What does the word 'Toastmaster' conjure up in your mind? I know that once upon a time it immediately made me think of grand dinners, debubutante 'coming out' balls, social dances, and weddings at which every guest was titled and had to be announced in turn. It must have taken hours for these occasions to start. "The Right Honourable Sir Maximillion Peregrine Tarquin McDonald-Campbell of that ilk and Lady Dorothea of Ecclefechan". Phew! The Toastmaster must have had no voice left after having to announce everyone correctly - and fully. He would automatically be required to officiate at the high society 'wedding of the year' to which everyone who was someone would expect an invitation.
(Note that I said 'He'. There wouldn't be female Toastmasters as there are today.)
All this high class protocol & snobbery when the real idea of 'toasting' was a little lower down the social scale than we would believe. To find the origins of drinking a toast we have to go back to the late 17th. century. It was attributed to the practice of naming a lady at a banquet whose health the company (doubtless all the men!) was requested to drink. The idea was that 'the lady's name flavoured the drink like the pieces of spiced toast formerly placed in drinks such as wine'. As the liquor would be pretty unsavoury in those days the toast would make it a little more palatable! The Toastmaster himself would also take part in the celebrations so a 'toastmaster's glass' was introduced in the 18th. century. It was the normal size of an ordinary glass but with about 25% of the capacity so the Toastmaster stayed sober enough to carry out his duties.