Arctic Expeditions

While searching a bit further on the 1852 Winter I came across this list of expeditions to the Artic. I was personally surprised to find the list dated back to 1848. It lists Ships, Captains, and deaths as well as how many days in Melville Bay.

Arctic Expeditions (from the Times, December 29, 1874).—"The following is a list of ships, comprising Government and Private Expeditions, British and Foreign, which have been on exploring service within the Arctic Circle since the Franklin Expedition sailed. It will be seen that the crews of all these vessels have returned in safety to their respective countries, with only such loss of life as might well have occurred had the men stayed at home :—
1. 1848 to 1849—H.m.'b ship Enterprise, Sir J. C. Ross. One winter, 26 days in Melville Bay.
2. 1848 to 1849.—H.M.'s ship Investigator, Captain Bird. One winter, 25 days in Melville Bay. Seven deaths (one officer) on board the Enterprise and Investigator.
3. 1849 to 1850.—H.M.'s ship North Star, Mr. Saunders. One winter, 57 days in Melville Bay. Four deaths.
4. 1849.—H.M.'s ship Plover, Captains Moore and Maguirc. Three winters. Three deaths.
6. 1850.—H.M's ship Enterprise, Captain Collinson. Three winters. Three deaths.
6. 1850.—H.M.'s ship Investigator, Captain M'Clure. Four winters. Six deaths (one officer).
7. 1850.—H.M.'s ship Resolute, Captain Austin. One winter, 45 days in Melville Bay. One death (accident).
8. 1850.—H.M.'s ship Assistance, Captain Ommanney. One winter, 45 days in Melville Bay. No death.
9. 1850.—H.M.'s ship Pioneer, Lieutenant Osborn. One winter. No death.
10. 1850.—H.M.'s «hip Intrepid, Lieutenant Cator. One winter. No death.
11. 1850.—Brig Lady Franklin, Captain Penny. One winter. No death.
12. 1850.—Brig Sophia, Captain Stewart. One winter. No death.
13. 1850.—Schooner Prince Albert, Captain Forsyth. Summer Cruise.
14. I860.—Schooner Felix, Sir John Ross and Captain Phillips. One winter. No death.
15. 1850.—Advance (American), Lieutenant Griffith. One winter drifting.
16. 1850.—Rescue (American), Lieutenant Dehaven. One winter drifting.
17. 1851.—Schooner Prince Albert, Mr. Kennedy. One winter. No death.
18. 1852.—H.M.'s ship Assistance, Sir E. Belcher. Two winters, 38 days in Melville Bay. No death.
19. 1852.—H.M.'s ship Resolute, Captain Kellett. Two winters, 38 days in Melville Bay. Six deaths.
20. 1852.—H.M.'s ship Pioneer, Commander OBborn. Two winters. No deaths.
21. 1852.—H.M.'s ship Intrepid, Lieutenant M'Clintock. Two winters. No death.
22. 1852.—H.M.'s ship North Star, Mr. Pullen. Two winters. 38 days in Melville Bay. Three deaths.
23. 1852.—Steamer Isabel, Captain Inglefield. No detention in Melville Bay; summer cruise.
24. 1853.—H.M's ship Phoenix, Captain Inglefield. Nine days in Melville Bay; summer cruise.
25. 1854.—H.M.'s ship Phojnix, Captain Inglefield. Took the pack—30 days; summer cruise.
26. 1854.—H.M.'s ship Talbot, Captain Jenkins. Summer cruise.
27. 1853.—Advance (American brig). Dr. Kane. Two winters. Took the pack—10 days.
28. 1857.—Steamer Fox, Captain M'Clintock. Two winters; first winter in pack, second season through in nine days. Three died.
29. 1850.—Schooner United States, Dr. Hayes. One winter, two days in Melville Bay. One death (accident).
30. 1871.—Steamer Poluris, Captain Hall. Twowinters; no detention in Melville Bay. One death.
31. 1873.—Steamer Juniata, Lieutenant Merriman. No detention in Melville Bay ; summer cruise.
32. 1873.—Steamer Tigress, Captain Green. Summer cruise.

1853 Fares

I stumbled on this while working on my 19th Century Carriages & Wagons Resource Book. Below is a list of fares published in Disturnell's American & European Railroad & Steamship Guide ©1853.

FOR ONE PERSON, FROM THE HOTELS, TO THE RAILBOAD DEPOTS, AND STEAMBOAT WHARVES.
BOSTON.
Coach fare, with baggage, 25 cents
NEW YORK.
Coach and Cab fare, with baggage, 25 cents
Carman's fees, 25 cents
Porter's fees, 18 ½ cents
PHILADELPHIA.
Coach fare,* with baggage, 50 cents
Porter's fees, 25 cents
BALTIMORE.
Coach fare, with baggage 50 cents
Porter's fees, 25 cents
WASHINGTON.
Coach fare, with baggage. . . 25 cents
(CT For further information, see the laws relating to Hackney Coaches, &c., which can usually be found in the carriages, as required by law.
* The law allows 50 cents for one or two passengers.
N. B. The best mode to reduce the coach fare in Philadelphia and Baltimore, where it is too high, is not to employ them at present rates.

