The Statue of Liberty

The corner stone for the statue of liberty was laid July 5, 1884 on Bedloe's Island a military post. I believe most of us know that the statue was a gift from Franc, but were you aware that it was often referred to as Barholdi's statue? The statue was built in France then dismantled and shipped to New York. After several months, nearly a year and a half of reconstruction and touch ups the statue was dedicated on Oct. 28, 1886.

From "A Standard History of Freemasonry" ©1899 we have this account of that day:
We are assembled here to-day in the face of you all to erect a statue representing liberty enlightening the world, a work of art grand in its conception and birth. As Auguste Bartholdi sailed into the bay of New York, a few years ago. the sight of the great city before him was grand, but grander the thought which found lodgment in his mind, of placing at this entrance to the continent, something that would welcome to these shores all who love and seek liberty, and the thought at this time crude though grand, gave birth to this statue; grand in its figure—colossal in size; grand in its practical use—lighting the storm-tossed mari
ner to a safe harbor, and grand in its very name and the significance thereof—"Liberty Enlightening the World:" "liberty" of thought, of conscience, of action, that true liberty that is not license, but which finds its highest development in obedience to constituted authorities and law; "enlightening"— how necessary enlightenment to true liberty and the highest appreciation thereof; "world"—yes, to the whole world does our continent open its arms and bid it welcome to the blessings of liberty.

From the "History of the city of New York" ©1896 we also have this excerpt:
This statue, at present adorning the entrance to the inner harbor of New York, is much larger than was the Colossus of Rhodes ; the figure is one hundred and sixty-two feet in height, and from the top of the pedestal the head-dress reaches an elevation of three hundred and twentysix feet. The pedestal is a rectangular shaft placed in the parade of the star-shaped granite fortification known as Fort Wood. The weight of the entire structure is forty-eight thousand tons. The work of constructing the pedestal was done under the supervision of Gen. C. P. Stone, engineer-in-chief. The tiara upon the head, and the torch carried aloft as a beacon in the right hand, are illuminated by electricity.
Because it admirably embodies the spirit of the statue, we append the sonnet written by Emma Lazarus.
THE NEW COLOSSUS.
Not like the brazen giant of Greek tame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land,
Here at our sea-washed sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose Hame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. Front her beacon hand
Glows world-wide welcome ; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin-cities frame.
" Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp !" cries she
With silent lips. " Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free;
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, —
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost, tome.
1 lift my lamp beside the golden door! "

1884 Simple Interest Rates

From Houghtaling's Handbook of Useful Information ©1884

Simple Interest Bales.
FOUR FER CENT.—Multiply the principal by the number of days to run; separate the right hand figure from the product and divide by 9.
FIVE PER CENT.—Multiply by number of days and divide by 72,
SIX PER CENT.—Multiply by number of days; separate right hand figure, and divide Dy 6.
SEVEN AND THREE-TENTHS PER CENT.—Multiply by number of days, and double the amount so obtained. On $1(X> the interest is just two cents per day.
EIGHT PER CENT.—Multiply by number of days, and divide by 45.
NINE PER CENT.—Multiply by number of days; separate right hand figure, and divide by 4.
TEN PER CENT.—Multiply by number of days, and divide by 36.
TWELVE PER CENT.—Multiply by number of days; separate right hand figure, and divide by 3.

Etiquette & Manners

Etiquette & Manners is something often discussed on some of my of the writer loops I belong to as they pertain to the 19th century. Through Google books I've found a great source of books regarding such topics. Below is a list ordered by the year they were published. I've gathered this resource list over the past two years from Google Books. Hope it helps you in your search for proper behavior in the time period of your setting.

1832 Domestic Manners of the Americans
1835 Pencil Sketches
1837 The Young Lady's Friend
1839 Miss Leslie's Behavior Book
1842 Elegant Extracts
1843 Etiquette or, A Guide to The Usages of Society with a Glance at Bad Habits
1854 Etiquette Social Ethics and the Curtiousy of Society
1854 The Behavior Book
1860 The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manners
1860 The Hand Book of Etiquette
1866 Marine's Sensible Letter Writer
1868 Manners or Happy Homes
1870 Good Manners a Manual of Ediquette
1872 The Ladie's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness
1873 The Gentlemen's Book of Etiquette and Manual of Politeness
1884 Don't: A Manual of Mistakes and Improprieties More or Less
1888 Manners
1889 American Etiquette and Rules of Politeness
1889 Perfect Etiquette or How to Behave in social...
1892 Etiquette An Answer to the Riddle, When? Where? How?
1896 Social Etiquette or Manners and Customs of Polite Society
1897 Manners for Men
1897 Practical Letter Writing
1899 Twenty Letters in Letter Writing and Business

Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge

The bridge was built for the railroad and commerce between Canada and the U.S. A temporary bridge went up in 1848 then the completed bridge in 1855. However it wasn't limited to trains, a toll was established for horse & carriage and carriage passengers. In 1860 daily trains crossed the bridge. It was closed in 1897 and dismantled. An interesting tidbit was that the cables were found to not have deteriorate of the course of 50 years of use.
Houghtaling's Handbook of Useful Information ©1884 has this to say:
Railway Suspension Bridge, Niagara Falls.
Engineer. John A. Roebling. Height of towers on American side, 88 feet. Height of towers on Canada side, 78 feet. Length of bridge, 800 feet. Width of bridge, 24 feet. Height Lbove the river, 250 feet. Number of cables, 4. Diameter of cables, 10 inches, containing about 4,000 miles of wire. Ultimate capacity of the 4 cables, 12,400 tons. Total weight of bridge, 800 tons. Distance between railway track and carriage road below, 28 feet. Cost of construction, 500.000 dollars. Bridge first opened for railway traffic, March 8, 1855. Estimated depth of water in the channel beneath the bridge, 250 feet. Velocity of current,30 miles per hour. Velocity of Whirlpool Rapids,27 miles per hour Quantity of water passing through the gorge per minute, 1,500,000,000 cubic feet.

In Burke's descriptive guide for Niagara ©1850 we find even more tidbits about the bridge and it's original construction.

