively tried to get into a bidding war over Jeeves, but it's always good to have ballpark figures so that readers can tell when the person trying to buy Jeeves away is really serious about it.

Granted, the times that Bertie's mentioned that someone was trying to buy Jeeves away from him, he's never quoted figures, so there was always a question-mark in terms of how much Bertie is paying him versus how much was on offer.

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Oh yeah, definitely a big question mark. I had referenced wages for Jeeves in a couple of stories, but not in particularly specific ways. In one, I had him tell Bertie he couldn't pay him the same as a butler lest people ask questions, but was told in a comment that valets and butlers made the same amount -- now I can point to this and say "they usually didn't, actually." It's nice to have some idea of what was really going on financially for some backstory.

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Considering the years of hard work and ass kissing it took to become a butler , the #1 ranking servant, of course they'd make a lot more!

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That is my favorite book on Wodehouse :)

Since room and board is not included, I'd say Jeeves does very well for himself. Then there are the perks to consider- think how a waiter is paid a small wage but makes most of their money in tips.

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I think Jeeves definitely makes a good deal of money on tips from Bertie's friends. Bertie tips him too, but that whole taking him on round the world cruises and whatnot certainly seems like more of an incentive for him! ;)

(deleted comment)

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What I've read of it so far has been. I've been enjoying it greatly.

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furius.livejournal.com

If Jeeves really makes £200 a year that's actually high enough for him to be about as materially comfortable as a middle-class bachelor "gentleman". Granted, there's the social status issue, but it explains on how he affords his holidays...

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Indeed.

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I was trying to work out what that sort of wage might be comparable to today but ack, it's too complicated to figure out. I remember around 100 years earlier Sam Weller got paid 12 pounds a year for the same position and I got the impression that was considered moderately handsome then. But inflation being what it is that doesn't really help much. :)

I've often wondered if Jeeves's meals are provided for as well as board. I assume so. It seems to me that he wouldn't have to rely on his wage all that much for his day to day living, and would be able to put aside quite a bit in savings.

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"Room and board" is generally taken to mean lodging and meals, so yes. He would have to provide his own uniforms, which would have to be of reasonable quality so as not to embarrass his employer, of course. He would probably have certain other bills associated with his own daily maintenance (toiletries, sundries, etc), but yeah, I can't imagine they'd be that much compared to people who had to pay for food and rent.

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derien.livejournal.com

'Board' means meals. At a boarding house meals were included in what a person paid to stay there. My grandparents used to board actors for their cousin's theater across the road.

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Oh crumbs... :D Thanks everyone for explaining to me what 'board' means. :) What can I say... I'm an ignorant twit who's always airly used the expression 'bed and board' without ever bothering to look it up. :crawls back to the basket in shame:

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According to this calculator, which takes into account both inflation and currency exchanges, Jeeves would clear $13,847.78 a year without tips, room, board, or world cruises. For most valets, the tips would be meager, I'd think.

Every time Bertie or Bingo or some other Drone slips him 50 pounds, that is $3,461.94 in 2010 US dollars.

http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/numimage/currency.htm

EDIT: I am using 1925 as the year.

Edited Date: 2011-04-25 08:37 pm (UTC)

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Excellent info!

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Oh, and I also used the 200 pound figure quoted for Bunter, considering that Bertie probably pays as much to keep the vultures at bay.For an ordinary valet you'd have to cut that at least in half so- at 100 pounds a year, figure $6923.89 2010 dollars not counting room, board, or tips.

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coffee-n-retcon.livejournal.com

There was part of an interview in the 'behind the scenes' for Downton Abby where one of the researchers was talking about what footmen were paid back in the day. The researcher said that the wage scale was actually based on the person's height. I can't remember the numbers, but up to like 5'9" they were paid one ammount, and taller than that were paid £10 more. I was rather surprised by that. If that is the case, perhaps Stephen Fry's Jeeves was paid based on being 6'5"?

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I think Bertie says that he is 'tallish' on one occasion, so that fits. :)F rom the bits of Dickens I've read I think that one of the main functions of a footman was to be ornamental, and I suppose they thought the taller the better. I'm assuming it's because they basically answered the door to visitors and were therefore the first impression that a visitor would have of the master of the house - if the footman looked impressive then it suggested that his employer was also impressive.

Edited Date: 2011-04-25 09:13 pm (UTC)

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Bertie also says that the Woosters tend to be on the tall side (Aunt Agatha is 5'9! imposing!) so for him to consider Jeeves tall, then he'd certainly have to be!

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ironicbees.livejournal.com

I believe the mention of Jeeves being "tallish" was in "Ring for Jeeves". So, depending on if you think Bertie wrote it, it may or may not be an objective description of his height.

Adding to the stuff on footmen, I recall reading that it was desirable for them to have shapely calves. Seconding what

triedunture said about employers wanting them in matched pairs...This makes me imagine an AU in which Claude and Eustace are footmen. XD

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Good point! I was initially thinking of 'Ring for Jeeves',

ironicbees, I admit - even though I kind of view that novel as sort of outside of the main canon. But while I was poking around for the quote I came across this in 'The Artistic Affair of Corky'.

'The moment I saw the man standing there, registering respectful attention, a weight seem to roll off my mind. I felt like a lost child who spots his father in the offing. There was something about him that gave me absolute confidence.
Jeeves is a tallish man, with one of those dark, shrewd faces. His eye gleams with the light of pure intelligence.'

Sorry to quite the whole thing, but... awwwwww. Anyway, it's nice to have one other adjective for Jeeves besides 'darkish' - though I think if Wodehouse had given too much away, Jeeves would have seemed less like a God-like presence, if you know what I mean.

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ironicbees.livejournal.com

Oh, right! I had the feeling there was another "tallish" quote somewhere but couldn't recall where. Anyway, I think that was from an early edition of the same story, and in a later one Wodehouse took out that bit.

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That should have been 'Career' not 'Affair'.
Yes, I just noticed that as I leafed through my World of Jeeves. So that's why it didn't sound familiar. I can only assume that as Wodehouse reviewed for the later edition he decided it wasn't in keeping with the general mysteriousness that he'd created around the character.

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triedunture.livejournal.com

Haha, yes, I remember reading that when researching a Victorian fic! Footmen were better if they were tall and dark, so the taller and darker you were, the more money you could bring down. ALSO it was highly fashionable to have footmen in matched pairs, so they would attempt to hire footmen of similar heights and complexions. They creme de la creme was to find a pair of identical twin footmen.

Soooooo if anyone wants to, um, run with that. Y'all know how I feel about clones. :D

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