The New England Fireside

A Cottage Scene,...
Edward Thompson...
Buy This at Allposters.com

Excerpt from A New England Girlhood  by Lucy Larcom. 

Primitive ways of doing things had not wholly ceased during my childhood; they were kept up in these old towns longer than elsewhere. We used tallow candles and oil lamps, and sat by open fireplaces. There was always a tinder-box in some safe corner or other, and fire was kindled by striking flint and steel upon the tinder. What magic it seemed to me, when I was first allowed to strike that wonderful spark, and light the kitchen fire!

The fireplace was deep, and there was a " settle" in the chimney corner, where three of us youngest girls could sit together and toast our toes on the andirons (two Continental soldiers in full uniform, marching one after the other), while we looked up the chimney into a square of blue sky, and sometimes caught a snow-flake on our foreheads; or sometimes smirched our clean aprons (high-necked and long-sleeved ones, known as " tiers ") against the swinging crane with its sooty pot-hooks and trammels.

Maine - Interior...

Buy This at Allposters.com

The coffee-pot was set for breakfast over hot coals, on a three-legged bit of iron called a "trivet." Potatoes were roasted in the ashes, and the Thanksgiving turkey in a "tin-kitchen," the business of turning the spit being usually delegated to some of us small folk, who were only too willing to burn our faces in honor of the annual festival.

There were brick ovens in the chimney corner, where the great bakings were done; but there was also an iron article called a " Dutch oven," in which delicious bread could be baked over the coals at short notice. And there never was anything that tasted better than my mother's "firecake,"— a short-cake spread on a smooth piece of board, and set up with a flat-iron before the blaze, browned on one side, and then turned over to be browned on the other. (It required some sleight of hand to do that.) If I could only be allowed to blow the bellows — the very old people called them "belluses " — when the fire began to get low, I was a happy girl.

The Three...
Frederick Daniel...
Buy This at Allposters.com

Cooking-stoves were coming into fashion, but they were clumsy affairs, and our elders thought that no cooking could be quite so nice as that which was done by an open fire. We younger ones reveled in the warm, beautiful glow, that we look back to as to a remembered sunset. There is no such home-splendor now.

When supper was finished, and the tea-kettle was pushed back on the crane, and the backlog had been reduced to a heap of fiery embers, then was the time for listening to sailor yarns and ghost and witch legends. The wonder seems somehow to have faded out of those tales of old since the gleam of red-hot coals died away from the hearthstone. The shutting up of the great fireplaces and the introduction of stoves marks an era; the abdication of shaggy Romance and the enthronement of elegant Commonplace — sometimes, alas! the opposite of elegant — at the New England fireside.

Afternoon...
Evert Pieters
Buy This at Allposters.com

Have we indeed a fireside any longer in the old sense? It hardly seems as if the young people of to-day can really understand the poetry of English domestic life, reading it, as they must, by a reflected illumination from the past. What would the "Cotter's Saturday Night" have been, if Burns had written it by the opaque heat of a stove instead of at his

"Wee bit ingle blinkiu' bonnilie?'

By the Hearth,...

Philip Eustace...

Buy This at Allposters.com

Hats of Early Autumn-- September 1902

June Fashion Ideas

From the 1908 Good Housekeeping Magazine

Summer Fashions

Bird Singers and Natural Instruments from The American Boy's Handy Book

(Editor's Note: The books that I have been posting are from the late 1800's and early 1900's, meant to give ideas and instructions for children and young people to educate and amuse themselves in the "great outdoors" and at home. The author and authoresses were brother and sisters, and artists. They were the early boy and  girl scouts. I hope you will peruse these books, and though you may find the contents rather old-fashioned, find something to try your hand at, as your great-grandparents might have done!)

Fair Weather Ideas

For Boys

The Victorian Era

Don't miss this enlightening article on page 2.

Anne of Green Gables Fashion Week: Raspberry Cordial

www.bramblewoodfashion.blogspot.com
It is a good thing that this event is a week long; I spent most of the past week looking for the gadget that connects my camera to the computer, and after enlisting help from a friend (who opened up the computer desk drawer this morning and find the gadget straightaway... why wasn't it there when I looked?), I am finally able to participate again. I do not know what category a recipe falls into, though!

Here you see farm-fresh raspberries being washed to make Anne's Raspberry Cordial (from the Anne of Green Gables Cookbook, and there is one on this page. Please click on the links for the recipe). I made some raspberry juice and canned it, somewhat like making a juice concentrate, to use in the recipe later.