THE SUSPENSION BRIDGE?
This truly fairy-like work was commenced in February, 1849, under the suprintendence of Charles Ellet, Jr., Esq., of Philadelphia, an Engineer of good previous reputation, and who, in this work, added much to his fame.
The bridge was contracted to be built for the " Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge Company," on the Canada side, and " The Niagara Falls International Bridge Company," on the American side conjointly ; a bill for the purpose being passed by the Legislature of each country.
The manner in which the first line of connection was formed, was at once simple, yet ingenious. A kite was procured, to the tail of which was a string, and by flying this on the one side, and letting it out until it was over the other side, the gorge was spanned by the string, by which a cord was drawn Awful catastrophe.
across, and by means of this cord, a rope of sufficient strength to draw a cable, which latter, being well secured on both sides, was the means of transit for the first wire-cable of 36 strands, No. 10 wire, which was 1160 feet in length. Towers had now been erected on each bank, 800 feet apart, by which this wire-cable was secured, and on the 13th of March, just one month from the commencement, Mr. Ellet crossed in an iron basket, suspended from the cable. This conveyance was used constantly by the workmen in constructing the bridge. And even many persons paid for the novelty of a trip across in this frail track.
A foot-bridge, three feet in width, was soon constructed, and over this a great number of persons passed, each paying 25 cents to the contractor. A similar foot-bridge was now formed parallel to this, and the basket-cable in the middle.
A terrific scene occurred just about this time. Whilst the workmen were busy at the second footbridge, which was constructed about 250 feet from the American side, and about 150 from the British, a tornado from the s. w., struck it, turning it quite over. Six men were at work upon the flooring of the bridge at this awful moment, two of whom in a most unaccountable manner made their way to the shore upon fragments of boards. The unfinished structure was torn and wafted backwards and forwards like the broken web of a spider, and four helpless human beings, 200 feet from the shore, supported by two strands of No. 10 wire, were in constant expectation of a headlong fall and plunge into the rapids below ! Oh, who can fathom those men's thoughts just then ? But the tiny thread which held them to existence, proved strong enough to outlast the gale. On the first cessation of the tornado's force, a brave fellow-workman manned the iron basket, and with a ladder proceeded amid the pelting of the furious rain to save the sufferers. He reached the wreck ; he placed his ladder in communication with it, and the basket thus affording a means by which all were brought back safe to terra-firma, uninjured in person, but well nigh scared to death.
On the 26th of July following, Mr. Ellet drove a span of horses and a heavy carriage over and back, accompanied by his lady.
A disagreement, which had for some time existed between the directors and Mr. Ellet, now came to an open rupture, and the work was discontinued for some time.
The bridge, which we see, is not the structure Height of the Bridge.
originally intended. This being merely preparatory to the great structure, which was to have been suspended from stone towers, 70 feet high, and which would have been 10 feet higher than the present bridge, and wholly independent of it
The present bridge was at first economically formed of very slight materials, it not being expected to last longer than, until the great bridge was constructed, about a year and a half. It has, however, been strengthened materially, and is now capable of sustaining 250 tons, and is in use as a thoroughfare, unshaken by the greatest pressure.
The floor of the bridge is 230 feet above the river, and the depth of the river immediately under the bridge is 250 feet

Mason Dixon Line

We've all heard and possibly have used this phrase when referring to the North and South of the United States. However, we've come a long way from what or rather how this phrase came into use. It's from an old surveyors map, one produced by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon from 1763-1767. Below you can see a short explanation of it from the 1884 copy of Houghtaling's Handbook of Useful Information, also I have a link to The History of Mason & Dixon's Line ©1855 for even more information.


Mason and Dixon's Line.
A name given to the southern boundary line of the Free State of Pennsylvania which formerly separated it from the Slave States of Maryland and Virginia, It was run—with the exception of about twenty-two miles—by Charles Mason and Jei emiah Dixon, two English mathematicians and surveyors, between Nov. 15, 1763, and Dec. 26, 1767. During the excited debase in Congress, in 1820, on the question of excluding slavery from Missouri, the eccentric John Randolph of Roanoke made great use of this phrase, which was caught up and re-echoed by every newspaper in the land, and thus gained a celebrity which it still retains.

Fictitious Names of Cities

Continuing with the them of fictitious names of places in the 19th century, today's tidbit comes from Houghtalings Handbook of Useful Information ©1884.


BLUFF CITY.—A descriptive name popularly given to the city of Hannibal, Missouri. 
CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE.—Philadelphia is sometimes so called, this being the literal signification of the name. 
CITY OF CHURCHES.—A name popularly given to the city of Brooklyn, N.Y., from the unusually large number of churches which it contains. 
CITY OF ELMS.—A familiar denomination of New Haven,
Conn., many of the streets of which are thickly shaded with lofty elms.
CITY OF MAGNIFICENT DISTANCES.—A popular deidgnation given to the city of Washington, the capital of the United States, which is faid out on a very large scale, being intended to cover a space four miles and a half long, and two miles and a half broad, or eleven square miles. The entire site is traversed by two sets of streets from 70 to 100 feet wide, at right angles to one another, the whole again intersected obliquely by fifteen avenues from 130 to 160 feet wide.
CITY OF NOTIONS.—In the United States, a popular name for the city of Boston, Mass., the metropolis of Yankeedom.
CITY OF ROCKS.—A descriptive name popularly given, in the United States, to the city of Nashville, Tenn.
CITY OF SPINDLES.—A name popularly given to the city of Lowell, Mass., the largest cotton-manufacturing town in the United States.
CITY OF THE STRAITS.—A name popularly given to Detroit, which is situated on the west bank of the river or strait connecting Lake St. Clair with Lake Erie. Detroit is a French word, meaning " strait."
CRESCENT CITY.—A popular name for the city of New Orleans, the older portion of which is built around the convex side of a bend of the Mississippi River.
EMPIRE CITY.—The city of New York, the chief city of the western world, and the metropolis of the Empire State.
FALL CITY.—Louisville, Ky.;—popularly so called from the falls which, at this place, impede the navigation of the Oldo River.
FLOUR CITY.—A popular designation, in the United States, for the city of Rochester, NY a place remarkable for its extensive manufactories of flour. 
FLOWER CITY.—Springfield, Illinois, the capital of the State, which is distinguished for the beauty of its surroundings. 
FOREST CITY.—1. Cleveland, Ohio;—so called from the many ornamental trees with which the streets are bordered. 2. A name given to Portland, Maine, a city distinguished for its many elms and other beautiful shade-trees. 
GARDEN CITY.—A popular name for Chicago, a city which is remarkable for the number and beauty of its private gardens.
GARDEN OF THE WEST.—A name usually given to Kansas, but sometimes applied to Illinois and others of the Western States, which are all noted for their productiveness.
GATE CITY.—Keokuk, Iowa;—popularly so called. It is situated at the foot of the lower rapids of the Mississippi.
GOTHAM.—A popular name for the city of New York.
HUB OF THE UNI VERSE.—A burlesque and popular designation of Boston, Mass., orignating with the American humorist, O. W. Holmes.
IRON CITY—A name popularly given in the United States, to Pittsburg, Pa., a city distinguished for its numerous and immense iron manufactures.
MONUMENTAL CITY.—The city of Baltimore; — so called from the monuments which it contains.
MOUND CITY.—A name popularly given to St. Louis, on account of the numerous artificial mounds that occupied the site on which the city is built.
PURITAN CITY.—A name sometimes given to the city of Boston, Mass., in allusion to the character of its founders and early inhabitants.
QUAKER CITY.—A popular name of Philadelphia, which was planned and settled by William Penn.
QUEEN CITY.—A popular name of Cincinnati;—so called when it was the undisputed commercial metropolis of the West.
QUEEN CITY OF THE LAKES.—A name sometimes given to the city of Buffalo, N. V., from its position and importance.
RAILROAD CITY,—Indianapolis, the capital of the State of Indiana, is sometimes called: by this name, as being the terminus of various railroads.
SMOKY CITY.—A name sometimes given to Pittsburg, an important manufacturing city of Pennsylvania.

