A Victorian Passage

The Linen Press

2009-07-08T14:52:14Z

To those who love housekeeping or who feel an interest in it for duty's sake, the charge of linen and the great care it requires is one of equal importance with the store-closet. It is a pity to trust to finding a linen-closet in any house. If you do find one in a house that has been occupied it forms part of that delightful category of articles and fixtures which demand a premium. Therefore we should advise people when they furnish to have a really good linen-closet made of cedar wood or polished pine just as you would require a sideboard or a book-case. Do not have more than five shelves It is a great mistake to have too high a linen-press; the upper shelves only get covered with dust. A portable linen-press and a portable store-closet are two very necessary comforts in a house for they can be put into the regulation "smoking room" and are much more convenient to the mistress of a house when placed there than in the basement and it also saves a great deal of labor to servants. We always feel that it is more comfortable to have linen stores and extra glass and china on the dining-room floor, if we can possibly manage it. Nothing does a lady more credit in housekeeping than her linen-press and how any woman who has not a housekeeper can engage the present ordinary style of housemaid to take charge of the linen we cannot imagine, that is, if she has any pride in her house and table linen. There is a good deal of mind and refinement needed in the care and arrangement of a linen-press. Young and inexperienced housekeepers must remember that no good housekeeping can be done without taking pains and trouble nor without great industry. As to the first purchasing of house and table linen it is not a difficult thing to advise others about. It is so different from quantities of bread meat and groceries which of course vary in every house but with the exception of a larger or smaller number of beds the same arrangement of linen is required in every gentleman's house. To begin with old linen: for years we have adopted plan of giving the members of the family their own and distinct set of sheets, bolster-cases and pillow-cases also bedroom-towels and in addition to the name of the master of the house, we put the name of the individual whose bed and room it is for. Of course in the case of the servants things, we put their particular calling as a mark and not their personal names, as they are like Easter movable feasts. For every member of the family have three pairs of sheets for every servant have two pairs and for wear, color and comfort have linen. Cotton sheets never look well and like cretonne they pick up every particle of dust and as to their being better for health we think as long as we wear long cloth night dresses we are sufficiently protected in the matter of health. No linen is so pretty as the Irish but for long wear and for improving in washing none can excel the Yorkshire. For each member of the family we would therefore recommend Barnsley linen sheeting, sufficient for three pairs for each bed. For each person have two bolster-cases and six pillow-cases, these eight articles to be made for beauty's sake of Irish linen. For each member of the family have twelve towels. Let four be Turkish or bath towels of linen, four of strong huckaback and four embossed. In buying toweling by the yard, allow thirteen yards to a dozen towels as the hems reduce a yard too much. For each visitor's room we consider two pairs of sheets sufficient and let them be of Irish linen. Visitors must have clean sheets each week but a fortnight is a reasonable time for all the others. For each servant have two pairs of sheets of strong Barnsley linen. If you prefer cotton, do not get that make that used to be called Bolton sheeting, for one way of the threads is so much stronger than the other that it wears badly. For cotton sheeting nothing wears so well as twilled cotton. Give each servant three pillow-cases of strong linen. Never have strings to your pillow cases always buttons and button holes very close together. For each servant have four huckaback towels. Cover all pillows and bolsters with long cloth or linen sewed on and once a year have it picked off and washed. Cover palliasses, mattresses and feather beds with glazed brown Holland {an unbleached linen} made to fit and button and once a year have them cleaned and re-calendered. Potter's American Monthly 1881

