The Library Ghost

     I would like credit for limiting myself to *only* six cooking videos by Townsends.  It was very difficult and I deserve a sticker.  Also, for some reason the virtual tour of the Irish farm needs to be watched at 1.25x normal speed; all the others seem fine. General information     Fairfax Network - Fairfax County Public Schools. " Life of a Colonial Slave ." YouTube . Posted September 19, 2014.      Smarthistory. " The making of an American myth: Benjamin West, Penn's Treaty with the Indians ." YouTube . Posted February 9, 2020.     Townsend, Jon. " Lighting Then VS Now: Fire Before Electricity ." YouTube . Posted January 14, 2024.      Townsend, Jon. " Winters in Colonial America ." YouTube . Posted December 7, 2017. Architecture and engineering      Colonial Williamsburg. " 18th-Century Brickmaking ." YouTube . Posted January 28, 2026.     Colonial Williamsburg. " ...

    The 1500s in England saw Henry Tudor die; his second son take the throne as Henry VIII; and his daughter Margaret Tudor wed to James IV of Scotland.  Catherine of Aragon, a Spanish princess, married Arthur, Prince of Wales; upon his death, she married then-prince Henry and bore his first daughter, Mary Tudor.  After Henry VIII established the Anglican Church and annulled his marriage to Catherine, he married Anne Boleyn, who bore the future Elizabeth I before being executed in 1536.  Henry would go on to have four more marriages, only one of which produced a son: Edward.      Henry oversaw the dissolution of the monasteries as part of his break with Rome, seizing church relics and treasures before turning the land over to his supporters.  After his death in 1547, a young Edward VI briefly became king, then died in 1553.  Mary took the throne and wed Phillip II of Spain in 1554, although Phillip took no part in ruling England and...

    The 1830s in Western fashion were full of tall, looped hairstyles; enormous puffed sleeves; and high-waisted gowns with flared skirts.   The low, sloping shoulders would hold sway into the 1860s, and the bodices already look quite separate from the skirts, in contrast to the earlier part of the century.     I cannot explain the lack of color images from certain parts of the decade; if anyone knows of any fashion magazines that have been digitized for 1830, 1834, or 1835, please let me know so I can add them! 1831      —. " Dinner Dress. Evening Dress ." La Belle Assemblée , no. 77 (May 1831).     —. " Evening and Morning Dresses ." The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons , vol. 8, no. 87 (Jul. 1831).      —. " Evening Dress. Opera Dress ." La Belle Assemblée , no. 75 (Mar. 1831).      —. " Evening Dresses ." The World of Fashion and Continental Feuilletons , vol. 8, no. 84 (Apr. 1...

    All right, the first in the Cookery series !  Once again, I shall be creating posts by decade.  Note that How to Make Bread is a bit scanty on instructions, being largely an advertisement for the firm's new bread machine.  Also, I've separated out the wartime-specific cook books, rather than keeping them in their proper categories, as the ingredients and assumptions can be quite different. Baked goods and sandwiches Cakes, meat pies, fruit tarts, breads, sandwiches.     Blitzner, John. The Peerless Pastry Book . Seattle, WA: Trustee Printing Company, 1910.      Brothers, Minnie E. Bread Making and Bread Baking . Minneapolis, MN: 1915.      Furstenberg, Katherine. Mrs. Furstenberg's Method of Making Superfine Cakes . Milwaukee, WI: 1916.      Harris, H. G., and S. P. Borella. All About Gateaux and Dessert Cakes . London, UK: Maclaren & Sons, 1910.      Richards, Paul. Bakers'...

    Unlike magazines, which require one to skim every article, these books required very little effort on my part to collect and cite.  There are patterns as well as instructions, most of them in English.  As always, this will be updated when and if I find more resources. Crochet      —. The Art of Crocheting . London: The Butterick Publishing Co., 1891. Embroidery     Cousine Claire. La broderie blanche . Paris: François Tedesco, 189-.     Mesureur, G. L'Art dans la lingerie: Dessins de broderie . Paris: Hunneyer, 1896[?].      —. The Art of Columbian Art Ribbon-Work . Des Moines, IA: The Weigland-Miller Patent Ribbon Needle Co., 1895. Lace     Bradford, Mary E. A Treatise on Lace-Making and Embroidery, No. 2 . Boston, MA: The Barbour Brothers Company, 1892.     Bradford, Mary E. A Treatise on Lace-Making and Embroidery, No. 3 . Boston, MA: The Barbour Brothers Company, ...

    Fungi: they're like plants made of meat. General information      National Geographic. " You Didn’t Know Mushrooms Could Do All This | National Geographic ." YouTube . July 13, 2016.      PBS Eons. " When Giant Fungi Ruled ." YouTube . December 18, 2017. Dyestuffs      Oregon Public Broadcasting. " Fiber artist Julie Beeler uses mushrooms for natural dyes | Mushroom Color Atlas | Oregon Art Beat ." YouTube . July 27, 2023.      Sandia Mountain Natural History Center. " Lichen Dye ." YouTube . Feb 4, 2021. Food and drink      Discovery UK. " MUSHROOMS | How Do They Do It? " YouTube . October 14, 2020.      National Geographic. " The Magic Ingredient | Ultimate Factories ." YouTube . February 17, 2012.      Smithsonian Channel. " The Microscopic Activity That Produces the World’s Great Cheeses | Smithsonian Channel ." YouTube . May 15, 2023. ...

     These are all taken from Peterson's Magazine and Godey's Lady's Book ; in theory I could do other decades, but there is so much out there that I may just do one more for the 1920s and stop there.  Never fear, 1880s fans—I still have fashion plates and sewing patterns to do! Antimacassars      Weaver, Jane. " Antimaccassar: With Detail ." Peterson's Magazine , vol. 79, no. 3 (Mar. 1881), p. 241.      Weaver, Jane. " Antimacassar, or Counterpane ." Peterson's Magazine , vol. 82, no. 6 (Dec. 1882), p. 484–485. Bags, purses, and chatelaines     Weaver, Jane. " Chatelaine Bag, in Embroidery ." Peterson's Magazine , vol. 81, no. 6 (Jun. 1882), p. 484.     —. " Chatelaine Bag ." Godey's Lady's Book , vol. 100, no. 2 (Feb. 1880), p. 174.     —. " Lady's Bag ." Godey's Lady's Book , vol. 101, no. 2 (Aug. 1880), pp. 189–190. Bibs and aprons     Weaver, Jane. " Child's Dinner Bib ."...