Fictitious Names of States

Today's tidbit again comes from the 1884 edition of Houghtaling's Handbook, available at Google books. I thought this list would be helpful when writing dialogue for some of our characters. Someone who has grown up in an area might use some of these terms rather than use the actual name of a state. Enjoy!
BADGER STATE.—A name popularly given to the State of Wisconsin.
BAY STATE.—A popular name of Massachusetts, which, previous to the adoption of the Federal Constitution, was called the Colony of Massachusetts Bay,
BAYOU STATE.—Aname sometimes given to the State of Mississippi, which abounds in bayous, or creeks.
BEAR STATE.—A name by which the State of Arkansas is sometimes designated, on account of the number of Bears that formerly infested Its forests.
CREOLE STATE.—A name sometimes given to the State of Louisiana, in which the decendants of die original French and Spanish settlers constitute a large proportion of the population.
DIAMOND STATE.—A name oometlmes given to the State of Delaware, from its small size and great worth, or supposed Importance.
EMPIRE STATE.—A popular name of the State of New York the most populous and the wealthiest State in the Union.
EXCELSIOR STATE.—The State of New York, sometimes so called from the motto "Excelsior" upon Its coat of arms.
FREESTONE STATE.—The State of Connecticut;—sometimes so called from the quarries of freestone which it contains.
GRANITE STATE.—A popular name for the State of New Hampshire, the mountanlous portions of which are largely composed of granite.
GREEN-MOUNTAIN STATE.—A popular name for the State of Vermont, the Green Mountains being the principal mountain range in the State.
HAWKEYE STATE.—The State of Iowa;—said to be so named after an Indian chief, who was once a terror toVoyageurs to its borders.
HOOSIER STATE.—The State of Indiana, the inhabitants of which are often called Hoosiers. This word is a corruption of Husher, formerly a common term for a bully, throughout the West.
KEYSTONE STATE.—The State of Pennsylvania ;—so called from its having been the central State of the Union at the time of the formation of the Constitution. If the names of the thirteen original States are arranged in the form of an arch, Pennsylvania will occupy the place of the keystone.
LAKE STATE—A name popularly given to the State of Michigan, which borders upon the four lakes, Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie.
LONE-STAR STATE.—The State of Texas;—so called from the device on its coat of arms.
LUMBER STATE.—A popular designation for the State of Maine, the inhibltants of which are largely engaged in the business of cutting and rafting lumber, or of converting it into boards, shingles, scantlings, and the like.
MOTHER OF PRESIDENTS.—A name frequently given. in the United States to the State of Virginia, which has furnished six presidents to the Union.
MOTHER OF STATES.—A name sometimes given to Virginia, the first-settled of the thirteen States which united in the declaration of independence.
NUTMEG STATE.—A popular name, in America, for the State of Connecticut, the inhabitants of which have such a reputation for shrewdness, that they have been jocosely accused of palming off wooden nutmegs on unsuspecting purchasers, instead of the genuine article.
OLD COLONY.—A name popularly given to that portion of Massachusetts included within the original limits of the Plymouth colony, which was formed at an earlier date than the colony of Massachusetts Bay.
OLD DOMINION.—A popular name for the State of Virginia.
OLD NORTH STATE.—A popular designation of the State of North Carolina.
PALMETTO STATE.—The State of South Carolina;—so called from the arms of the State, which contain a palmetto.
PENINSULAR STATE.—The State of Florida;—so called from its shape.
PDXE-TREE STATE.—A popular name of the State of Maine, the central and nothern portions of which are covered with extensive pine forests
PRAIRIE STATE.—A liame given to Illinois in allusion to the wide-spread and beautiful prairies, which foron a striking feature of the scenery of the State.
TURPENTINE STATE.—A popular name for the State of North Carolina, which produces and exports Immense quantities of turpentine.

New Yorke & The Brooklyn Bridge

There are events and items in life that you take for granted. One of those items for me was made clear from the movie Kate & Leopold when referencing the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. With that in mind today's excerpt comes from Houghtaling's Handbook ©1884.


First talked of by Colonel Julius W. Adams about 1855. Act of incorporatlonpassed April, 1866. Survey begun by John A. Roebling, 1869. Construction begun January 2,1870. First rope thrown across the river August 14, 1876. Master Mechanic Farrington crossed in a boatswain's chair August 25, 1876. Depth of the New York foundation below high water mark, 78 feet 6 inches. Depth of the Brooklyn foundation below high water mark, 45 feet. The New York tower contains 46,945 cubic yards of masonry; the Brooklyn tower, 88,214. Weight of the Brooklyn tower, about 98,079 tons. Weight of the New York tower, about a third more. Size of the towers at high water line, 140x59 feet; at roof course, 186x58 feet. Height of the towers above high water mark, 278 feet 6 inches. Height of roadway in the clear in the middle of the East River, 185 feet. Grade of the roadway, 8 feet 8 Inches to 100 feet. Width of the promenade in the centre of bridge, 16 feet 7 inches. Width for railway on one side of the promenade, 12 feet 10 inches. Width of carriage way, on the other side of the promenade, 18 feet 9 inches. Width of bridge 85 feet. Length of main span, 1,595 feet 6 inches. Length of each land span, 930 feet. Length of the Brooklyn approach, 971 feet. Length of the New York approach, 1,560 feet. Length of each of the four great cables, 8,578 feet 6 inches; diameter, 15% inches: number of steel galvanized wires in each cable, 5,484; weight of each cable, about 800 tons. Ulti.nate strength of each cable, 15,000 tons. Weight of steel in the suspended superstructure, 10,000 tons. Total cost, 15,000,000 dollars. Opened for traffic in 1888.

Louisville Slugger

We've all heard about the bat but were you aware that it was created in the 19th century? John A. "Bud" Hillerich was 17 when legend has it, that he watched a game in Louisville. Pete Browning was in a hitting slump and broke his bat. "Bud" invited Browning to his father's woodworking shop where he crafted a new bat per Browning's instructions. Browning got three hits the next day with this new bat. The year was 1884. Baseball was 8 years old as a professional sport.

Today you can visit the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in downtown Louisville.

