The Library Ghost

    The ratio of dressmaking manuals to tailoring manuals seems larger than in some periods, with a flurry of publication in the mid- to late years of the decade.  I assume this has something to do with the rise of the sewing machine and home-dressmaking; in addition, women's garments are mainly tailored in the late 19th century instead of draped, so there isn't as great a distinction between the two trades as there once was.      By the way, if anyone has the name of the printer for T. W. Byrnes' book (or any of the others which are missing info), I'd love to know. General information      Christner, D. C. The International Encyclopedia of Scientific Tailor Principles . Philadelphia, PA: S. M. Larzelere, 1885.      Kirkwood, Louise J. Illustrated Sewing Primer with Songs and Music . New York, NY: Wynkoop & Hallenbeck, 1881.     Ross, Mrs. Harry A. Studies in Plain Needlework and Amateur Dressmaking . Ba...

    Apparently Caulfeild and Saward are completely legitimate names, and the two of them have produced a frankly alarming number of books explaining needlework terminology, all in the same year!  There don't seem to be many macramé books before this point, though I understand it was quite popular throughout the second half of the nineteenth century; perhaps patterns were shared primarily through magazines rather than books. General information     Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Ann, and Blanche C. Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework, Vol. 1 . London: A. W. Cowan, 1885.     Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Ann, and Blanche C. Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework, Vol. 2 . London: A. W. Cowan, 1885.     Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Ann, and Blanche C. Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework, Vol. 3 . London: A. W. Cowan, 1885.     Caulfeild, Sophia Frances Ann, and Blanche C. Saward. The Dictionary of Needlework, Vol. 4 . Lond...

    I'm very excited to include a shoemaking manual in this post!  I normally don't deal with leather in sewing resources, even though it does involve needle and thread; there are usually a few patterns for embroidered silk or linen slippers, and nothing more.  (Ignorant as I am of both leatherworking and shoemaking, I can't say whether it's a useful manual, but here we are.) General information      Rosevear, Elizabeth. A Text-Book of Needlework, Knitting and Cutting Out with Methods of Teaching . London: MacMillan and Co., 1893. Dressmaking      Heller, Louise M. Scientific Sewing and Garment Cutting . Boston, MA: Silver, Burdett & Company, 1898.      Löfvall, J. H. How to Cut, Fit, and Finish a Dress . Boston, MA: Alfred Mudge & Son, 1892.     Vincent, William D. F. The Cutters' Practical Guide to the Cutting of Ladies' Garments . London: The John Williamson Company, 1892.    ...

    The 1600s in North America covers a number of European colonial enterprises, including Dutch, French, English, and Spanish interests in the "New World."  Wars of trade and conquest span both sides of the Atlantic, and traditional lifestyles are disrupted by new technologies as well as a growing trans-Atlantic slave trade.      Note that the Hearth Cooking video has windy background noise, but it's otherwise good. General information      American Experience | PBS. " Chapter 1 | The Pilgrims | American Experience | PBS ." YouTube . Posted November 19, 2020.      JYF Museums. " The Jamestown Starving Time of 1609-10 ." YouTube . Posted January 12, 2022. Architecture and engineering      Historic St. Marys City. " Historic St. Mary's City - Woodland Indian Hamlet: Rawhide ." YouTube . Posted October 15, 2021.     JamestownRediscovery. " Archaeology of the Jamestown Church Tower ." YouTube . P...

    Conservation of wildlife, especially native pollinators, is critical for the future of our planet—including the future of humanity.  After all, no bees means no fruit, which makes up a huge proportion of the human diet.  Pollution, invasive species, deforestation, and climate change are all threats to our native species that must be combated, starting today.  We  can't rely only on individual action; we need to combine it with strong legal protection to save the environment before we lose it forever. General information      Bernama. " NRES addresses Segaliud river pollution affecting over 320,000 residents ." New Straits Times . April 20, 2025.     Hakim, Luqman. " Malaysia's growing light pollution threatens wildlife ." New Straits Times . July 5, 2025.      Hilmi Mohd Noor, Hafidzul. " Drones, dark web used by wildlife traffickers in Malaysia ." New Straits Times . July 1, 2025.    ...

    Traditionally, the Tudor era runs from Henry Tudor's defeat of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field (1485) to the death of Elizabeth I in 1603.  In practice, most "Tudor" media pieces focus on the reign of Henry VIII (he of the six wives) or on that of his second daughter, Elizabeth.     NB : Amanda Hallay has a few unusual ideas as to the why of fashion, some of it totally unsupported by textual evidence; however, she does a good overview of the what of fashion, so I've elected to keep her video in the lineup. General information      Hallay, Amanda. " THE ULTIMATE FASHION HISTORY: The Elizabethan Era ." YouTube . Posted November 28, 2015.     HistoryExtra. " How CLEAN were the Tudors? Ruth Goodman on 16th-century hygiene ." YouTube . Posted December 30, 2025.      Marchant, Katrina. " Sumptuary Laws: A History of What Not to Wear ." YouTube . Posted May 16, 2025.      Voorhies, ...

