Q Dear Miss Abigail: What are the various older traditions (Victorian Era, for instance) for how to go about proposing? In particular, how and when to ask the bride-to-be’s father for her hand? Signed, Traditionalist A Dear Traditionalist: Ah, the 1880s. A time of proper manners and traditions. Who could ask for anything more? I […]
Tag: 1880s
1881: Love Letters
This week I received a lovely gift from a coworker, Gene, who was looking to lighten his bookshelves at home. Knowing I had my little obsession with advice books (he came to my Valentine’s Day presentation at the Library of Congress), he so graciously gave me a book written in 1881 called National Encyclopedia of […]
1880: Advice for the Senate Judiciary Committee
My hope is to occasionally use this space to share some short excerpts from the advice books, taking clues from the news or personal experiences, or if I just happen to find some fun things to share. To kick it all off, I’ve located some tips that I think the Senate Judiciary Committee may have […]