Winners of the League Base-Ball Championship

From Houghtaling's Handbook ©1887

Winners of the League Base-Ball Championship
The following were the winners of the championship of the National Base-Ball League for the years named below:
1886 - Chicago Club. . . Won 90 games, and lost 34 games
1885 - Chicago Club . . . Won 87 games and lost 25 games
1884 - Providence Club . . . Won 84 games and lost 28 games
1883 - Boston Club . . . Won 63 games and lost 35 games
1882 - Chicago Club . . . Won 55 games and lost 29 games
1881 - Chicago Club . . . Won 56 games and lost 28 games
1880 - Chicago Club . . . Won 67 games and lost 17 games
1879 - Providence Club . . . Won 59 games and lost 25 games
1878 - Boston Club . . . Won 41 games and lost 19 games
1877 - Boston Club . . . Won 31 games and lost 17 games
1876 - Chicago Club . . . Won 52 games and lost 14 games
(end quote)

1876 was the first year of the National League of Professional Baseball. It organized with 8 teams. The Boston Red Stockings (also called the Boston Red Caps), Chicago White Stockings, Cincinnati Red Legs (also called the Cincinnati Red Stockings), Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Mutuals (also called the New York Mutuals) & St. Louis Browns (also called the St. Louis Brown Stockings). There were 70 games for the season starting April 22nd and ending Oct. 21st.

For more information about this first year of professional baseball check out The Baseball Almanac

Most Northern Point Reached by Arctic Explorers

From Houghtalings Handbook of Useful Information ©1887

The following table shows the furthest points of north latitude reached by Arctic explorers, up to and including the Greely expedition:
Year..........Explorer.........................................No. Latitude
1607 .........Hudson..........................................80d 23m 00s
1773 .........Phipps (Lord Musgrove) .................80d 48m 00s
1806 .........Scoresby ........................................81d 12m 42s
1827 .........Parry .............................................82d 45m 30s
1874 .........Meyer (on land) .............................82d 09m 00s
1875 .........Markham (Nare's expedition) ..........83d 20m 26s
1876 .........Payer .............................................83d 07m 00s
1884 .........Lockwood (Greely's party) ..............83d 24m 00s

The distance from the farthest point of polar discovery to the pole itself is 6 deg. 46 min., or, in round numbers, 460 miles. It is thirty miles less than from Chicago to Omaha, by the lines of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railway, over which the traveler rides in twenty hours. But this polar radius, though only 460 miles in extent, is covered by ice gorges and precipices of incredible difficulty; and frost is so severe that no instrument of human invention can measure its intensity, and it blisters the skin like extreme heat.

The greatest progress that has ever been made across these wilderness of storm, of fury and desolation, was at the rate of five or six miles in a day, the explorers often necessarily resting as many days as they had before travelled miles in a single day, debarred by the obstacles that they encountered.

Yeast and Other Rising Agents

Below are some recipes for yeast and other rising agents from Mrs Owens' cookbook and useful household hints by Frances Emugene Owens ©1884

BAKING POWDER.
6 ounces of starch.
6 ounces of bi-carbonate of soda.
4 ounces of tartaric acid.
Powder and sift several times, and you will have a cheaper article than you can buy, and will have it pure. Keep it from the air. The main thing in preparing one's own baking powder is to sift it times enough. The above is a reliable formula, and may be safely used.
Since the alarming adulterations of almost everything used in cooking, a chemist advises the use of tartaric acid in place of cream of tartar. It costs about twice as much, but half the quantity suffices, and there is no difficulty in procuring this pure.

SUBSTITUTING ONE "RISING" FOR ANOTHER.
In recipes calling for 1/2 teaspoon soda and 1 of cream of tartar, baking powder may be used instead, using about 2 teaspoons. If baking powder is called for, soda and cream of tartar may be used instead, using about £ less of both together, than the amount of baking powder in the recipe. For instance, if 3 teaspoons of baking powder is called for, you can use 2/3 teaspoon soda and twice as much cream of tartar, which together will make 2 teaspoons, which is 1/3 less than 3 teaspoons baking powder. If sour milk is substituted for sweet, soda must be substituted for baking powder, and in those cases the cream of tartar must not be used at all, the sour milk furnishing the acid. One teaspoon soda to a pint of sour milk is about right. If sweet milk or water is substituted for sour milk, and the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon soda, baking powder may be used, and it would be safe to put in 2 heaping teaspoons or even 3. Sweet milk and water may be used interchangeably. Many good cooks prefer water to milk for their nicest cake. So never discard a recipe that calls for milk because you have none, as water will answer very well. Recipes calling for whites of eggs only, require very little, if any, baking powder, and recipes giving a large number of eggs, generally use none, as. the whites are beaten very light and added last, and lighten the batter sufficiently.

HOP YEAST.
Put 1 cup hops in 3 quarts cold water. Boil 15 minutes, strain, set back on stove and add 5 large potatoes, peeled and grated, 1/2 cup salt, same of sugar. Stir well, let boil up, take off, cool and add a cup of yeast. Beat thoroughly. Set by the stove until it is light. If preferred, the potatoes may be boiled in the hop water, and then mashed, adding salt, sugar, and yeast, as above.

POTATO YEAST.
Mrs. Carrie S. Carr, New Lisbon, Wis.
Take 3 large potatoes, peel and grate as rapidly as possible, so they will not turn dark. Pour on 1 quart boiling water and cook 1/2 hour. Add 1/2 cup sugar, same of salt, shortly before it is done. When sufficiently cool, put in any good yeast to raise it; stir well together. The next day it will be as light as a foam. A tea-cup of this yeast will be enough to raise 4 or 5 loaves of bread. Keep in a cool place, and in summer renew every fortnight.

Language of Flowers Part 3

To continue with this topic I'm including a couple of links. These links and books greatly expand the list I've given you the past two days from Houghtaling's Handbook. Below are five books representing the tip of the iceberg in Google books relating to this topic.

In 1832 Louise Cortambert wrote "The Language of Flowers" Google books full copy of the text

In 1848 Frederic Shoberl wrote "The LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS WITH ILLUSTRATIVE POETRY; TO WHICH ARE NOW ADDED THE CALENDAR OF FLOWERS AND THE DIAL OF FLOWERS. EIGHTH AMERICAN, FROM THE TENTH LONDON EDITION. REVISED BY THE EDITOR OF " FORGET ME NOT. ..." Google books has a complete copy of this book online. This book gives more than a list of what a flower means but also gives some of the background information as to why the flower means thus and so.

In 1863 Henrietta Dumont published a book "The Language of Flowers: The floral offering: a token of affection and esteem; comprising the Language and Poetry of Flowers." Google books has a full copy of this text.

In 1874 Miss Ildrewe composed "The Language of Flowers" and in her book she also expands with the use of flowers in poetry. Google books link The author also breaks down the flowers in order of seasons.

In 1884 Kate Greenaway illustrated and Edmund Evans printed in color "Language of Flowers" It's a quite expansive list encompassing 60 pages then breaks from the listing to poetry. Again you can find a complete copy of this book at Google Books This book is no longer free.

Web sites with lists:
Victorian Bazaar

Language of Flowers

Enjoy!