The Strawberry

2009-06-01T04:00:00Z

June and Strawberries Half a dozen people, more or less, have been credited with the saying, "Doubtless, God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did;" and the declaration regarding this most delicious and wholesome of all berries, goes without questioning, no matter by whom it was first uttered. The strawberry, whose name is probably derived from the common and ancient practice of laying straw between the plants to keep the berries clean, is a native of the temperate latitudes of both hemispheres--Europe, Asia, North and South America--and though well known is of but comparatively little value in Southern Europe. This is the reason, doubtless, that the old Greek and Roman poets have omitted to sing its praises. In olden times the variety of strawberries was very limited, and the garden was chiefly supplied by transplanting from the wood. This was the earliest species cultivated, and is mentioned in the street cries of London of over 400 years ago. The garden of the Bishop of Ely at Holborn was celebrated in 1483 for its strawberries, a fact alluded to by Shakespeare in Richard III, when Gloucester says:-- "My Lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn, I saw good strawberries in your garden there; I do beseech you send for some of them." Old Tusser, in his "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry," points out where the best plants of his time were to be procured, and turns them over, with an authoritative air and farmer-like contempt for small things, into feminine hands :-- "Wife, into the garden, and set me a plot With strawberry roots, the best to be got; Such growing abroad, among thorns in the wood, Well chosen and picked, prove excellent food." The strawberry, aside from its delicious flavor, possesses still other claims to popular favor. It is very easy of digestion, never growing acid by fermentation, as most fruits do, and it is also of medicinal value. The great Linnaeus is reported to have cured himself of the gout by partaking freely of strawberries--a delightfully aesthetic cure, and a most flattering testimonial to the efficacy of the dainty scarlet fruit. So easily grown are these luscious berries that the poorest owner of a few feet of ground may revel in an abundance of "Strawberries upturning soft cheeks to the sun." Rosy, blushing berries, eaten from the plant, or as a luxurious concomitant to a perfect breakfast on one of Lowell's "perfect" June days, are certainly to be regarded as Arcadian dainties with a suggestion of Paradise. The following tested and sure recipes for making use of the berries, I would fain share with a public that will be appreciative after using. First on the list, then, comes the time-honored and delicious Strawberry Shortcake. Strawberry Shortcake With one quart of flour, mix thoroughly, by sifting, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder and a teaspoonful of salt. Rub in one-quarter of a pound of butter until very smooth, then add two eggs beaten to a froth with one- quarter of a pound of sugar. Add milk or water to make a soft dough, and bake in a very quick oven. Cut open while hot with a knife that has been heated, butter, and spread between the layers the berries which have been sweetened to taste. Sprinkle pulverized sugar over the top, or cover with a meringue made with the white of an egg and a tablespoonful of sugar. Strawberry Sauce for Puddings Beat one large tablespoonful of butter to a cream. Add one and one-half cupfuls of powdered sugar and the beaten white of an egg. Beat all together until very light, and just before serving add one pint of mashed berries. Strawberries and Whipped Cream Place a layer of strawberries in a deep glass dish and sprinkle with sugar. Add another layer of berries and sugar until all are used. Whip together one pint of cream, the whites of three eggs and one cupful of pulverized sugar flavored with strawberry juice, and pour over the berries. Iced Strawberries Select large, fine berries, leaving the stems on. Dip in beaten white of egg, then in fine sugar. Dry them; dip again, first in egg, then in sugar, until the icing is of the required thickness. Strawberry Ice Soak one tablespoonful of gelatine in two tablespoon- fuls of cold water about an hour, then add the same amount of boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Strain and add a pint of strawberry juice, a pint of sugar and one and one-half pints of cold water. Freeze. Oranged Strawberries Place a layer of strawberries in a deep glass dish, and over them sprinkle a layer of pulverized sugar. Add more berries and sugar until all are used. Over all pour orange juice in the proportion of three oranges to one quart of berries. Let it stand for an hour. Sprinkle with pounded ice, and serve. Strawberry Cream Thoroughly beat the yolks of three eggs with one heaping cupful of granulated sugar. Add one cupful of boiling milk and stir the mixture in a double boiler for four or five minutes. Then add to the hot mixture one pint of very rich cream and the juice of a quart of thoroughly ripe berries. Remove from the fire and cool, then freeze carefully, and serve with dainty white cakes flavored with bitter almond. Canned Strawberries (Wiesbaden Method) Select two lots of berries; large, perfect ones for canning, and inferior ones from which to make the sirup. Put the latter in a colander and pour a very little cold water over them, then to these berries add one-half pound of sugar to each pound of berries, and allow them to stand in a covered earthen jar over night. The next morning drain off most of the juice from the berries and add to the juice one-quarter of a pound of strained honey. Boil