Mash the berries and simmer with sugar, then run through cheesecloth or a strainer.

For clear juice, don't squeeze too much of the pulp in. Personally, I like all of the raspberry goodness I can get so I placed the pulp in clean cotton flannel and twisted and squeezed every bit of the juice out I could. (I am told that the pulp can be used to make a face mask, beneficial for dry skin.)

Out of a flat of raspberries, I was able to can 3 jars of juice. A bit disappointing for all the work, I'll admit. I need to go pick more raspberries! One jar will do for one recipe. No need for labeling this time, as there is no "demon liquor" in my pantry to get mixed up by:)

When you want to make the Cordial, use a jar of the juice, and add the water and lemon as called for. I have also used ginger ale (try Canada Dry) with it to make it even more special. I think Anne would have served it in a pitcher like this one.

Anytime I am canning it looks as if it could be an early "Anne" culinary experience. In this case, for the three little jars of juice I used two large saucepans, 3 large mixing bowls, several utensils and measuring cups, scattered all over the sink and counters. Raspberry juice was dripped all over the kitchen, and splattered all over my dress. I think Marilla would have scolded quite a bit could she have seen me.

As I was writing this post, a delightful package came in the mail from Rebecca of Baker Lane. What a perfect addition to an "Anne" themed recipe post! Though they would have to be "broken in" to many years of kitchen work before I'd wear them to can raspberry juice, they look just like an apron Anne would wear in her Victorian Kitchen to make Cordial!

So old-fashioned and charming!

The next task for the day: Blueberry preservation! Above you see a portion of the 20+ pounds of blueberries picked yesterday. I am flash-freezing them on a baking pan, putting a single layer in the freezer, and then putting the frozen berries into freezer bags so that they will not stick together.

Museum Dress

At a recent visit to a museum, this dress caught my eye. I had seen a similar design in Martha Pullen's Sew Beautiful Magazine of a "mystery dress" with a yoke overlay for girls (an example of it is here). I cannot seem to find the magazine, but I am sure the "mystery dress" was a replica of an antique dress. I believe this is the same type of design, but the "grown up" version. The yoke overlay seems to have the collar attached to it.

Above: the whole dress. The overlay hangs loose from the gown (and has been put on a bit lopsided!)

This is the embroidery under the front skirt ruffles.

Close up of a sleeve.

Tucks on the shoulders.

Here is the skirt fastening.

Sorry this photo is not crystal clear... it is the back of the gown. The overlay back can be seen (it is put on crookedly here) and is connected to the front by the lace at the bottom.

You can barely see it (I was up against a wall and dared not move the mannequin!), but the back of the skirt is gathered at the middle, and there are rows of lace near the hem. It is interesting that I do not see the lace continuing from the back hem around to the front lace triangle. I wonder if the front lace detail is an overlay, too?

Chats with Girls- 1894

Please click to enlarge this page from December 1894


This is a page out of one of my treasures, an antique issue of the December 1894 Ladies' Home Journal . I remember the thrill of finding it in a little antiques shop, in a bin with the Youth's Companion of 1901. 


The above page contains this article, towards the bottom of the second column, which I will type for you here:

CHATS WITH GIRLS

  Did you ever look at a beautiful rose in a vase of exquisite shape and color, and then turn to a similar flower in an insignificant cup? Do you think the latter loses aught of its heavenly beauty for the lack of the costly vase--or rather, does not the very plainness of the cup emphasize the beauty of the perfect blossom? So a plain home may contain the brightest and happiest of human faces, and even plain clothes cannot mar the face made beautiful by the spirit of content and kindliness within.

  In those fairy air-castles that tower around the young, all is rich and glowing, and it is often difficult to come back to the every-days of life, and rest satisfied with home as it is.
"If I were only rich or beautiful, how much I could accomplish."

  Yes, riches and beauty are very powerful factors in this world, but less important in the sphere you occupy than in any other position in life. You are surrounded by those who love you now and have always loved you. Father and mother have watched with such pride the molding of your character. They loved the tiny baby girl, the little toddler with her cunning ways, and the school-girl with her perplexities and possibilities; but through all that formative period they looked forward to the time when a lovely young woman should brighten their home with her charming presence, and aid in the making and keeping of home.

  Is it right to save all the smiles for the outside friends, and show only the frowns and pouts to those dear ones who merit all the honor and affection you can give? You may leave this home some day, to found another of your own; but be sure that if you cannot be content with your present lot, fate will never satisfy you in another--unless there are real and weighty reasons for your present discontent.