Common Cold

A few years back when I was hit with a chest cold and I thought it only fitting to choose the subject of having a cold. I found this article interesting. My great grandmother died of influenza in 1918 leaving behind five children, the youngest being only 3 months old.

Below is an excerpt from Six Discourses on the Functions of the Lungs by Samuel Sheldon Fitch. ©1853
COMMON COLD CURES CONSUMPTION.
I have before hinted that a common cold will occasionally cure consumption. It may seem paradoxical that a cold will cause consumption, and will also at other times cure it. I will endeavor to make you understand how this can be. Suppose I stick a nail in my hand, and suppose inflammation follows; should this inflammation run over the skin of my hand, and be superficial, my hand would swell very much, but I should not lose it; but if the inflammation should attack the bones and deep-seated parts of my hand, I might lose the hand. It is the same with a cold; at one time it will attack the deep-seated parts of the lungs, and cause consumption; at other times it will only run over the skin, lining the air-pipes and air-cells of the lungs; in this way enlarging the lungs very much, and will prevent and even cure consumption, as I have witnessed in many cases. The case of Mr. McNeil, of Hillsboro', mentioned in heart cases, at page 04, is an illustration of consumption retarded, and its fatal termination prevented by a cold on the lungs; or, as it is called, pulmonary catarrh. General McNeil had a cough and seeming consumption for thirty-five years before his heart became affected; when for five years the heart affection and cold acted together, and both cured the consumption upon the lungs; when, the exciting cause being removed, all got well, both the heart disease and the lung affection, &c
In Liverpool, England, I met a lady whose mother died of consumption, and, as her only child was very delicate as she grew up, all thought she would, at an early period, fall a prey to consumption. At nineteen years of age, she took a bad cold, as it was thought, and as it actually was: soon her health became good. When I knew her, she had had a cough and daily expectoration for twentyseven years; saving its inconvenience, she enjoyed excellent health, with a full, well expanded chest, without any symptoms of a decline. In November, 1842, I lectured at Burlington, Vt., upon consumption; after the lecture, a respectable lawyer of that town, Griswold, Esq., came to see me. He told me that if he could have thought I had previously known him, he would have believed that I had lectured upon him; as my various remarks so strikingly corresponded with his experience. He had suffered from a cough for more than thirty years, and raised a great deal from his lungs. At one time he had a bad influenza, and joined to his old cough, presented strong symptoms of rapid consumption. It was in March, a very cold, windy month. He was attended by two extremely well educated physicians, both professors, teachers and practitioners of medicine. They adopted the usual practice, a very warm room; as if cold were a mortal enemy to the lungs, and emetic tartar, confinement to his bed, and all accessible remedies, to reduce the strength of the patient, and thus drive off his disease. Under this treatment his strength rapidly declined; cough and expectoration became profuse, and every symptom of rapid consumption appeared. In this state his two physicians, knowing the extent of his business, felt it to be their duty to make known to him that he was near his end. On this announcement, he said at once, "If that is the case, why have you kept me so long in bed? I should have much preferred to have been up." He immediately had an arm chair brought to him, that had wheels on its feet, and caused himself to be dressed, and was wheeled into his parlor—a large, well aired room. This was on Thursday; on Saturday after, his physicians called; he told them that the next Monday morning he should start for Montreal, capital of Canada, about eighty miles north from Burlington—"For," said he, "as you say, I have a great deal to do, and but a short time to do it in." They remonstrated against this unheard of temerity, as a species of suicide; that his death must be the result in a very short time. Their entreaties and positive advice had no effect upon his resolution. He went to Montreal, and returned nearly well. I saw him eighteen years after this transaction, in vigorous health, although still subject to his old cough and expectoration. As a very strong intimation of his consumptive habit, I may mention he has lost two sons by consumption.

19th Century Photography

Wikipedia has a great overview of the history of the camera. There are a few dates that should be noted for those of us who write historical fiction.

In 1839 the first commercially produced camera, a Daguerreotype Giroux was sold.

1840 an American Chamfered daguerreian was made

Daguerrotypes are shown at the Great Exhibit in London in 1851 by 1853 New York Daily Tribune estimates that in the US 3 million daguerrotypes are being produced yearly.

The first studio that took portrait shots opened in 1853 in Paris.

In 1854 a boom of portrait studios worldwide over the next decade.

1859 a panoramic camera was invented.

1861-1865 Civil War is photographed by Mathew Brady and staff creating 7000 negatives.

Color Photography is introduced to the world in 1868

Eastman sets up Dry Plate Company in 1880

In 1887 a detective camera was patented by Eastman.