this sirup until reduced to one-third the original quantity. While this sirup is boiling, rinse cans, inside and out, with hot water and till with the large whole berries. Fasten the lids on part way, and set in dripping pan on wet towels on the back ot the range to keep warm. When the sirup is boiled down one-third, pour quickly over fruit and seal air-tight If you do not care to use the honey according to the Wiesbaden method, use about one-half pound of sugar in its place. It usually takes about three and three- quarter pounds of the large berries to five pounds of the berries to be used for the juice only. ****** Light and cool desserts are much more acceptable in warm summer days in many ways. The house-keeper is better pleased if she can arrange for dinner in the cool of the morning, and summer fruits are always attractive in any way they may be served. I will venture to give a few recipes that are often used in my own house, hoping they may be of use to others. They may all be used as given, or raspberries may be substituted in place of strawberries. Jellied Strawberries One quart of strawberries, carefully freed from sand, should be placed in a quart mold. Soak one-fourth of a box of gelatine in one-half cupful of cold water for two hours; then add to it one and one-fourth cupfuls of boiling water and stir it well until the gelatine is entirely dissolved. Add one cupful of sugar, the juice of one lemon, and one-fourth of a cupful of light wine. Strain this and pour it over the berries. Place the mold in the ice to harden. When ready to serve, dip the mold into warm water, turn the jelly on a dish, and heap whipped cream about it. If one objects to wine, the juice of another lemon, or of an orange, may be used in the place of it. It is better to prepare this dish the day before it is wanted, as jelly requires several hours to become hard in warm weather. Soft custard may be used in place of the whipped cream if preferred. Strawberry Whips For these we require one quart of strawberries, one quart of milk, six eggs, one-half cupful of sugar, one tea-spoonful of vanilla or lemon extract, and one teaspoonful of salt. Put the quart of milk in the double boiler to heat, reserving one-half cupful. Beat four whole eggs and the yolks of two with one-half cupful of sugar, and add the half-cupful of cold milk. Pour this mixture into the boiling milk, stirring the milk constantly while pouring, and until it begins to thicken, when it should be at once removed from the fire and poured immediately into a cold pitcher. Add the salt, and when cold add the flavoring. Some glass custard cups or small tumblers should be partly filled with strawberries. When ready to serve, fill up the glasses with the cold custard. Beat the whites of the two eggs that were reserved from the custard to a stiff froth, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, then pile it on each glass, and a large strawberry on the top. Or it can be served in one large glass dish, if preferred. Strawberry Pudding Place one quart of strawberries in a glass dish, and sprinkle over them one-half cupful of sugar. Put one pint of milk in a double boiler; while this heats, beat well together the yolks of three eggs, one-half cupful of sugar, and one-fourth cupful of flour. Stir this into the boiling milk and cook it twenty minutes, stirring often. Remove from the fire and add one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt. When cold, pour this over the strawberries. Beat the whites of the three eggs to a stiff froth, add three table- spoonfuls of sugar, and heap it on the top of the pudding. Decorate with large strawberries, and the result will be a very delicious, handsome pudding. It may be flavored with vanilla or lemon, if desired. Frozen Strawberries Slightly crush two quarts of strawberries, and add two cupfuls of sugar. This should stand for two hours. Then add one pint of cold water and the juice of one lemon; mix it well, and freeze as you would ice cream. Strawberry Foam Crush one quart of strawberries and sprinkle over them one-half cupful of sugar. Let this stand in a cold place until time to serve. Beat the whites of two eggs to a stiff dry froth, add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and stir this into the crushed strawberries. Pour it into a glass dish, and decorate with fine whole berries. Strawberry Shortcake For this dish, the crown of all. I use one and one-half quarts of strawberries, one cupful of sugar, one pint of flour, one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one- half teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one-fourth of a cupful of butter, and a scant half-cupful of milk. Slightly mash the berries and sprinkle over them one cupful of sugar. Measure one pint of flour after it is sifted. Add to it one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one-half teaspoonful of salt, then sift again. Rub into the flour one-fourth of a cupful of butter. Mix it with a scant half-cupful of milk. Butter well a Washington pie plate, place the dough upon it, smooth, and press it evenly into the plate with a spoon. Should the dough stick to the spoon, dip a clean spoon in flour and smooth with it. Bake in a quick oven until done--about twelve or fifteen minutes. Remove it to a china plate. Split the cake carefully with a sharp knife. Butler the lower half well and cover with a part of the mashed berries. Place the upper half of the cake on this, the crust side on the berries. Butter this and cover it with the remainder of the fruit. Before serving, heap whipped cream over it, and you have a dish fit for a king. The cake is not to be despised if it be served without whipped cream. Good Housekeeping 1894

