Victorian Tobacco: Cures or Kills?

Victorian Tobacco: Cures or Kills?

Did Victorian-era Americans partake of tobacco products with ignorant bliss? Or were they aware of health dangers? And were those health dangers remotely accurate (compared to today)?

Join me for a look at various newspaper articles, medical journal pieces, vintage photographs, and more. I’ll allow you to draw your own conclusions.

Common Details of Western Historical Romance that are Historically INCORRECT, Part 3

Common Details of Western Historical Romance that are Historically INCORRECT, Part 3

Part 3 of an ongoing series ~

Who knew? Tobacco use in the nineteenth century might surprise you! Without today’s health warnings, tobacco became a favorite vice among men and women of all ages (including children). Numerous vintage sources paint an accurate backdrop of cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos, chewing tobacco, etc., dispelling the myths surrounding tobacco use throughout the American nineteenth century.

Victorian-American Headaches: Part 1

Victorian-American Headaches: Part 1

Victorian-Americans had several ideas about the common trouble of headaches– what caused the malady, what might help once a headache became entrenched, and perhaps why women suffer headaches differently than men.

Because I suffer from severe chronic headaches, I’ve often wondered what our Victorian-American ancestors did when they suffered a headache (migraine, tension headaches, etc.). What was science’s answer in the late nineteenth century? With so much primary historical information to share, I’ve prepared an eleven-part blog article series covering this fascinating subject.

This is Part 1: Why I write about headaches in in the Victorian Era United States and why hats may be to blame.

Who Makes the Best (Victorian) Wives?

Who Makes the Best (Victorian) Wives?

Victorian-era American wisdom regarding romance, marriage, and courtship is fascinating! A collection of 19th century newspaper clippings provides a wide range of answers to the question: Who Makes the Best (Victorian) Wives? Throughout the late nineteenth century, much (conflicting) advice for the hymeneal-minded.

Note: Part of a blog series including Blondes are Favorites (Who Makes the Best (Victorian) Wives?).

Victorian Homemakers Present Tapioca Pudding

Victorian Homemakers Present Tapioca Pudding

Victorian Americans favored many different kinds of puddings for desserts, during all seasons of the year. One type was tapioca–which hasn’t changed much in the intervening hundred-plus years. See many similar recipes in vintage era cook books and newspapers; plain, apple, peach, (and early in the 20th century, caramel).