1888 First Kodak camera containing 20 foot roll of paper.

1889 first Kodak camera containing film

1900 Brownie camera introduced.

And behind every camera there is a photographer. I stumbled on this page and thought it might be helpful as well. It is a list of 19th century photographers, along with the dates they were in operation and where. Wikipedia has a great overview of the history of the camera. There are a few dates that should be noted for those of us who write historical fiction.

In 1839 the first commercially produced camera, a Daguerreotype Giroux was sold.

1840 an American Chamfered daguerreian was made

Daguerrotypes are shown at the Great Exhibit in London in 1851 by 1853 New York Daily Tribune estimates that in the US 3 million daguerrotypes are being produced yearly.

The first studio that took portrait shots opened in 1853 in Paris.

In 1854 a boom of portrait studios worldwide over the next decade.

1859 a panoramic camera was invented.

1861-1865 Civil War is photographed by Mathew Brady and staff creating 7000 negatives.

Color Photography is introduced to the world in 1868

Eastman sets up Dry Plate Company in 1880

In 1887 a detective camera was patented by Eastman.

1888 First Kodak camera containing 20 foot roll of paper.

1889 first Kodak camera containing film

1900 Brownie camera introduced.

And behind every camera there is a photographer. I stumbled on this page and thought it might be helpful as well. It is a list of 19th century photographers, along with the dates they were in operation and where.

The Skipper Shooting the Sun

I stumbled on this phrase while researching another and found it worth sharing for those of you who are writing of sea travels during the 19th century, or of emmigrants who have come to America during the 19th century. In any case, below is a quote from Adventures in Australia in 1852 and 1853 by Henry Berkeley Jones ©1853

It puzzled many of our people to see the Captain every morning take the altitude of the sun, and at mid-day the meridian altitude ; what the sailors call " the skipper shooting the sun." With some difficulty we succeeded in making a few understand its purpose and end. It was our custom to explain anything upon which they desired to be informed.

Another Day, Another Dollar

This phrase actually came from a phrase from the 19th century. "More days, more dollars." I've found the quote in several books and magazines in the 19th century. The oldest I've come across is 1853 Adventures in Australia pg. 38 and in 1857 in Nine Years a Sailor, pg. 273

The phrase refers to how the sailors were paid and the monotony of their days at sea.

Here's the quote from Adventures in Australia
A Calm at sea is, when it continues for several days, a most wearisome and monotonous occurrence. Every sail flapping lazily against the mast, the rigging creaking and straining with the heavy roll of the ship, and to no purpose, as far as regards the attainment of our object, the completion of the voyage. It is what is called by Jack himself, a sailor's wind, because their axiom is " more days, more dollars," especially at the high rate of wages they are now receiving on board of the ship in which this is penned. But even he gets tired of it, the pulling and hauling of the ropes for every shift of light airs, is what he calls " humbugging;" and it does not generally improve the temper of the " skipper," i. e., commander; his perceptions are doubled, and he sees faults where, under a fine stiff slashing gale, he would have seen none. All seem alive and exhilarated, when going along under a ten-knot breeze ; even the mates throw the reel over the side of the vessel with a swing of satisfaction and excitement.

Oil Discovery

Here is a brief outline sketch of the oil history in the 19th century.

1846 Kerosene as fuel was introduced by Canadian Abraham Gesner
1853 a Russian sea captain noted the oil along the shoreline of Cook Inlet, Alaska.
1854 the North American Gas Light Company was formed.
1859 NW Pennsylvania an important well is drilled for the soul purpose of finding oil.
1862 first commercial oil well in Canon City, Colorado.
1865 first oil pipeline was constructed.
1865 California's first productive well was drilled.
1866 First well in Texas drilled by Lyne T. Barret. wasn't exploited until 1888 when a crew of drillers from the PA came to lend a hand.
1872 Robert Augustus patents Vaseline from the unwanted goop of the PA wells.
1892 First well strike in Southern California was drilled by Edward L. Doheny indowntown LA
1896 some marginally successful wells were drilled in Corsicana, Texas.
1897 500 wells in LA, California
1897 oil discovered in Oklahoma
1898 Oil drilling begins in Alaska

Blacksmith from McGuffey Reader

Below you'll find a poem written by Longfellow and published in the McGuffey Reader in 1853, this was the fifth grade reader. The poem was originally published in 1841 in Ballads and Other Poems. Please note the punctuation is what was written in the 1853 Reader. Today you can find the poem with different punctuation, much less actually. This poem was later scored by Charles F. Noyes in 1848.

THE VILLAGE BLACKSMITH.
1. Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands,
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands`;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

2. His hair is crisp, and black, and long`;
His face is like the tan`;
His brow is wet with honest sweat;
He earns whate'er he can`,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

3. Week in', week out` from morn' till nigh`.
You can hear his bellows blow`;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge
With measured beat and slow`,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

4. And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door`;
They love to see the flaming forge',
And hear the bellows roar`,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

5. He goes, on Sunday, to the church,
And sits among his boys`;
He hears the parson pray and preach`,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

6. It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise`!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies`;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

7. Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes`;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it c!ose`,
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

8. Thanks`, thanks to thee, my worthy friend',
For the lesson thou hast taught`!
Thus, at the flaming forge of life',
Our fortunes must be wrought`,
Thus, on its sounding anvil', shaped
Each burning deed and thought`.