Cleaning Bottles

2009-04-26T21:42:57Z

Many persons clean bottles by putting in some small shot and shaking them around. Water dissolves lead to a certain extent, and a film of this lead attaches itself to the sides of the bottle so closely that the shaking or rinsing with water does not detach it, and it remains to be dissolved by any liquid which has the least sourness in it, and if drank, lead poison may be the result; sometimes a shot becomes wedged in at the bottom of a bottle, to be dissolved by wine or cider. Therefore it is better to wash every bottle, as soon as emptied, with warm water and wood ashes, or salaratus, and put the bottles away, mouth open and downward; but be careful to wash again when used, as flies and other insects frequently get into open bottles. - Manufacturer and Builder 1874

What Becomes of Old Shoes.

2009-04-22T04:00:00Z

A contemporary answers this question by stating that they are cut up in small pieces, and these are put for a couple of days in chloride of sulphur, which makes the leather very hard and brittle. After this is effected, the material is washed with water, dried, ground to powder, and mixed with some substance which makes time particles adhere together, as shellac, good glue, or thick solution of gumn. It is then pressed into moulds and shaped into combs, buttons, knife-handles, and many other articles. - Manufacturer and Builder Feb 1870

Wooden Toothpicks.

2009-04-20T20:35:48Z

Every eating-house visitor of this city and other leading cities of the Union has doubtless noticed a small tumbler of wooden toothpicks upon the counter of the cashier, for the use of customers. These toothpicks are a good feature of the present day. The wooden toothpicks have to a considerable extent superseded the gold, horn, ivory, and other articles of the kind formerly in use. Their manufacture is carried on by but one establishment, which has been in operation four years. It is near Boston, and employs thirty hands of both sexes. The machinery has been patented, and is propelled by water-power. The woods used are maple and willow. The agency is solely in this city, and all purchases for use elsewhere must be made here. The toothpicks are packed in pasteboard boxes of two sizes. One box is three inches long, by two wide and one deep. It contains three hundred, and sells for six cents. The other incloses twenty-five hundred, and is five inches long, three wide and three deep. The boxes are packed in wooden cases for shipment, or retailed in the city singly by the carriers. The sales are quite large, and amount at times to forty or fifty cases a day, each containing one hundred thousand toothpicks. The aggregate number sold, therefore, amounts in that period to four or five millions. The Manufacturer and Builder 1870

Free Victorian Playtime E-Papers

2009-04-07T19:06:36Z

The designer at Edenshale Cottage has created eight Victorian based digital papers that she's willing to share with our readers here. They are for your personal use in scrapbook and art projects. Some of the papers were designed using an old german book of games for children dating about 1888. They were created at 300dpi and are sized 12 inches x 12 inches - perfect for printing out for your scrapbooking projects. Download Victorian Playtime Paper Pack HERE [Size 37MB] You will need to read the edenshale-cottage-TOU.txt file for further information on how you can use the contents within the zip file.If you have any problems downloading and/or viewing the zip file please contact us guide [at] victorianpassage.com Enjoy and Thanks!

