Do you know if there is a lot of literature out there written on this subject?
Hmmm, I'll have to think about it... but I can think of lots of images (old photos, old painted portraits, etc.) where this old tradition is prominent. Tomorrow when I'm at work I'll post some more examples. Actually, having the museum's image database will be helpful for this.
And, it truly is an upperclass/ upper-middleclass tradition... and not at all counter-culture.