H.W. Longfellow ©1841

Cancer

I found this to be interesting information. This comes from The Family Medical Guide and what was thought of Cancer in 1853. Since my father has experienced four types of cancer and survived all of them, I'm very glad we live with the information modern medicine has made with the disease.

CANCER.
This disease is, on its first appearance, a hard tumour, situated upon some gland; it increases in size, and becomes knotty, hard, and very painful; in course of time it turns into an ulcer, which has an uneven surface, ragged and painful edges, and spreads very rapidly, discharging a thin matter that flays the surrounding parts, and has a foetid smell. The parts generally affected are the breasts and testicles, but sometimes it attacks the lips, tongue, and womb. Chimneysweepers are very liable to it, from the soot lodging in the folds of the scrotum. It is most generally to be met with in persons advanced in life, especially in women about the turn of life. Women who have had no children, and those who have had them but not suckled them, are very liable to it. A cancer may arise from external injury, such as a blow, &c. When any gland has become enlarged and shews a tendency to become hard, proper means should be immediately applied to disperse it. All pressure should be removed, especially those lady-killers called stays, if it be the breasts that are affected. The bowels should be kept gently open, and a cooling regimen enjoined; all stimulants, such as wine, spirits, &c., should be abstained from. A mustard poultice should be put on the part (if accessible), and it should be constantly bathed with warm water and well rubbed with Measam's Cream. These means I have found to prevent many cancers.

When the disease shews itself in reality, sedative poultices made of poppies, hemlock, &c, should be applied to relieve the pain, and these should be constantly applied. If the disease proceeds to ulceration, make a poultice of the following :—Take half a pound of bread and two ounces of charcoal; mix with warm water for a poultice, and put it all over the parts: or a poultice of carrots scraped, mixed with yeast and oatmeal. These will in many cases afford great relief, and destroy the fcetor and acrimony of the discharge. The air should be excluded in all cases. In general, every means will be found ineffectual; but the above, and the constant use of Measam's Cream, I have found to be pre-eminently successful.

By all means avoid the LANCET and the KNIFE : if relief is to be obtained at all, it is not from them. The celebrated Dr. Reid, of Edinburgh, had as many as three operations performed upon him; he was afflicted with cancer on the tongue ; but although he had the best and most able advice England or Scotland could afford, every operation seemed only to increase the violence of the disease. He at last sunk under it, and was indebted to chloroform for relief from the agonies of a death-bed. If, then, such a man, with such aid, could have no relief from their deadly use, how can those less fortunately circumstanced expect it ? The remark of Dr. Dickson is quite true ; he says :—" Few people now die of disease—it is the orthodox fashion to die of the doctor."

Blue Jeans

Yup you guessed it, blue jeans came from the 19th century. The first pair to roll off the tailor's patent came in 1873. Jacob Davis, a Nevada tailor, partnered with Levi Strauss. Levi was trained in Germany and in 1853 left New York for San Francisco. He sold dry goods, tents, linens, etc. to the 49ers who had come for the California Gold Rush.

The original jeans were called "waist overalls" and were made from duck canvas (brown) and heavy blue denim fabric. The duck fabric never caught on but the blue jeans did. The company is still going strong.

NY Canals 1860

According to the History of Railroads & Canals ©1860, the state of NY reported this list of Canals.

NEW YORK STATE CANALS

Erie Canal. Opened in 1825
Champlain Canal. Completed in 1819
Black River Canal. (was a feeder canal to Erie)
Oneida Lake Canal. Completed in 1802
Oswego Canal. Opened in 1828
Seneca River Towing Path. completed in 1839

Baldwinsville Side-cut. purchased by the state in 1853
Cayuga And Seneca Canal. completed in 1839
Crooked Lake Canal. completed in 1833
Chemung Canal. completed in 1833
Chenango Canal. commencement of work 30th Sept. 1859
Genesee Valley Canal. completed in 1859

Paper Mache

I've made more items out of paper mache over the years that I've lost count. However, these receipts and history of is a bit different than what we employ today. Perhaps your historical characters might have a reason to use paper mache or perhaps a mishap with it. Hmmm, the possibilities are endless. Enjoy! Oh warning the second part is quite long.