Baby's Announcement Cards.

2009-03-31T01:03:13Z

It is quite common now to have cards printed in tiny form, announcing the birth of infants, and giving thereon the name of the new arrival, and weight and day of birth. We have recently recieved cards from a mother having "two of 'em," and the cards of each are so neat and unique, that we are led to reproduce them here for the suggestions they may convey to other mothers who are anxious to send out something different from the commonplace. No. 1 is that of a boy baby, and is printed in gold on a light blue paper. No. 2 is the card of a girl, and is on white board. - Babyhood Magazine 1891 Note: Seems like baby announcement cards started becoming popular sometime in the 1870's. According to one advertisement from L. Prang and Company's which said, "Just Out, Something Entirely New!..Birth Announcement Cards, to be used by parents to announce the birth of a child to thier friends." This was in 1879.

Old Soap Recipes

2009-02-13T22:07:39Z

ROSIN Soap {yellow soap}.--Fifteen per cent, of rosin can be saponified with potash or soda lye, and mixed with clear, warm tallow soap to a good purpose; more would deteriorate it, although for the cheapest grade of soaps, thirty-three per cent is often added; but such soaps remain soft and clammy, and are unsatisfactory to the consumer. Twelve gallons of strong lyc (3O° to36°Beaume) are needed for l00 lbs. of rosin. Some soap-makers melt it with the fat in the commencement of the boiling of the soap, but experience has shown that it is best to prepare a pure tallow soap first, and afterward mix with it the rosin soap, made in a separate kettle. Both soaps in the hot state are to be thoroughly incorporated, by stirring and beating intimately for half an hour, and ihe whole passed through a wire sieve before transferring to the frames, and therein also well stirred with the crutch. Some palm oil, when saponified along with the tallow, will much improve the appearance of such a soap. The rosin, previous to its being put in contact with the lye, should be ground fine, and while one workman is occupied in throwing it into the boiler containing the hot lye, another should be constantly occupied in stirring it in, as the mixture easily rises. The heat must not be too rapidly increased, nor is it necessary that it should boil all the time, but merely kept near the boiling point, but it is indispensable to keep stirring the mixture all the time, otherwise caking of the rosin will interfere with the progress of the operation. Saponification will lie completed in about two hours, and then it may be added to die fat about being converted into soap, as above described. PALM Soap (superior).--Cut thin two pounds of yellow soap into a double saucepan, occasionally stirring it till it is melted, which will be in a few minutes, if the water is kept boiling around it; then add quarter of a pound of palm oil, quarter of a pound of honey, and six cents worth of true oil of cinnamon; let all boil together another six or eight minutes; pour out, and stand it by till next day. It is then fit for immediate use. CINNAMON Soap.--Palm oil soap, 2 parts; good tallow soap, 3 parts. Reduce to shavings, then liquefy by adding a little water, and placing the mixture in a water bath until perfectly united; next cool to about 135° Fahr., and add finely powdered yellow ochre to color, and a sufficiency of the following perfume : Essence of cinnamon, 7 parts ; essence of bergamot, 2 parts; essence of sassafras, I part. Well mix the whole together and mould. ORANGE FLOWER Soap.--Palm soap, 2 parts; tallow soap, 3 parts. Mix, as for cinnamon soap, and perfume with the following essences : Essence of Portugal, 8 parts; essence of amber, 7 parts. Mix. Color with the following, as required: Red Lead {Note: use a substitute for this color since this is toxic}, 5 parts; yellow green, 33 parts. Mix. HONEY Soap. -- Cut thin two pounds of yellow soap into a double saucepan, occasionally stirring it till it is melted, which will be in a few minutes if the water is kept boiling around it, then add a quarter of a pound of palm oil, quarter of a pound of honey, three pennyworth of true oil of cinnamon; let all boil together another six or eight minutes; pour out and stand it by till next day; it is then fit for immediate use. If made as these directions it will be found to be a very superior soap. - A Dictionary of Every-day Wants 1872