Christmas Cookies

It's that time of year again. And I've been trying to figure out what Christmas cookies I'm going to make this year. This made me wonder what kinds of cookie recipes were available in the 19th century. Note the oldest recipe I found of a "Christmas Cookie" was 1845. Another tidbit is that in a fictional story I found cookie spelled cookey. Another fictional story ©1866 mentioned the character looking up from her Christmas Cookies. I found a reference to an article written in 1994 saying that Christmas cookies made there way to America with the Dutch in the 1600's. This may be the case, I just haven't found any reference to that authentic that information.

Below you will find some recipes of various Christmas cookies.

Another source: The New England economical housekeeper, and family receipt book By Esther Allen Howland ©1845
Christmas Cookies, No. 3.
* Take one pound and a half of flour, three quarters of a pound of sugar, half a pound of butter, half a cup of milk, and two spoonfuls of caraway seeds; melt the butter before you put it in. It is rather difficult to knead, but it can be done. Roll it out and cut it in hearts and diamonds, and bake it on buttered tins.

Another source: Mrs. Owens' cook book and useful household hints: ©1884
CHRISTMAS COOKIES.
Mrs. W. F. Van Bergen, Oak Park, Illinois.

Four eggs and I pound sugar stirred together for one hour. Add \ teaspoon pulverized hartshorn; then enough flour to make a stiff dough. Roll out and cut. Keep in a warm room all night. Then bake in a slow oven. Sprinkle the pans with anise seed before putting cookies in. Make as stiff as you can roll out. There is no butter used in them.

Another set of recipes comes from: The new practical housekeeping: A compilation of new, choice and carefully tested recipes. ©1890
North German Christmas Cookies.—Six pounds flour, two each of'sugar, butter, and molasses, one teaspoon saleratus dissolved in rose water, arrack, or spirits, a few cloves and cinnamon pounded together, one pound raisins pounded in a mortar, half pound citron chopped fine. Warm molasses, sugar and butter slightly, and gradually stir in the flour; knead well and roll out, and cut in various ' c«,k shapes. One-half the dough may be flavored with anise or cardamon, omitting the raisins. This recipe will make a large quantity, and they are pretty to hang upon the tree during Christmas week, and to pass in baskets to holiday callers. This is the bona fide Christmas cookie.

Another Source: The Home-maker: an illustrated monthly magazine ..., Volume 3 ©1890

These cookies should be mixed two or three weeks before Christmas.
Boil five pounds molasses, one pound butter, and one-half pound lard together (the molasses is weighed,instead of measured, because, in winter, a measure is not exact). Boil 10 minutes.

When cold, dissolve five cents' worth of cooking potash in a little warm water, and add to the syrup. Add flour to make a very stiff dough. Add
1 Ib. of citron, chopped fine.
1 Ib. blanched almonds, ditto.
1 Ib. sugared or dried lemon peel.
3 teaspoonfuls cinnamon.
3 teaspoonfuls cloves.
3 teaspoonfuls cardamun seed.

Another source: The Ann Arbor cookbook © 1899
CHRISTMAS COOKIES.

One gal. molasses, y2 pt. sour milk or cream, 2 cups lard, 2 lbs. brown sugar, 5 tablespoons Wyandotte soda, 3 tablespoons of cinnamon, 2 grated nutmegs; add citron, nuts, lemon and orange peel. Stir in flour until no more can be added, and let it stand over night. Mrs. Schlotterbeck.

CHRISTMAS FRUIT COOKIES.
(Lebkuchen)

One qt. sour cream, 1 qt. molasses, 2 lbs. brown sugar, 1 lb. each of orange, lemon and citron (sliced quite fine), cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg to suit taste, a handful of salt, 3 teaspoons of Wyandotte soda dissolved in cream, 1 pt. hickory nut meats and 2 lbs. seeded raisins. Mix thoroughly, add flour to make a stiff dough; let stand over night. Miss I. J. Braun.

Cords of Wood

How much wood would a family need to cut to prepare for winter. In "The New England Farmer" ©1855 it states: "Ten cords of wood will suffice for any man to keep two fires the year round provided he has tight rooms and good stoves."

And for those of you who don't know how much a cord of wood is, it is 128 cubic feet. Or 4 feet high by 4 feet wide and 8 feet long.

In an 1884 report a Lt. with a wife and two children required 5 cords of wood to heat his house during the winter. in Dakota. This was in an Annual Report to the Secretary by the United States War Dept.

I believe different factors come in when determining how much wood a family would need for winter. One is location, what are the temps during the winter months. Two, is the hardiness of the people. The difference between the New England Farmer and the Lt. serving in the Dakota region is significant. To the defense of the Lt. I believe many parts of Dakota are much colder than New England for a longer period of time. Again, it all depends on where your characters or family lived at the time.

The American Riviera

In 1884 Henry M. Flagler, sometimes known as a captain of industry, came to St. Augustine, Florida. It was during that visit when he purchased some marsh land within the city gates of St. Augustine, filled it up and built Ponce de Leon Hotel. A couple years later he purchased a small stretch of track from Jacksonville to St. Augustine. This small track would eventually stretch all the way down to Key West.

Flagler purchased land to build his railroad but to also build hotels. "In fact, whenever a town was platted, arrangements were contemporaneously made to supply a church and a school--and he was not particular as to the denomination of the religion to be supplied." Flagler did not finish this work by the end of the 19th century but he wasn't too farway from it's completion. He reached Miami by the end of the century and completed on to Key West in 1912.

There is much to read about Flagler and the growth of Florida. Here's how Nevin O. Winter in his book "Florida" © 1918, began his chapter on the American Riviera.

"The east coast of Florida has already developed into one of the famous playgrounds of the world. Because of the influence of the Gulf Stream, it enjoys unusual natural advantages, and there is a splendid equability of temperature. There is a general absence of foggy and rainy days, a preponderance of sunshine, and an opportunity for sea bathing every day in the year without joining the " polar club." Although the summers are long, the extreme heat is less than would naturally be expected, and the nights are almost invariably pleasant."

Waffles

Don't you just love when your traveling and the hotel has a breakfast bar with an waffle iron? Paul and I usually will have one when those moments occur. Today's post will center around the various recipes for making waffles. In a few days I'll share some information on waffle irons.

The first tidbit starts with a distinction between muffins and waffles then follows with several recipes. I skipped the Muffin Recipes for this tidbit and included the waffle recipes.


