The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce interviewed a range of foreigners in an attempt to find out how the rest of the world viewed the contemporary inhabitant of the UK.
From Chicago:
Britons are better dressed than Americans but they’ve got bad teeth and are conceited.
From Mumbai:
“I can’t think of anything very much other than the fact its got a very vibrant press … even though the Americans may run the world, it is the British who write about it.”
From Italy:
“Elegance is not typically English. Apart from the Lords, they’re a bit slovenly. They don’t dress with care,” said an Italian interviewee.