Advertising and Wrapping Paper

2009-01-03T05:00:00Z

WRAPPING PAPER. The use of wrapping paper as store advertising is a practice that is very generally followed, though not as much since the advent of the roll wrapping paper, which, by the way, can be had printed just as well as the sheet paper can. Some stores make it a point to use in all instances a wrapping paper of a uniform color and that color a very strong, prominent one. There is no doubt but that a distinctive color can be made, especially in a small place, representative of a certain store. This, however, is not a sufficient excuse for loading up your customers with bizarre looking parcels which will make them look like walking posters. A man may not always be particular about the kind of parcels he carries, but a woman always is -- and then I can understand that a man who himself has for good customers several merchants in the same line of goods may not want to advertise to all the rest the fact that he has just made a purchase from one of them. There is no wrapping paper better than a good quality of white, the so-called cobbassee perhaps, though manila is stronger for larger packages. White with a pink string is always neat and clean. It is as refined as a parcel can be made -- and the wrapping of parcels well is a part of the inside advertising of the store. Whatever your business, leave the freak wrapping papers to the other fellow and you will make friends for your store by this means. As to printed advertisements on the wrapping paper, they should, if used, be small mough to be inconspicuous. This seems like foolishness because an advertisement that will not be seen is not really much good as an advertisement. The trouble with advertising on your wrapping paper is that you want to place an advertisement where it will do you good without making the bearer of it conscpicuous. Nobody's customers want to be turned into involuntary sandwich men. The best solution of the difficulty seems to be the use of plain white wrapping for smaller parcels which are to be carried by the customers and printed manila for the parcels that are to be sent by messenger or carried by people who do not care -- anyone who will carry a really big bundle will not mind the printed ad. on it. In a Hardware store the custom is to use what is known as a Hardware paper, strong and tough. As for the ad, itself, the most it can do to advantage is to repeat the name of your store with a view to familiarizing people with it wherever the parcel goes. Hardware Dealers' Magizine 1911