  No girl is indifferent to the attention and admiration of her friends. If you possess such charms of face and manners as to have this accorded you, then rejoice in your good fortune; but, dear girl, never sacrifice that which is higher and nobler to this end. The respect of all men is far more to be desired than the attention of a few.  Be so discreet that none can impute improper motives to any deed or word of yours. Better be a prude than risk your reputation ever so little; but it is not necessary to do either.

  The so-called society girl has great opportunities to do good. Does she always use them? Just one word from her, sincerely spoken, will often have more weight than many sermons or columns of temperance advice.

  Now, if you are not a society girl, if you are not popular either because you have not that undefined power of magnetism or because you are homely and unattractive, this very fact points you to other and perhaps nobler aims. You can be pretty-- in ways if not in looks.

  If you are blessed with a talent for music, cultivate this gift and make others the happier for it. Give your time, talents and industry to the beautifying and brightening of the home. Some of the duties there are homely and uninviting, but you have no right to shirk them. All honor to the business and working girls-- to them I shall talk later--but father and mother may need you more than the family purse needs attention; and if so, your place is with them, even if outside work should mean more pin-money and better, finer clothes for you. I sometimes fear that our homes must suffer for the lack of the many bright girls who are taking their place alongside the bread-winners.

  And now, as the most beautiful of all holidays approach, see how much sunshine and good-will you can carry with you from place to place. My heart goes out to the girl at home, especially during the happy Christmastide. How much she can do to make happy the little children of her home, and others as well.

  If you have a knowledge of cookery--and no girl's education is complete without it, in this era of cooking-schools and practical lessons--then you can please the dear father with the things he most enjoys--the plum pudding or fruit-cake just like his mother used to make; or better still, as your own dear mother has taught you to make it.

  One more word. Never let the fear of being an  "old maid" take possession of you. Do you know that old maids are often self-made? Anxiety and fretfulness upon the subject will make a girl of twenty more unattractive in her manner than the real old maid of forty, who is still fresh and happy and thoughtful of others. Some of you may be old maids already, in the common acceptance of the term, but you are still girls to father and mother, and may you one and all prove yourselves happy and useful women.

 ~ROSA-LEIGH TOWERS

Antique Quilts

Here are two quilts from the family heirlooms I recently had the pleasure of viewing. Above is a scrap quilt, almost like a crazy quilt but in cottons, and below is an unfinished autograph quilt top. They were made by a great-great-grandmother.

I just love the fine handwriting/embroidery of family friends.

Letter for an Upcoming Marriage

I recently found a letter written to my grandmother just before she was married to my grandfather, who was a minister. Apparently she wanted brother J.C. Bunn of Washington to be the minister who officiated her wedding. As it happened, my grandmother ended up going on a train to meet my grandfather in Kansas, where the wedding was performed by brother V. Love (you know my grandfather must have planned that out special, don't you!). I thought that many of my readers would find this marriage advice interesting, and so I am letting you have a privileged glance into my family history archives:


"July 4th, '40


Dear Sister Lucile,


Your letter of the 29th of June was received in due time, also one from Joe under date of June 24th. in that he told me of the change in your plans. It will be much more economical and practical for you to meet him in Kans. and the expense that you will save will be used very conveniently in the years that are to follow.


I know Bro. Love very well and am sure he will be able to tie a good knot for you and one that will NEVER come untied. And that is the kind you want, isn't it? Remember me to him when that eventful day shall come. I have known him for over 30 years.


I appreciate very much that you thought of me as your first choice. But now that I shall not be present with you, I wish to convey to you my sincere well wishes. And I am enclosing a little poem I wrote many years ago and always give a copy to the young folks that unite in the holy bonds of wedlock. Just live up to all expressed in this little folder and your lives will always be happy.


Yes, I have known Joe for several years. I believe you are getting a very good husband, Lucile and I am sure your lives can be happy together. just strive to be every things God desires of you as a wife and I believe Joe will try to be all God expects of him as a husband and then you will be happily married. Just remember that angels do not live in human flesh and do not expect perfection in the other, use plenty of patience in bearing with loving kindness the frailties of the other and all will be well.