To make papier mache.
This is a substance made of cuttings of white or brown paper, boiled in water, and beaten in a mortar till they are reduced into a kind of paste, and then boiled with a solution of gum arable, or of size, to give tenacity to the paste, which is afterwards formed into different toys, &c. by pressing it into oiled moulds. When dry, it is done over with a mixture of size and lamp-black, and afterwards varnished. The black varnish for these toys, according to Or Lewis, is prepared as follows: Some colophony, er turpentine, boiled down till it becomes black and friable, is melted in a glazed earthen vessel, and thrice as much amber in fine powder sprinkled in by degrees, with the addition of a little spirit or oil of turpentine now and then: when the amber is melted, sprinkle in the same quantity of sarcocolla, continuing to stir them, and to add more spirit of turpentine, till the whole becomes duid; then strain out the clear through « coarse hair bag, pr:.*ssin£ it gently between hot boards. This varnish, mixed with ivory-black ia fine powder, is applied, in a hot room, on the dried paper paste; which is then set in a gently heated oven, next day in a hotter oven, and the third day in a very hot one, and let stand each time till the oven grows cold. The paste thus varnished is hard, durable, glossy, and bears liquors hot or cold.
Source: Mackenzie 5000 Receipts ©1846

Papier Mache And Carton Pieere.
The very pretty and useful material which bears the name of Papier Mache does not always deserve that name. The brilliant display which Messrs. Jennens and Bettridge, and other manufacturers, made at the Great Exhibition ought to have been designated by some more significant and correct name; it is pasted paper and moulded paper, but not mashed or pulp paper, as the French name mache indicates. There are two distinct branches of industry here involved, which we must separate in order to speak of the notabilities of each.
And first for the real, the true papier mache, that which was introduced about twenty-five years ago, and from which Mr. Bielefeld produces such a wondrous variety of decorative ornaments. This is almost entirely paper; there may be a small percentage of other material to impart certain minor qualities, but it is essentially paper. And if we enquire what kind of paper is thus used, we find that it is any and every kind. All is "fish that comes to this net." Nothing is refused, nothing laid aside, whether linen or cotton or hemp be the fibre from which the paper was originally made: all is available, whether it be black or white, bleached or unbleached, plain or figured; whether it be fine as ' extra satin wove,' or coarse as tough wrapping paper; whether in large sheets or small fragments; whether new and unused, or old and worn;— all will be welcome to the mache vat. Of course, in a practical point of view, where all kinds are useful, the manufacturers look about them for cheap miscellaneous lots, instead of appealing to the bran new stock of a wholesale stationer. Bankers have sometimes tons' weight of old account books by them, which have ceased to be of use, but which they are unwilling to place in the hands of the trunk-maker or the butterman, on account of the private transactions to which the writing on the pages of such books relate; and as it is a task of no little difficulty and danger to burn these books, the bankers are glad to find a receptacle for them in the vat of the papier-mache manufacturer, under a pledge that they shall really and promptly be so used, without exposure to public gaze. Thus the banker may perchance see the relievo decorations of his own drawing-room made from his own old account books; a ledger may find a new home as part of a cornice, or a cash-book as a frame for a looking-glass, or a day-book as a ceiling ornament. Nay, these transformations may extend wider; for in years gone by, the banker's old shirt may have been transferred to the rag-bag, and thence to the paper-mill, and thence to the account-book maker, and thence to the bank, and thence to the papier-mache factory, and thence to the drawing-room of the banker's residence—where his admiring gaze may rest upon a graceful ornament, some fibres of which once clothed his own back.
The cuttings of paper, produced by the principal applications of that material, form a very large portion of the supply whence papier mache is made. Bookbinders, pasteboard-makers, envelope-makers, accountbook and pocketbook-makers, printsellers, paper-hangers, all accumulate heaps of shreds and cuttings; and the papier-mache vat may receive them all, unless better prices can be obtained elsewhere. Whatever may be the source whence the supply is obtained, it is certain that paper has now reached that commercial point which gold and silver reached long ago—that is, none need be wasted, for a market can be found for all the odds and ends.
The kind of papier mache which is now under notice is a paste-like mass formed of paper-pulp, and pressed in moulds to any desired form. Mr. Bielefeld, the leading manufacturer in this branch, has an establishment in the country where water power can be commanded, and where machines, moved by this power, bring the paper to the required state. The paper, be it of what kind it may, or of as many different kinds as it may, is moistened, and chopped, and minced, and routed about until it becomes a perfectly homogeneous pasty mass, or rather a mass having a consistency like that of dough or of putty. A trifling portion of other substances is, as we have said, introduced, but not sufficient to change the general character of the mass as a paper substance. Then comes the moulding or pressing. The material is too thick to be poured into a mould like plaster of Paris, or like molten metal; it is pressed into flattish nioulds, like clay, or composition, or gutta percha. A piece is cut off, about enough for the article to be made, it is pressed well into the mould, a counter-mould is placed upon it, and the force of a powerful press is brought to bear upon it, so as to drive the material into every minute crevice of the mould.
And here we come to the artistic department of such a manufacture as this. To command anything like a leading position in decorative art, there must be an untiring attention to new designs, new artistic ideas, new combinations of form, and colour, and material. Hence, in such an establishment as the ope now under notice, the moulds (made in metal from plaster models) are constantly increasing hi number and value; they accumulate not merely by hundredweights, but by tons; the designer, the carver of wood moulds, the engraver or sinker of metal moulds, are all adding to the store. It may be that a new design does not ' take ' sufficiently to pay the expense even of making the mould, but this may be counterbalanced by another which has a long run, and by degrees an extensive manufacturer becomes able to strike a balance, to establish an average which shall determine the probable returns to be expected from each new mould. Among our large establishments, where mechanical skill and fine art meet hand in hand, those which produce the most continuous run of new designs are those which generally rise to the uppermost pl&ce; and it is here that the artistic education of the artizan becomes a matter not merely of individual but of national importance.