    The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, began in Europe around 7,000 BCE with early farmers in the Balkans.  It spread across the continent, and lasted until about 2,000 BCE, when the European Bronze Age began.  Agriculture arrived in southeastern Europe from the Levant, along with new technologies, including pottery and domestication of animals.  One common change was the move from flaked stone tools to ground or pecked stone tools, which take longer to make.  Typical Neolithic artifacts of this type include spindle whorls, net weights, mace heads, and hoes or adzes. General information      The Benaki Museum. " Greek history - Neolithic period (6800-3200 BC) ." YouTube . April 4, 2017.     NOVA PBS Official. " Ötzi the Iceman: A 5,000-Year-Old True Crime Murder Mystery | Full Documentary | NOVA | PBS ." YouTube . January 24, 2024. Architecture and engineering     Archaeology Now. " Tiny Lectures: Mysterious G...

    The Victorian era lasted through most of the 19th century, from Queen Victoria's ascension to the throne in 1837 to her death in 1901.  This is the period that saw the introduction of the telegraph, the electric light bulb, the pasteurization process, aniline dyes, photography, the sewing machine, the typewriter, and association football (called "soccer" in the USA).  Fashions and technology were greatly changed by the end of Victoria's reign, and the British Empire claimed some 400 million people on six continents as its subjects. General information      Draper, Jenny. " A Deep Dive Into Victorian Servants ." YouTube . May 9, 2022.      Kellgren-Fozard, Jessica. " Victorian Lesbians?! // Queer History ." YouTube . June 29, 2022.      Rudolph, Nicole. " Why Victorian Etiquette was so ✨Extra✨ ." YouTube . August 10, 2024. Arts and architecture      Draper, Jenny. " The Largest Building In The World ...

      The mid-nineteenth century in Britain covers the first three decades of the Victorian era.  The United States struggles through the American Civil War, while France endures the fall of the Second Republic, followed by the brief Second Empire .  Further east sees the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire's loss in the Crimean War, and the unifications of both Germany and Italy.  General information      Durbin, Holly Poe. " Crinoline Era Consumerism ." YouTube . Posted October 18, 2020.     English Heritage. " Fashion Through History: Episode 1 – Victorians ." YouTube . Posted February 9, 2023.     Glasscock, Jessica. " Nineteenth-Century Silhouette and Support ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004.      Oshinsky, Sara J. " European Revivalism ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolit...

    Please keep in mind that the folks at Gentleman's Gazette , while enthusiastic about their subject matter, do occasionally make inaccurate claims like "wigs were infested with lice" (they were not; head lice drink human blood and would starve to death in a hairpiece) or "girding one's loins is about turning a robe into a loincloth" (it is simply about putting on a belt or girdle; the loins are at the lower back and hips, where the belt sits, and not the pubic area).  I have attempted to use only the most accurate of their articles and videos, but take anything about pre-1900s history with a grain of salt. General information Timeline, silhouette, miscellaneous.      English Heritage. " Fashion Through History: Episode 6 – The 1940s ." YouTube . August 19, 2025.     Hallay, Amanda. " HISTORY in COLOR: The 1960s ." YouTube . October 7, 2020.     Itzcovitz, Natasha. " Explaining 1960's Fashion ." Natasha Itzcovitz...

    Conservation of wildlife, especially native pollinators, is critical for the future of our planet.  After all, no bees means no fruit, which makes up a huge proportion of the human diet.  Pollution, invasive species, deforestation, and climate change are all threats to our native species that must be combated, starting today.  We  can't rely only on individual action; we need to combine it with strong legal protection to save the environment before we lose it forever.     Note : For having the Great Barrier Reef, Australia seems to have strangely few documentaries on endangered (or invasive) fish species. General information     CrashCourse. " Conservation and Restoration Ecology: Crash Course Ecology #12 ." YouTube . January 21, 2013.     PBS Vitals. " Got Climate Anxiety? You’re not alone ." YouTube . April 12, 2023.      Wannon Creek Wildlife. " 5 Critically Endangered Australia...

     This was originally intended to be the first in its series... until I discovered that there was a lot more material on the Regency and Victorian eras than on the 18th century :/  It's still rather scanty on artistic and religious movements, so if anyone knows of a good art history site, please let me know! General information     Draper, Jenny. " Answering White People's Questions About Slavery: The London History Show ." YouTube . March 3, 2021.     Johnson, James. " There Were No Slaves in Britain? " YouTube . June 28, 2020.     Thane, Anna M. " Travelling in the 18th century? Don’t forget your passport! " Regency Explorer . March 1, 2022.     Townsend, Jon. " Do You Know the Difference? Shilling, Sixpence, Halfpenny? " YouTube . July 27, 2021. Arts and architecture      Thane, Anna M. " Shades of Blue: Discovering new colours in the 18th Century ." Regency Explorer . April 10, 2022. ...