Your greatest problem will be in being so far removed from your kin folks. Joe asked me if I knew any church that would like to have a preacher located with them. I do not know of such a place now. But will be on the look out for you. But he is better known back in the central states and most of his work will lay in that direction. Try to adjust your self to those conditions, be content with the climate and do not get so home sick for your people that your life will be made miserable and his too. That would greatly hinder his work. You will not like the climate of Kans. as well as you do the coast country, but just remember you are marrying Joe to be his help meet, companion and inspiration in his preaching. That much of his success lies in your happiness and contentment. There will be quite an adjustment and re-arrangement in your life now. And the long distance from your mother and other kindred will make it impossible to come to them every time you desire. But all this you should and no doubt have already considered when you decided to leave the old home and go to Joe to become his bride. He now becomes the center of your life and all your grace, charm, talent, ability must be rendered to make his life's work a success. You will find many true friends among his and mine in Kans. and other places where he has labored. You will soon find them to be just as dear as the brethren in Wash.


And now may God bless your united lives, make them fruitful in good works and until you are called in death to part, be happy and contented.


Your true friend, J.C. Bunn .


P.S.

Tell Joe I will try and write him later if I know where to address him. Let me know where you make your home. You will meet many of my true friends in Kans. Tell them I love them still."

click to enlarge

Victorian "Don'ts"

The Bunch of Lilacs Art Print
Tissot, James
Buy at AllPosters.com


A list of dressing "don'ts" from women's magazines of the 1880's.


"Don't adopt the latest mode.
Don't trail your dress upon the road.
Don't ever lace your waist too tightly.
Don't wear a glove or boot unsightly.
Don't wear a thing that needs repair.
Don't, please, forget to brush your hair.
Don't ever wear too large a check.
Don't show too much of snowy neck."

"Don't above all things, forget you are a woman; she is far more attractive when seen in the flowing draperies that centuries of use have made their own, than when masquerading as a man."


Girl and Roses Art Print
Toulmouche,...
Buy at AllPosters.com


Here are a few more "don'ts," some of which are highly amusing, and some of which still make sense today:

Don't forget that dress was made for woman,
and not woman for dress.

Don't, unless you have a very long purse, buy
startling and conspicuous garments, of which you
will become heartily tired before they are worn out.

Don't invest largely in "desperate bargains" and
"immense reductions," which are so temptingly
displayed at sale times. In many cases they are a
delusion and a snare.

Don't slavishly copy the costumes of your dearest
friends. You have something individual in your
appearance which must be emphasised into person-
ality, that will cover, if necessary, a multitude of
deficiencies.

Don't buy anything without due reference to
your other garments. Things bought in a hurry
are seldom satisfactory, and generally turn out
veritable white elephants.

Don't wear an old bonnet and mantle with a new
dress ; neither, on the other hand, let an old dress
be seen in company with your best outdoor apparel.

Don't always appear in the bosom of your
family in your shabbiest clothes because " they
are so much more comfortable."

Don't have many dresses at a time. Let
" quality, not quantity," be the motto of your
wardrobe.

Don't neglect to put a certain amount of thought
and care into the smallest details of your toilet.

Don't jump into your clothes and expect to look
dressed.

Don't, dear sisters, don't imagine that a blouse or
skirt, coat and sailor hat, are suitable for every age
and figure on every occasion.

Don't wear a sailor hat after your fortieth year.

Don't clothe yourself in man's apparel and expect
the courtesy due to a lady.

Don't wear feathers in your hat and patches on
your boots.

Don't gaily cover your head and forget your
hands and feet.

Don't forget that though veils are becoming to
most faces, feet veiled in lace stockings do not look
well in the street.

Don't pinch your waist : fat, like murder, will
out somewhere.

Don't put all your allowance outside. A ragged
petticoat kills the smartest gown.

Don't wear a white petticoat unless it is white.

Don't put cost before cut. Corded silk won't
cover a clumsy fit.

Don't be dashing ; be dainty.

Don't dress to startle people's eyes, but to satisfy
them.

Don't imagine beauty will atone for untidiness.

Don't, if you are September, dress as May.

Don't sacrifice neatness to artistic effect.

Don't dress more fashionably than becomingly.

Don't wear a fur or feather boa with a cotton
dress or skirt.

