Today marks the occasion of my one-year wedding anniversary (time really flies when you are having fun!). While perusing my books on the subject, I was reminded of the usual custom of marking the occasion with a celebration or gifts made from certain types of materials. I was somewhat surprised to learn that these appear […]
Tag: 1900s
Hallowe’en Suggestions
Hi kids! It’s Halloween time again (or Hallowe’en, if you celebrated this back in 1905). I consulted with Mrs. Herbert B. Linscott’s Bright Ideas for Entertaining to find some fun party tips for you this year. First, some decorating ideas: ~~ Have mirrors everywhere: big mirrors, medium-sized mirrors, and little, wee mirrors, all reflecting and […]
How to Distinguish Death
This week’s selection is from Professor T. W. Shannon’s Nature’s Secrets Revealed: Scientific Knowledge of The Laws of Sex Life and Heredity or, Eugenics. You never know ~ this might come in handy someday. 1916: How to Distinguish Death As many instances occur of parties being buried alive, they being to all appearances dead, the great importance […]
Building a New Disposition
This one seems appropriate to start out the new year. It’s from Vivilore: The Pathway to Mental and Physical Perfection, which was written in 1904 by Mary Ries Melendy. I wonder if folks one hundred years ago resolved to do this or that around December 31st? 1904: Building a New Disposition I. Never look on the […]
Advice to Cooks
This past weekend I found the perfect birthday gift for my dear friend Sarah. The Thermo-Spoon, in its original package and still containing the illustrated recipe book, looked as if it had never been used in the thirty-some-odd years since it was marketed. I don’t know why ~ according to the instructions, as you stir […]
Home
I’m back from my “oh-my-gawd-I’ve-actually-been-to-ten-states-in-two-weeks” summer trip. Don’t ask. While gone, I thought fondly of friends, loved ones, and my sweet pup, and couldn’t wait to be back in my own apartment. Here’s an excerpt on the joys of home, from The Household Guide, or Domestic Cyclopedia, written by Professor B. G. Jefferis and J. L. […]
Miss Abigail’s (timeless) Holiday Gift Ideas, Vol. IV
Trying to figure out what to get that hard-to-shop-for relative? Welcome to the fourth annual collection of gift ideas. This year, more than ever, many are seeking comfort in books, but you’re probably stumped about what your family might like to read. Miss Abigail, nonfiction book wiz, is here to help. The advertisements following were […]
Miss Abigail’s (timeless) Holiday Gift Ideas, Vol. I
Something a little different for the holidays ~ with the help of my books, I’ve come up with some fabulous gift ideas for the whole family. I don’t want you all to panic in these last hours of perfect-present hunting. You’ll notice that the pictures are from the books (a variety of decades are represented […]
Hello? Anyone “At Home”?
Q Dear Miss Abigail: What was the meaning of “at home” when visitors presented a calling card? Were some people at home to visitors on designated days? Signed, Win A Dear Win: You got it, babe. Here’s a little description of this long-forgotten tradition (hoorah for us). It’s from a book titled Correct Social Usage, which […]
Sidewalk Manners
I think there are two types of people in the world: those who never move to the side to let another walker pass easily, and those polite, considerate, charming, lovely sidewalk shifters who gladly step aside when confronted with someone straight ahead. I’m a shifter, of course ~ always have been, always will. Who knows […]