The Library Ghost

    The end of the nineteenth century covers the late Victorian era, the Gilded Age, the American "Wild West," and early Jim Crow laws.  Fashions of the time included the First and Second Bustle eras, the Natural Form era, and the Aesthetic Movement. General information      Banner, Bernadette. " Exposing Victorian Influencers Who 'Facetuned' Their Photos. (Photo Manipulation was EVERYWHERE) ." YouTube . July 17, 2021.      Cox, Abby. " Victorians were ✨Obsessed✨ with Ugly Children... " YouTube . August 13, 2023.      Rowe, Kaz. " Did the Victorians Think Ankles Were Too Scandalous? " YouTube . September 8, 2021.      Rudolph, Nicole. " How much clothing did they *actually* have back then? " YouTube . June 15, 2024.      Zebrowska, Karolina. " Victorian Fashion Is Not What You Think It Is ." YouTube . March 19, 2019. Accessories      Banner, Bernadette. " 'Afro-Victorian': Bri...

    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'...

    Another "Overview of Life in..." post, this time about the Roman Republic and Empire.  I highly recommend the Yale Course "Roman Architecture," which is completely free and a great introduction to it subject matter.  (Also, I would like everyone to notice all the ways in which I did not make this about ancient Mediterranean agriculture, even though my heart yearns for it.) General information      Beard, Mary. " Women to the Front ." British Museum . Posted March 6, 2024.      Khan Academy. " Roman social and political structures | World History | Khan Academy ." YouTube . Posted December 27, 2016.     Lightfoot, Christopher. " The Roman Empire (27 B.C.–393 A.D.) ." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.      Smarthistory. " Ancient Rome — Reborn — thanks to virtual reality ." YouTube . Posted May 14, 2019.     —. " The Roman Repub...

     Another in my "Young Person's Introduction to Fashion" series, this time about the Viking Age!  That's, oh, 8th to 11th centuries CE?  Not very long, all things considered, but the events have had a massive impact on Western culture.  Unfortunately, there are very few people producing entry-level articles and videos about the topic of Viking fashion, so I must apologize for using the same sources over and over. General information      Courtney. " Viking Capsule Wardrobe: Strategically Building Your Historical Closet ." YouTube . August 20, 2021.     Johnson, James. " How to Buy Viking Clothes (and What to Avoid!) ." YouTube . December 7, 2020.      Johnson, James. " Viking Women's Fashion: A (Very!) Basic Guide ." YouTube . January 5, 2021. Accessories      Johnson, James. " I Make Viking Gloves (And Play in the Snow!) ." YouTube . February 15, 2021.      Johnson, James. " REAL...

    Interestingly, Thérèse de Dillmont died around 1890, but DMC continued publishing books with her name on them for years afterward .  Note that Broderies de paysannes de Smolensk is only colored plates of finished works, with no patterns or instructions. Crochet     LaCroix, Sophie Tatum. Old and New Designs in Crochet, Vol. 8: Old and New Designs . St. Louis, MO: St. Louis Fancy Work Co., 1900.     LaCroix, Sophie Tatum. Old and New Designs in Crochet, Vol. 14: Yokes and Collars . St. Louis, MO: St. Louis Fancy Work Co., 1900.      Schumacker, Anna. The Columbia Book of Yarns . Philadelphia, PA: W. H. Horstmann Company, 1907. Embroidery     de Dillmont, Thérèse, ed. Alphabet für die Stickerin: Buchstaben, Monogramme, Ziffern und Ornamente . Dornach: D.M.C. Thread Co. Ltd., 1900.     de Dillmont, Thérèse, ed. L'Art chrétien en Égypte: Motifs de broderie copte . Mulhouse: D.M.C. Thread ...

    There are a lot of resources out there for period patterns from the era(s) in question, at least from the 1800s onward, so I thought I'd add yet another series of posts to my blog.  Publication of sewing manuals seems to drop off after the 1910s, picking up again in the 1940s, but I will try to do as many decades as I can! General information      Bryner, Edna. Dressmaking and Millinery . Cleveland, OH: Survey Committee of the Cleveland Foundation, 1916.     Foster, Olivia Hyde. Sewing for Little Girls . New York, NY: Duffield & Company, 1911.      Ginsburg, Marcus O. Chart of Bias Cutting . New York, NY: The Public Press, 1919.     Goodwin, Emma E. Goodwin's Course in Sewing: Practical Instruction in Needlework for Use in Schools and at Home . New York, NY: Frank D. Beattys & Company, 1910.      Van Rensselaer, Martha, et al. A Manual of Home-Making . New York, NY: The MacMillan ...

    The best way to learn to make Edwardian or Progressive-era needlework is by reading original patterns—so here they are!  The 1910s were a great time for arts and crafts publishing, it seems.  (Be warned: A Book of Bed-Spreads is not for beginners, and has very few instructions.) Crochet      Brown, Anna Wuerfel. The New Filet Crochet Book . Toledo, OH: Cora Kirchmaier, 1912.     Clark, Myrtle Artie. Clark's Crochet Book . St. Joseph, MO: Miller-Clark Designing Company, 1915.     Clark, Myrtle Artie. Jewel Crochet Book . St. Joseph, MO: Miller-Clark Designing Company, 1915.      Francis, Anna. The New Maltese Crochet Designs . Covington, KY: The Riley-Francis Co., 1915.      Fryer, Jane Eayre. The Mary Frances Knitting and Crocheting Book . Philadelphia, PA: The John C. Winston Co., 1918.      Hettich, Lola Burks. The Priscilla Wool Crochet Book . Boston, MA: The Prisci...