Design Advice from the Dress Doctors
I cannot adequately express how much I love this book — The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish. Author Linda Przybyszewski tells the story of the early 20th… Continue reading
Category Archive: Old Books
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Guess the Year
In a vintage magazine, I came across this informative bulletin. Can you guess what year this issue was published? ( And so as not to throw you off, the illustrations in this post… Continue reading
We May Be in Better Shape Than We Thought
If you bemoan your fitness level, you might be interested in the results of this fitness test from 1889: In order to ascertain the influence of tight clothing upon the action of the… Continue reading
Mary Schenck Woolman
Over the years, I have picked up several old weaving, sewing, and home economics manuals. Their publication dates range from 1906 to 1964. I have always wondered about the authors of these books,… Continue reading
“These Kids Today!” in 1862
Here is a look at precocious children from the past, courtesy of Punch magazine of London. As a former teacher, I can relate to this one, titled Missus-ism. I don’t know what “odd… Continue reading
The Trials of Courtship in 1862
Well, since we all are enjoying these cartoons from the past, I will share some more. These are from Punch magazine, published in London from 1841 to 1992. These are from the 1862… Continue reading
The Servant Problem in the 1860s
Here are a few more cartoons from Punch, in 1861 and 1862. One thing I like is that the cartoonists are sympathetic towards honest ignorance, and aim their wit mostly at pretension. I… Continue reading
Men’s Fashion Foibles from 1862
Looking at my estate sale purchase, a bound issue of Punch from 1862, we see that gentlemen were not spared from the editors’ gibes …
Domestics and the Crinoline in 1862
Yesterday we went to an estate sale at a huge ranch. Thousands of items were being sold, but most of them were just ordinary things like throw pillows or boxes of glassware from… Continue reading
Three Clues in the Parchment
In the early 1960s, a young agriculture historian named M. L. Ryder had the idea to use parchment manuscripts to research medieval sheep breeds. He surveyed manuscript illuminations for evidence of the colors,… Continue reading