MUFFINS are baked in rings on a griddle, or in gem pans, over a quick fire. Waffles are baked in waffle irons, which inclose the batter and imprint both sides of the cake as it rises in the process of baking. Both muffins and waffles form a medium between bread and biscuits on the one side and griddle-cakes on the other. Muffinrings were formerly about four inches in diameter, but now, with better taste, they are used much smaller. The approved waffle-irons of to-day are circular, baking four waffles at once, and suspended on a pivot that permits them to be turned with a touch of the fork. Both muffins and waffles are suitable for tea, and with stewed chicken and such delicacies they are really delicious. They should always be served hot and with the best of butter. Waffles and catfish are a famous dish at some eating-houses.
...
Raised Waffles.—One quart of warm milk, one tablespoonful of butter, three eggs, one gill of yeast, one tablespoonful of salt, and flour to make a stiff batter. Set to rise, and bake in waffle-irons, which must be well heated before used.
Quick Waffles.—One quart flour, two teaspoonfuls Durkee's baking-powder, one teaspoonful salt; mix dry; then stir in one tablespoonful melted butter, two well-beaten eggs, and enough cold, sweet milk for a batter thin enough to pour; bake at once in waffle-irons.
Rice Waffles.—Mix a teacupful and a half of boiling rice with a pint of milk, rubbing it smooth over the fire. Take from the fire and adc! a pint of cold milk and a teaspoonful of salt. Stir in four well-beaten eggs with enough flour to make a thin batter, and bake as above. Waffles should always be served hot. Powdered sugar with a flavor of powdered cinnamon makes a pleasing dressing for them.
Source: The Latest and Best Cook Book ©1884


Mrs. S. W. S., of Montpelier, O., writes: "Will you kindly give me, through the medium of Table Talk, some good recipes for waffles?"
Answer.
WAFFLES.
Dissolve one tablespoonful of butter in one pint of warm milk, add to it two beaten eggs and one-half of a yeast cake, dissolved in a little warm water. Stir in one-half a teaspoonful of salt and sufficient flour to make a drop batter. Heat the waffle iron, brush both parts of it with melted butter or suet, pour in enough batter to three parts fill it; close and cook until the under side is brown, then turn and brown on the other side. Send to the table as fast as baked, and serve with them syrup, honey or powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Waffles (2).
Cream three-quarters of a cupful of butter with two cupfuls of sugar, add three wellbeaten eggs, scant half of a teaspoonful of salt, half the grated rind of a lemon, a slight grating of nutmeg, one and one-half cupfuls of milk and sufficient flour to make a drop batter. Stir in one teaspoonful of baking powder, and cook at once in a hot iron.
GERMAN WAFFLES.
Beat to a froth five eggs, add one pint of milk, one cupful of melted butter, one-half of a teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoon fuls of sugar, three cupfuls of flour and one yeast cake dissolved in a little lukewarm water. Let stand in a warm place until light—about three hours—and bake.
Source: Table Talk ©1897

Waffles.—Take a tea-cupful of fresh butter, put it into a large bowl, and beat it to croam. Add three cupfuls of sugar, a pinch of salt, half a nutmeg grated, a few drops of essence of lemon, three well-beaten eggs, half a teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in a tea-spoonful of milk, and as much flour as will make a thick batter. Beat the mixture thoroughly. Heat the waffle-iron, rub it over with butter, and put into it one or two large spoonfuls of the mixture. Be careful to leave room for rising; •close it, and put it over hot coals. Let it remain for six or eight minutes, then turn it over, and leave it a few minutes longer: if on •opening it the cake iB nicely browned, and ■will leave the iron easily, it is done enough. Probable cost, Is. 6d. for this quantity.
Waffles (another way).—Dissolve half an ounce of butter in a pint of milk; beat two eggs in a bowl, and add to them gradually the "buttered milk and as much flour as will make a stiff batter. Stir in a wine-glassful of fresh yeast and a little salt. Let the batter rise till light. Heat the waffle-irons, and bake the waffles in the usual way. Butter them, and if liked serve with sugar and powdered cinnamon.
Waffles (another way).—Take a quart of milk, five eggs, a pound and a quarter of flour, half a pound of butter, and a spoonful of yeast. When the waffles are baked, sift pounded sugar and powdered cassia over them.
Waffles (a Danish recipe). — Take one pound of fresh butter, and beat it till it creams. Add the yolks of six eggs, a quarter of a pound of sugar, one pound of flour, a quart of warm milk, and lastly the whites of the eggs beaten to snow. Butter the waffle-iron each time before filling it, and heat it before using. When baked strew sifted sugar over the waffles. This quantity will make twenty-four waffles.
Waffles (a German recipe). — Mix one pound and a half of flour with the same quantity of clarified butter, add twelvo eggs one by one, then a little grated nutmeg, a few grains of salt, two handfuls of pounded almonds with a few bitter ones among them, four or five spoonfuls of yeast, nearly a pint of milk, and lastly the whites of the eggs beaten to snow. Mix and beat well together, then leave the mixture for two hours before proceeding further. Have ready the waffle-iron, heat it in the fire, and rub it over with butter; pour into it a ladleful of the batter, and bake of a fine yellow. The iron must be buttered each time before any batter is poured in. Strew pounded sugar and cinnamon over the waffles after they are done.
Waffles (another German recipe). — Mix together three-quarters of a pound of flour, seven eggs, a pint of milk, three good spoonfuls of yeast, a gill of brandy, and half a pound of butter beaten to cream. Beat the butter and •ggs first together, then add the flour, and, when smooth, the other ingredients; let this stand in a warm place for an hour to rise. Butter the waffle-iron before you pour in the
batter, and bake of a light yellow colour. Strew with pounded cinnamon and sugar before serving.
Waffles made with Yeast.—Boat three
fresh eggs to a light froth; mix with them a pint of lukewarm milk and a large table-spoonful of fresh yeast, and add half a nutmeg grated, a pinch of salt, an ounce of butter, and as much flour as will make a light batter. Put this in a warm place, and let it rise for two or three hours. Bake the cake in waffle-irons in the usual way {see Waffles).
Waffles made without Yeast or Soda.—Take a pint and a quarter of flour, and as much additional flour as will go into a wine-glass; mix with it half a tea-spoonful of salt. Dissolve two ounces of butter in a pint of hot milk, and let the milk cool. Beat the yolks of three eggs in a bowl, and add to them the milk and the flour alternately. Whisk the whites of the eggs separately to a firm froth, and stir them lightly into the batter. Bake the waffles immediately after the whites are put in, and do not beat the batter after the whites are added.
Waffles, Rice.—Boil half a pint of rice till soft; put it into a bowl, and add very gradually three-quarters of a pound of flour, half a tea-spoonful of salt, a pint and a quarter of milk, and the well-beaten yolks of two eggs. Beat the mixture thoroughly. Whisk the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, add them to the batter, and beat it again. Take a small quantity of this mixture in a cup, and pour it backwards and forwards from a good height for a few minutes; then bake immediately.
Waffles, Rice (a German recipe).—Wash half a pound of rice in warm wator, drain it, and boil in milk till it swells and becomes a thick mass. Take the rice off tho fire then, and kcop stirring it, adding by degrees one pound of flour, five eggs beaten up, two spoonfuls of yeast, half a pound of melted butter, a little salt, and a cupful of warm milk. Set it in a warm place to rise, and bake quickly in the usual way.
Source: Cassel's Dictionary of Cookery ©1883

Peanut Recipes

Peanuts seemed to come into their own during the 19th Century. Most folks used them for cookies and candy. The fourth tidbit is an article with a lot of different uses for the peanut. Enjoy! And start thinking what your characters would do with all their peanuts.