The articles made of this material are chiefly architectural ornaments for interior use, such as ceiling ornaments, cornices, and so forth; but they are becoming every year more and more widely spread in their application. The theatres afford ample scope for the display of papier-mache ornaments; because the material is so tough that it will scarcely break, and so light that it requires much less fastening than the whiting and glue composition ornaments of former times. The counter-mould imparts to the ornament a hollowness at the back which economizes material and lessens the weight. The surface which the paper or papier presents is of a nondescript colour, arising from the mixture of various colours in the pulp, but it is fitted to receive any decorations in gold, oil-paint, size-colours, or varnish. Thus, an ornate frame for a looking-glass, made of papier mache, may be gilt with a degree of perfection nearly equal to that of a carved frame. But it is also capable of assuming a sculpturesque form. There were in the Great Exhibition, as many of our readers may remember, two statuettes after Michael Angelo, a copy of the noble horse's head from the Elgin marbles, and a bust of some celebrated man, all formed of papier mache, and deriving therefrom a toughness -which defies althost any power of breakage. The Corinthian capital in this material, set up on a pillar in the western nave, was an example of the more ordinary application for ornamental purposes.
There is another modern decorative material, still more recent than papier mache, but like it honoured with a French name: we mean carton pierre, which may be interpreted stone cardboard or pasteboard. This more nearly resembles plaster than papier mache ; it has a little paper in it, a great deal more plaster, and one or two other substances; the mixture thus produced is fashioned in moulds, and is applied to various ornamental purposes, but it is much heavier than papier mache. The beautiful internal decorations at the Lyceum Theatre are, we believe, made of carton pierre. Carton pierre is manufactured in England chiefly by Messrs. Jackson, but it appears to have been a French invention, and to be made in France and Germany more largely than in England. The carton pierre of the one country, and the stein pappe of the other, seem to be pretty nearly the same material: viz., a kind of liquid plaster combined with other materials, poured instead of pressed into moulds, and backed with a stratum of paper to give strength. Some of our French neighbours displayed beautiful specimens of friezes, vases, pilasters, and bas-relievos, in carton pierre, at the Great Exhibition; while the Prussian exhibitor, Gropius, displayed some dozens of neat little statuettes in the same material. The noble chandelier for sixty lights, exhibited by Messrs. Jackson, was perhaps the best specimen 6f carton-pierre work.
But to return to papier mache. That the pulpy or mache paper is susceptible of being made into beautifully even flat surfaces, is exemplified in the thick millboard used by bookbinders. Time was when all such millboard was essentially pasteboard, produced by pasting together a large number of sheets of paper to the required thickness; but now the pulp is used. In the first place there is a flat table or slab, with a raised edge all round to form a sort of shallow mould. Into this mould the pulp is laded, to a depth depending on the thickness of the millboard to be made, and this pulp, by drying between felted cloths, by drying in the open air, by gentle pressure in a press, and then by powerful pressure between rollers, assumes at length that hard, tough, strong, smooth, uniform consistency which distinguishes millboard, and which makes that material so invaluable to the bookbinder. Mr. Bielefeld is about to introduce an important modification of this process in the production of panels for artists. He has produced panels eight feet by six, made entirely of papier mache half an inch thick, mounted on a skeleton wood support or frame; and the surface of these panels appears as if it would be admirably fitted for paintings, more durable than canvas, and less likely to split than wood panel; indeed, splitting is out of the question in respect to such a material. The bulkheads and the cabin partitions of some of the fine steamers of Our day have been made of this material; it is tough and strong, and admits of any degree of ornamentation. The material is said to be a bad conductor both of sound and of heat, and has thus a twofold recommendation for room partitions. It seems to have been some such material as this which Mr. Haddan contributed to the Great Exhibition, in the form of panels for railway carriages, or rather for the whole broadside. It is alleged that such panels do not shrink, and do not require grooves for fixing: whether they will bear being 'run into' better than other railway panels, has probably not yet been tested.
Now we may turn our glance to that which, though not really papier
mache, is much more extensively known by that name than the material just described. The gorgeous contributions to the Hyde Park collection must be in the recollection of most persons. That paper, even with the adventitious aid of painting, and varnishing, and polishing, and gilding, and inlaying, should be wrought into such beautiful forms, might well excite the wonder of those to whom the manufacture was new. It was no small triumph of skill to produce, out of such a substance, the pearl inlaid pianoforte and music stool; the Victoria Eegia cot, designed by Bell, the sculptor, and decked with emblematic devices in gold and colours; the pearl-and-gold inlaid loo-table; the Lotus work-table, designed by Bell; the pearl-inlaid and gilded work-table, in a form suggested by Benvenuto Cellini's vase; and Bell's chess-board for his "Parian" chess-men—to say nothing of the chairs, tables, sofas, cabinets, secretaries, screens, vases, writing-desks, blotting-folios, workboxes, papetieres, inkstands, envelope-cases, card-boxes, flower-stands, teatrays, coffee-trays, wine-trays, standishes, crochet and netting-cases, and the numberless things which modern refinement has rendered familiar to us. The Furniture Courts in the Exhibition certainly glittered with these productions.
It would give a better idea of the manufacture (although somewhat lowering to its dignity) if these productions were called pasteboard, for pasteboard they certainly are, as the reader will presently see. It was towards the close of the last century that iron tea-trays began to be imitated or superseded by papier mache, and from these trays has gradually sprung up an important department of Birmingham industry, a department in which it is pretty generally admitted, we believe, that Birmingham excels all other places.