Don't wear striped materials if you are tall.

from:
http://www.archive.org/stream/homedressmakinga00debarich#page/n3/mode/2up

Excerpt from "Etiquette for Children"

Roses Giclee Print
Lemaire,...
Buy at AllPosters.com


While browsing through an antique store several years ago, I came upon a book, entitled "The New Century Perfect Speaker." It looked full of useful and good things to read, so I bought it. Upon further perusal at home, I discovered it to be from 1901, and that it seemed that several page numbers were skipped, and yet that was not the case. What I had bought was a salesman's sample book, and to get the "rest of the story" one would have bought a subscription to whatever books he was selling. It was rather disappointing, as right in the middle of a profound statement, or an interesting story, the next page would launch into the middle of "how to dress for tea." However, it gave me a glimpse into the ways and thoughts of another time.

Here is an excerpt from a section called "Etiquette for Children."

"Home is the school for all things, especially good manners. And yet there is a higher thought in connection with instilling good manners- the wonderful power which the parents have, especially the mother, in molding the lives of their children so that their future may be rich in promise of a better life even beyond the grave. Immortal life- what mother does not pray that it may be a glorious one for her darlings.

"And to that end she must interweave the lessons of politeness and kindness with the beauty of virtue, of self-denial, of unselfish aims, which alone can be obtained by constant and earnest effort. So many thoughts crowd in at this stage that we scarce can number them; but first, let every mother teach her daughter that only a good man is worthy of her- that wealth and position can never take the place of a lack of respect for the husband she chooses; that she should be modest, faithful to all her duties, and demand like qualities in others.

"And to her sons a true mother will instruct that a sweet-tempered, intelligent, refined girl, even though she be not wealthy, will make a far better wife than a vain, selfish, exacting nature, whose only aim is to get all that she can out of life, irrespective of anyone else's wishes or rights."
I'm sorry I cannot give you the rest of the chapter! Perhaps someone has one of these books in their attics?



Bouquet of Flowers Giclee Print
Lemaire,...
Buy at AllPosters.com

Friendship, Valentine Card, circa 1870 Giclee Print
English School
Buy at AllPosters.com

I remember when I was a girl, my mother ordered a Victorian Valentine Kit from The Pleasant Company. I had so much fun with all the paper lace doilies, ribbons, stickers, and gold paper trims! 

Here are some links for making your own Victorian Valentines:

Kits:

Victorian Trading Company

Hearthsong

Free Victorian Scrap:

http://vintageholidaycrafts.com/free-clip-art/

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/valentine/victorian-cards.shtml

(warning: the above link has free Victorian clip art and instructions on how to make your own cards, but it also has some weight loss ads which are in bad taste. If you can scroll down and find the "printer friendly" button you can see the article without the ads)

Oh so Nice things to buy:

My latest favorite site to look at! http://www.soshabbypinkpaper.com/

http://www.blumchen.com/valentine_shop.html

http://www.victorianscrapworks.com/AtDresden_Trims_Frames_Corners.html

Examples of Victorian Valentines:

http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/default.asp?Document=200.23.002.1.03

http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/valentines/valentine.html

1930's "Crazy Quilt" Robe

This is a robe that my Great-Grandmother made for her daughter (my Grandma Lucile) when Grandma was a teenager. Unfortunately by the time it was done it was too small for her. Grandma kept it anyway and then when I was 16 or so, she gave it to me. Unfortunately, it was too small for me, too! But it is so beautiful, my mother suggested we keep it for a decoration!

There are silky fabrics in it, and velvet, and flannel, and other kinds. There are floral prints, and feather prints, and even a print with baby rattles on it! I like to look at each one and try to imagine what kind of dress it might have been, or what the print would have been used for. The embroidery is done in different colored embroidery thread, and done thickly.

Would this be called a dressing gown? Grandma just called it a "robe."

It Isn't Work

I received a beautiful hand-made card the other day, with this poem in it. The note on the poem said "by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, November, 1927"

Dollville" border="0" height="315" width="400">


Busy Day in Dollville
Tin Sign
Buy at AllPosters.com

It Isn't Work

It isn't work, if you like to do it, 

It isn't work if it gives a thrill, 

If always pleasant thoughts imbue it, 

If you do it gladly and with a will. 

It isn't "housework"--dusting, mending, 

Scrubbing floors and baking things, 

Washing dishes and pans unending, 

To one who laughs and smiles and sing. 

It isn't work, if you find good measure

Of cheer and sun in every minute. 

It isn't housework--it's home pleasure, 

With a little love and laughter in it!

Girl Sits in a Window-Seat Mending Her Doll
Giclee Print
Edwards, M. Ellen
Buy at AllPosters.com

Good Housekeeping, January, 1922 Giclee Print
Buy at AllPosters.com