Peanut Cookies.
Cream one tablespoonful butter; add two tablespoons sugar, one egg, two tablespoons milk; mix with onehalf cupful flour, one-half teaspoon baking powder, one salt spoon salt, one-half cup chopped peanuts and onehalf teaspoon lacto-lemon. Drop by the spoonful onto nnbuttered tins; garnish with whole peanuts and bake about twelve minutes. Mrs. C. F. Crosby.
Source: Cook Book of Tried Recipes ©1897

Peanut Brittle.
Boil three cups of brown sugar, one cup of New Orleans molasses, half a teaspoonful of cream-of-tartar, and one cup of water to the hard-ball stage. (To test, plunge a skewer in cold water, then into the boiling mixture to the depths of about two inches, then back into the water; let it remain while ten is counted, then push off the candy with the forefinger and thumb; if it can be worked while held under water to a hard, solid ball, it is cooked enough.) Now add one pint of peanuts, and boil to the hard crack stage. Test as before, but, when the candy is taken from the skewer, drop it into cold water a second, then press the teeth on it, and if it leaves the teeth clean it is boiled enough; add one-fourth a pound of butter and let just boil in; remove from the fire, add two level teaspoonfuls of bicarbonate of soda dissolved in a little water and stir vigorously. When the mixture begins to rise, pour out upon a marble or platter and spread thin. When cold break or cut in pieces.
Source: The Boston Cooking-School Magazine of Culinary Science ©1899

PEANUT CANDY.
Two small bags of peanuts—say, ten cents' worth—fresh roasted. Shell and chop fine in wooden bowl. Measure-, then take exactly the same amount of granulated sugar. Melt without water, and as soon as a liquid and without cooking, turn in the nuts; stir a moment, then put out on a dripping-wet breadboard, and roll with wet pin very thin.
Mrs. E. B. K. sends us the following recipe for peanut candy, which is simply made, very satisfactory, and for which we wish to thank her:
Source: Table Talk ©1897

THE PEANUT AS AN ARTICLE OF FOOD.
WE take from the Philadelphia Evening Call a communication by May Forney on the peanut as an article of food and the various ways in which it may be prepared for the table. Some of our housekeeping readers will no doubt give one or more of the following recipes a trial:
The majority of people know very little about the peanut any more than that it is a palatable, though rather indigestible, article of food, and that a savory odor greets one pleasantly while passing by the corner peanut-roaster.
But the peanut has a mission far more important than to be eaten simply in its roasted state, .ind it performs it so well that it is raised extensively in all of the warm regions of the globe, and its cultivation grows constantly in proportion as the nut is found to be more and more useful. The peanut is presumably of American origin, and although the nuts raised on our soil are larger in size and finer in flavor than those grown in other countries, it is everywhere else more appreciated, its nutritious qualities more recognized and put to practical uses. In New Spain and some parts of Africa the peanut forms a staple article of food. It enters largely into the composition of some of the choicest European chocolates, and an oil is expressed from it said to be quite the equal of olive or almond oil for either h nip or table use.
Before war times, old "mammies," who were the presiding geniuses of plantation kitchens, made any number of niceties out of peanuts, only one of which ever to any extent became known to us. There was a time—not so very long ago, either— when every Philadelphia child was familiar with the peanut or groundnut cakes, as they were called. They were sold on the corners of streets by .old. colored: women wearing gorgeous-hued
I Madras turbans and spotless aprons. They w. on low stools and had their tempting wares neatly arranged on linen-covered trays. Likely the tmrbaned heads are laid low by this time, for we rarely see them and never see the groundnut cakes. They were very good, too, and fortunately tbc recipe for making them has been preserved. It was a savant who said that old recollections were revived more vividly through the taste than any other of the senses. For the benefit, then, of that who may care to recall the days when they bought groundnut cakes from their picturesque vendors, I append the original recipe for
Philadtlphia Groundnut Cakts.—Boil two pounds of light-brown sugar in a preserving-kettle, with just enough water to thoroughly wet it, and when this sirup begins to boil throw in the white of an egg to clear it. Let it boil until a few drops of the sirup put into cold water become brittle; it Lthen sufficiently done, and must be taken from the fire and strained. Have ready a quarter of a peck of groundnuts, roasted in the shell and then shelled and hulled. Mix the nnts thoroughly through the sirup while it is yet hot. Dampen with i brush a pasteboard or marble slab, free from all grease, and drop the hot mixture upon it in little lumps, which must be flattened with a spoon iato thin cakes the size of a tumbler-top. When coW take them off of the board with a knife.
The following recipes are no less good md somewhat more practical, and show that the peanut can be made into dishes that can be served with every course, from soup to dessert:
Peanut Soup.—Shell and hull carefully three pounds of roasted nuts; pound them to a smooth paste in a mortar. Put the paste into a saucepan, set it over a fire, and stir into it slowly two qua of boiling water; season well with salt and caj
pepper, and let it simmer gently until it thickens, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Serve very hot.
Peanut >'».'/' '"''•'' Oyttert.—Prepare three pounds of nuts aa in the preceding recipe; mix with the paste two tableepoonfuls of dour, smoothly blended with half a pint of cold water. Place the mixture in a saucepan over the tire, stir into it gradually a pint and a half of boiling water, or half milk and half water; add a email red pepper and a good pinch of salt, and boil fur fifteen minutes; then pat in one pint of fine oysters. Let the soup boil up on«e, taking care it does not burn, which it will do readily, and serve immediately.
thicken Stuffed with Peanuti.—Shell and hull two quarts of roasted nuts, pound them in a mortar, and take two-thirds for the stuffing, reserving the remainder for the sauce or gravy. Mix with the stuffing-paste one cup of fine cracker crumbs; season with a teaspoonful of salt and a sallspoonftil of cayenne pepper and a little chopped parsley; add one-third of a cup of melted butter. To make the peanut-sauce, remove the fat from the drippingpan after the chicken has been taken out, adding water sufficient to make nearly a pint. Thicken with floor, add salt, pepper, and the remainder of the plainest paste. Boil up once and serve.
Peanut Croguettei.—To make these, remove the shells and bulls from three pounds of roasted nuts; simmer them gently in good broth or gravy until they are soft enough to rub through a sieve with a potato masher. To each pint of this mixture add one ounce of butter and a-palatable seasoning of salt and pepper, and stir these ingredients over the fire until they are scalding hot, then place the saucepan where the eontents will keep hot without boiling; stir into them the yelks of six raw eggs, stirring the mixture constantly until the yelks thicken, taking care it does not boil, in which cafe the eggs will curdle. Cool the pur£e. Now wet the hands slightly with cold water and mold tablespoonfuls of the cold mixture into little pyramids. Boll them in cracker or bread-crumbs, dip them in beaten egg and then a tecond time in the crumbs, and drop them in boiling lard sufficient to cover them. When brown, take them out of the fat with a skimmer, lay them for a moment on coarse brown paper which will absorb the grease, sprinkle a little salt over them, and serve at once u a folded napkin.
Peanut Salad.—Have ready about three pints of freshly roasted nuts, carefully hulled, and place them in a dish of crisp, tender lettuce-leaves. Dress the salad with a plain French salad dressing made of one part vinegar, three parts oil, and highly seasoned with pepper and salt. The salad ahoild be eaten an soon as prepared, as it readily loeea its flavor and crispness.
Peanut Pattiet.—To one quart of roasted nuts pounded fine in a mortar, add ten well-beaten eggs, one pound of sugar, and a half a pound of batter. Line two dozen patty-pans with flaky puff-paste, and fill with the nut mixture. Bake in a moderate oven until the pastry is done. Dust the patties with powdered sugar; they are equally good eaten either hot or cold.
Peanut Sovfflt.—Make a purge of roasted nuts by simmering them in a gravy and mashing them through a sieve; add to about three ounces six
ounces powdered sugar, two ounces of flour, a teaspoonful of salt, and stir in gradually a pint and a half of milk. Set the saucepan over the fire and stir ita contents until they have boiled two minutes; then set it to one side of the stove, where they will not boil, and stir for one minute. Separate the yelks of seven eggs from the whites and stir the yelks, one at a time, into the souffle' mixture, watching that it does not boil. Add the whites beaten to a stiff froth, stirring them in very lightly. Put the mixture very quickly into a twoquart tin mold lined with buttered paper that rises several inches above the top. Bake twenty minutes in a moderate oven, and serve the instant it is done.
Peanut Cakes.—Pound one pint of roasted peanuts to a smooth paste; mix in one pint of lightbrown sugar and the whites of five eggs, beaten stiffly. Put the mixture into small buttered pans, and bake in a fair oven to a light brown.
Source: Arthur's Home Magazine ©1884

