One (unnamed) high-society New York City hostess started a fad that lasted fifty years…
The Calico Ball. Not only was the style of party highly fashionable, it also ensured help to those who needed it most.
Can you imagine baking cookies like a Victorian? Given many ingredients and measuring methods are unfamiliar to today’s cooks, I’ve shared brief info about those mystery ingredients and 19th-century measuring implements.
True-to-history, Victorian (and one Edwardian) Cake Recipes published in era newspapers share not only a love for cake (as today is National Cake Day), but share a slice of life with amateur historians. Basic baking ingredients, methods, a desire to practice economy (“cheap” was a positive and desirable compliment)–all give today’s cake-lover a glimpse into America’s Victorian life.
Today, October 13th, is National Yorkshire Pudding Day! The side dish comes to America’s melting pot from England, well before the Victorian era. I’ll share recipes from the 19th century American newspapers as well as my husband’s family’s modern recipe. Yum!
Two contrasting newspaper articles: August 30, 1860 (Altoona, PA) and August 30, 1876 (Fort Scott, KS), show both the apparently high fidelity of marriage…and the lowest of regard of the institution. Both–published on August 30th (157 years ago today, and 141 years ago today)–illustrate a slice of life from the mid- to late-Victorian Era United States. To amateur historians like me (and many readers of western historical romance fiction), newspaper articles like these allow us to draw conclusions based on the readings. What do you think of these two examples of marriage in 19th century America?
