Pound Cake in Victorian America

Pound Cake in Victorian America

Today, March 4, is National Pound Cake Day ~ a perfect day to celebrate Pound Cake in Victorian America.

What is pound cake? What is it made of? Why was it a popular cake with 19th century bakers?

Victorian-American Tobacco Advertisements

Victorian-American Tobacco Advertisements

Advertisements from vintage newspapers and periodicals shed much light on the tobacco habits of our nineteenth century United States ancestors. Each ad cites sources, dates, and provides everything from brand names to prices to general categories to help us draw conclusions about tobacco use in the Victorian United States.

Why? Because accurate backdrops make for exciting fiction!

Victorian-American Headaches: Part 6

Victorian-American Headaches: Part 6

Part 6 in a series of 11 articles, all about headaches in Victorian America.

Today’s article takes a look at various “doctoring at home” remedies published in newspapers and books, all from the final decades of the 19th century, United States of America. Each newspaper or book snippet contains complete citations. Some remedies make sense, some seem like wild guesses, and others are simply ODD.

Victorian-American Headaches: Part 4

Victorian-American Headaches: Part 4

Part 4 of an 11-part series: Victorian-American Headaches. Explore five decades’ worth of advertisements for various headache remedies. Powders, capsules, tablets, beverages, and pills. Apparently remedies were gaining traction and becoming popular–though none of them contained a 19th-century chemistry breakthrough–Aspirin.

Sugar Cookies in Victorian America

Sugar Cookies in Victorian America

As today (July 9) is National Sugar Cookie Day, it’s a perfect opportunity to celebrate Sugar Cookies in Victorian America. Everything from sugar cookie history in a nutshell to images of vintage cookie cutters, nineteenth century recipes lifted from vintage newspapers and cookbooks (cook books = more accurate spelling). Indulge in a bit of sweet history with me. Pull up a chair and let me pour tea while we sit and visit awhile. You simply must try my special (modern) and scrumptious soft sugar cookie recipe (downloadable, savable, printable PDF).