Although the real papier mache snaps up all kinds of paper indiscriminately, with most impartial fairness, the tea-tray paper (if we may so term it) is not so easily satisfied; it requires whole sound sheets to work upon, and these sheets must have a certain definite quality to fit them for their destined purpose.
Let us watch, in thought, the making of a papier-mache tea-tray. In the first place we see that the paper employed has a grayish colour, and looks like thick blotting-paper; and in the next we see that a mould or form is employed to give shape to the tray. Artists or designers are constantly at work producing new patterns; but we are here supposing that a tolerably simple tray is to be manufactured. A model of the tray is prepared, giving the exact form and shape; and from this model a mould is cast in iron, brass, or copper, the surface of the mould corresponding, of course, with the interior of the tray to be made. Women and girls, seated at tables, cut up the rough gray paper into pieces of the requisite size, and these pieces are handed to the pasters, who are also women—for it is worthy of remark that this veiy pretty art is one which is capable of being conducted in many of its branches by females. These pasters have beside them a plentiful supply of paste, made of flour and glue dissolved and boiled in water. The mould is greased to prevent the paper from adhering. The first sheet is pasted on both sides, and handed to another woman, who lays it on the mould, pressing and rubbing and adjusting it until it conforms to the shape. Another and another are similarly applied, and the mould, with its threefold garment, is put into a drying room, heated to a high temperature, where it is brought to a dried state. It is removed from the stove-room, filed to give it a tolerable smoothness of surface, and then clothed with three more layers of paper, in the same mode as before. Again is the stove-room employed, again the pasters ply their labour; a third time the stove-room, again the pasters; and so on, until thirty or forty thicknesses of paper have been applied, more or less, of course, ae cording to the substance intended to be produced. For some purposes as many as a hundred and twenty thicknesses are pasted together, involving forty stove dryings, and of course carrying the operations over a considerable number of days. A mass of pasteboard, six inches in thickness, which is occasionally produced for certain purposes, is perhaps one of the toughest and strongest materials we can imagine. If a cannon-ball, made of such pasteboard, were fired against a ship, would not the ball itself escape fracture?
The mould being covered with a sufficient layer, a knife is employed to dexterously loosen the paper at the edges; the greased state of the mould allows the paper to be removed from it. Then are all imperfections removed; the plane, the file, and the knife are applied to bring all 'ship-shape' and proper.
Next come the adornments. The pasteboard itself is not beautiful, so beauty is sought in other ways. Shell-lac varnish of very fine quality, coloured according to circumstances, is applied coat after coat, until a thickness is obtained sufficient for the purpose. The black polished surface of ordinary papier-mache trays is produced by black japan varnish, applied by women with a brush. But whether the varnish be black or coloured, it usually undergoes a rubbing and polishing to such a degree as to equal in brilliancy anything produced in the arts. It is said that the finest polishing instrument used to give the last finishing touch after all the ' rotten-stones' and ' emeries ' have done their best, is the soft palm of a woman's hand; and that those females employed in this art, who are gifted by nature with the much-coveted charm of a soft and delicate hand, find it commercially advantageous to preserve this softness and delicacy by a degree of gloved carefulness not usual in their rank in life. What will the poets say, when woman's hand is thus spoken of?
Then ensue the painting and the gilding, the bedizenment with gaudy show, or the adornment with graceful device, according as the goods are low or high priced, or the manufacturer a man of taste or no taste. A kind of stencilling is employed in cheap work, but in better specimens the real artist's pencil is brought into requisition'
The inlaid-work exhibited in the higher class of papier-mache goods is very curious. A sort of imitative tortoiseshell is thus produced. A thin transparent varnish is laid on the prepared tray, leaf silver is laid on the varnish, the two are dried, and varnish is laid thickly over the silver, and pumice-stone is skilfully applied to grind away so much of the varnish at particular spots as will give to the whole the mottled appearance of tortoiseshell. Every day's experience tells us that imitations themselves are imitated. Not only is varnished silver made to imitate tortoiseshell, but varnished vermilion is made to imitate varnished -silver. A method of decorating papier maehe with imitative gems has been recently introduced, in which some kind of foil or varnish is applied to the back of glass, and the glass employed as an inlaying. But perhaps the most striking ornamentation of this kind is pearl-inlaying, of which Messrs. Jennens and Bettridge's pianoforte was such a brilliant specimen. Here real mother-of-pearl is employed. A design is painted on the thin pieces of pearl with shellac varnish, a strong acid is applied, all the shell is eaten away except those parts protected by the varnish, and thus the pearl is brought into an ornamental form. The pearl is placed upon the wet japan of the papier mache, to which it adheres; and it is then coated with such a thick layer of varnish as to equal the thickness of the film 6f mother-of pearl. It is varnished, dried, and rubbed with, pumice over and over again, until a level surface is produced. It may be easily conceived how excellent the varnish and the mode of application must be to render such a thickness of applied varnish durable. The firm lately mentioned have made a complete suite of papier-mache drawing-room furniture for the Queen of Spain, decorated in this remarkable way.
But it is doubtful whether this excessive glitter of polish and pearl will have a permanent reputation. Something more sober will probably live longer. At any fate, when we find Mr. Owen Jones supplying Alhaiiibraie designs, and other artists pictorial designs, for tea-trays, we find a nearer approach to fine art. The papier-mache contributions to the Great Exhibition from the Messrs. Spiers of Oxford were remarkable, inasmuch as the two oithree hundred specimens contained views of about a hundred and fifty public buildings and interesting places in and near that city. There is in many of these specimens a mediaeval taste in ornament fitted to the mediaeval state of feeling in Oxford.
Source: Paper: Its Applications and Its Novelties ©1853