19th Century Bedroom Furnishing

Below the excerpts come from The Furniture Gazette and speaks to the types of Furniture designs for the 1884 Bedroom. I've included two illustrations from the same periodical. Enjoy!


ORIGINAL DESIGN FOR A
BEDROOM SUITE.

A FEW years back a Wardrobe was simply a Cupboard, sometimes of deal and at other times of mahogany. The better, or rather the more expensive, class of Wardrobe (for there was very little difference in the construction) was invariably of mahogany, the enrichment being of the most meagre description. If economy was not an object, it was made "round-cornered" or breakfronted, as the case might be. We have changed all that now, and the manufacturer who only keeps such goods in stock will find very few customers. To satisfy present requirements, a Wardrobe must, besides containing all the interior accommodation of the old-fashioned ones, present a far more attractive exterior.
One of our Separate Plates shows a piece of furniture of the improved type, which would, we think, form a tasteful addition to a bedroom if properly carried out. The choice of woods must depend largely on the surroundings and on individual taste; but in our opinion walnut or rosewood, with light inlays, would find most admirers. The centre glass is bevelled, and the diamonds in the small side doors are also of silvered bevelled plates.
The same remarks as to wood apply to remainder of Suite, shown on the second Plate. The diamond-shaped panels in Wash-stand doors should be of wood, not glass, as they are below the eye and useless for reflection. The decorations of a bedroom, we may add, should be as unobtrusive as possible, and in pale, soft tints.

WE illustrate herewith a complete Suite of Bedroom Furniture. Although wooden bedsteads are not in as general favour as they were years ago, they still enjoy a certain amount of popularity. The one figured on our Separate Plate is a half-tester. It has a panelled and carved high head-board, ornamental foot-rail, and square posts partly fluted. The Wardrobe has all the usual accommodation, including hanging cupboards, shelves for books and ornaments, and several large and small drawers. The dressing - table is replete with the customary requisites. In the washstand provision is made for two cupboards and a centre drawer. The back is filled in with tiles, and a looking-glass is fixed in the centre of the back. The seat and part of the back of the chairs are stuffed. The different items here illustrated are intended to be made up in rosewood, light coloured silk hangings being used in the room; and the chairs would, of course, be covered with materials to match. The Bedroom Suite under notice, which is of an effective character, has been designed by Mr. James Peddler, manufacturer of furniture, of Cranmer-road, Brixton.
(Unfortunately the illustrations were not fully copied but you can get an idea from the descriptions given.)


PERHAPS no other description of furniture has been so greatly improved during recent years as that intended for the bedroom. It is now almost universally recognised that a room intended for repose ought to contain nothing which can fatigue the eye. Time was when huge four-posters were considered indispensable to every sleeping-apartment: when toilet-tables were encircled with a sort of muslin petticoat, and when most other pieces of bedroom furniture were mainly conspicuous for their bad design and their ill adaptation to their intended purpose. Happily all this has been changed: and our modern sleeping-apartments are frequently the embodiment of good taste in the matter of decoration as well as furniture.
Source: The Furniture Gazette ©1884

Fishing Dory

The first time I saw a dory I was amazed. Dad brought home this fishing dory that had a hole in the bottom and two bows. He explained that the outboard motor went inside the hole. Well, how can that be? Wouldn't a hole that big cause the boat to sink? And why two bows? The short answer is it didn't. However the 19th Century Dories were powered by men with oars. Below is an illustration of a fifteen foot dory as well as a description of it from a "Report on the Ship building industry of the United States." ©1884
These dories are often painted in works of art from this time period, as in Winslow Homer's The Fog Warning 1882.

A variety'of other boats are built along the New England coast for fishing, some to go with vessels, others for alongshore use, primarily intended for rowing, but often having also some sort of a small fore-and-aft sail, with a pole for a mast that can be unshipped and taken down readily. The shore boats are for lobstering and fishing with hand-lines, seining, etc. They are regularly framed keel boats, usually open, and are sometimes clinker built and sometimes sharp at both ends. The seine boats are always sharp at both ends; they are rather full on the floor amidships, are well modeled at the ends, and are given a good sheer. On the coast of Maine some of the shore boats have a little caddy forward, in which is placed a stove, to keep the men warm in winter, and also to prevent the lobsters from freezing until they can be brought to shore and sent to market. The general model of the open boat is a legacy from early times. It came into existence at a very early period, owing to the exigencies of the peculiar calling in which it is employed, which has compelled the shore fishermen to adopt a boat suited to flat beaches and having the properties of light draught, buoyancy, stability, and stowage capacity for fishing apparatus and fish. The object of building the boats with sharp ends is to e nable fishermen to launch and land through the surf with facility and to handle the boat in rough water with safety. The New England fishermen of to day have been accustomed to this general model from childhood, and they pin their faith to it with the utmost tenacity. It is the model which forms the basis of the admirable boats used in the United States life-saving service. The crews of the life stations have been largely recruited from the sea-coast fishermen, and the bureau at Washington gives them the model they know so well and can handle with such remarkable skill.