The Bull's Foot

I came across this game and while I've played something similar when I was a kid, or even with my children, I never knew the game to be called "The Bull's Foot". Below are two variations of the same game. Enjoy!

EVERYBODY knows this game, of which the idea consists in piling up hands, one above another, and then withdrawing successively each one as it becomes the under one, to place it on the top of the pile, saying, meantime, a number from one to nine. When the turn of nine comes, the pile is taken down, and the hands are hidden. It is then the turn of him who has said nine, to skilfully seize a hand, saying, "I hold my Bull's Foot." If he does not catch any, he owes a forfeit. If he succeeds in catching a hand, he says to the person to whom it belongs, "Of three things you must do one." A polite player will reply, "Yes, if I can." Others will add, "If I choose," "If it please me." Then the conqueror orders three things, of which one at least should be feasible. The order is executed, and the game begins again.
(Look for the choice of the forfeits at the end of the games.)
Source: The Book of Parlor Games ©1853

THE BULLS FOOT.
The ancient way of playing at this was very childish. The first player laid one hand upon the table, and her companions imitated her, laying their hands on hers, until a pile of nine were formed. The player whose hand was undermost, then withdrew it, and placed it on the top of the pile, saying, “one.” The next one did the same, counting “two,” and so on until it came to the turn of the ninth player, who attempted to seize one of the hastily-withdrawn hands, exclaiming, when she succeeded in accomplishing her object, “Nine ! The Bull's Foot is mine !” Now, the following addition has been made. The captor of the Bull's Foot wishes to dispose of it, so taking a key or any other small article, to represent it, she goes round the company, saying, “How much will you give me for my Bull's Foot?” Each person addressed has to instantly reply by stating a price, taking care, as she does so, to avoid any number capable of being divided by nine, thus, eighteen, thirty-six, forty-five, &c., are prohibited, as well as the number nine itself joined to another number, such as nineteen, twenty-nine, &c. The first person making a mistake, pays a forfeit, and becomes vendor of the Bull's Foot.
Source: Every Girls Book ©1860

Cabins

In 19th Century literature you'll find several books, poems, etc. written with a cabin as a major focus. Below is a list with links to various resources. Something to keep in mind that during the 19th century a cabin was a single room structure.

The most common source would be Life at the South or more commonly known as Uncle Tom's Cabin ©1852

The Log Cabin ©1844

The Hunter's Cabin ©1862

Poor Paddy's Cabin ©1854

The Cabin in the Clearing & Other Pioneer Poems ©1868

The Cabin on the Prairie ©1869

The Mud Cabin ©1853 So this one is not fiction but uses the term with regard to the politics or how the author saw the politics of Britain at this time.


Of course a cabin can be more nautical in nature so we have The Cabin Boy's Story ©1854

Chronicles of Capstan Cabin ©1878

The Two Cabin Boys©1881

The Captain's Cabin ©1877