The Lunch Table - Some Suggestions as to its Decoration

2008-12-29T05:00:00Z

In the country, where the hostess does not depend on the tender mercies of the florist and the caterer, the decoration of the lunch table grows to be a kind of cult. One's wits are so sharpened by necessity, that what to a city woman would seem a great trouble becomes a pleasure to the country entertainer. Perhaps there may be some readers of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING who have not lived long enough in the country to feel their emancipation from florist and caterer, and to them these suggestions may not some amiss. The arrangement of beautiful flowers s a delight, and it seems hard to realize that there the women who give up that pleasant task to the florist, or worse, to the butler, but such there are whose time is too precious to spend in the "fussing" the country hostess delights in. Unless one has time to send to the city, and even then when one must trust to another's taste, what to use for name cards is one of the greatest problems. Of course one can do without cards, but they are useful and attractive in many ways. Any small souvenir of a pleasant hour is dear to woman's heart, and oh! the comfort cards are to the hostess who may be "mistress of herself though china fall" and yet gets wonderfully "rattled" trying to remember how she decided to seat ten or a dozen women of different ages and tastes. Happy she who does not see two women side by side who "don't speak," looking as if all the bonbons on the table could not sweeten their dispositions. Then, when one has gathered together a large and, perhaps, incongruous company, cards with quotations, conundrums, etc., tide over that awkward pause that "falls like a blight" on the spirit of the hostess, particularly when she knows that the serving of her guests will be a very slow process. Given some artistic talent, or a faculty for doggerel verse, one can manufacture an endless variety of pretty and amusing cards. Take, for instance, sketches of different heroines of poetry and prose with appropriate quotations, asking the guests to guess the authors, and giving a small prize to the most successful guesser. In planning for our luncheon, we first consult the china closet and look over all our treasures. Let us suppose we have found a goodly supply of pink china, glass, etc., for of all the colors, to use a German expression, pink is the most "grateful," by daylight or gaslight pink by itself is beautiful, and the various combinations of pink and white, pink and green, pink and lavender, pink and blue, and pink and gray, are all charming. We will imagine our polished mahogany bare then we place upon it a dainty linen centerpiece, embroidered in pink carnations and knots of ribbon, and at each place a fringed plate doily, a small round tumbler doily and a fringed napkin folded corner- wise all embroidered in pink, like our centerpiece, and all fair and fresh for we will not yield to the fascinations of silk, satin, velvet, or bolting cloth -- everything on our table must wash! On the centerpiece we decide to set an openwork glass basket, filled with American Beauties. Through the handles of the basket we draw a pink satin ribbon, and tie a soft bow, letting the loops and ends fall among the rose stems. This glass basket is such a joy that every woman who loves a pretty table should have one. The openwork basket is very attractive "filled with fruit, apples of gold in a network of silver," and it is the prettiest receptacle possible for flowers the glass lining is then placed inside to hold the water. To go back to our pink table. We now add the bonbon and salted almond dishes, the graceful pink glass claret decanter, with its tall, attendant glasses, and all the sparkling glass and gleaming silver we can boast. Then come the princess lamps in their silver, and pink-and-white candlesticks, with the pink silk shades that have been made at home ; and, perhaps, the pink china candelabra, with pink candles and pink paper shades, though the princess lamps are more satisfactory, as they do not need watching like the candles. Now the last little touches that mean so much, and then we can go to the servants' dining room and lay out on the table all the dishes for the courses in their order. The old-fashioned Limoges soup plates, gay with pink roses and butterflies the little plates wreathed with morning-glories, holding small doilies on which to set the pink shells for the "lobster en coquille," and so we go on. There are the coalport plates for the piece de resistance, the pink class cups and saucers for the frozen punch, and all our other pink possessions in rank and file, down to the pink rosebud plates waiting for the pink charlotte russes in their lady-finger cases, and the pink after-dinner coffeecups, like "pretty maids all in a row." The last thing we do just before the guests arrive is to arrange the cards. These are the plain white correspondence cards that can be bought of any stationer. We punch two holes in opposite corners of each card and tie down a fragrant, long-stemmed American Beauty with narrow pink ribbons, leaving enough space to write the name across the lower corner, and our duties are done. The time for a pink-and-gray lunch is in the early spring, when one comes home from the woods laden with pussy willows. They will keep a long time, so we shall not need to hurry our luncheon. All our pink "things" and, above all, our silver dishes can come on again. In the center of the table we place a silver bowl filled to overflowing with branches covered with soft gray velvet pussy willows, and at each place bunches of pussy-willow twigs tied with gray and pink ribbons. The silver candlesticks hold pink candles with sage and pink ribbons. The silver candlesticks hold pink candles with silver paper shades, and the name cards are made of birch bark, which is easily peeled in the spring. The cards may have sprigs of pussy willow tied to them with pink and gray ribbons. If so fortunate as to possess much of the Dresden china with the flower garlands and blue bows, or the charming French china in pink and blue, one may make centerpiece, doilies and napkins to match, copying the design on the china in flower wreaths and blue bows. Then carry out the pink and blue idea in Dresden lamps with dainty figured shades, the pink glass, that old blue Sevres tray and the old-fashioned blue glass bottle that belonged to grandfather. Forget-me-nots are about the only blue flowers that will not turn purple by gaslight. For pink flowers we may have La France roses tied with blue ribbons. The pink-and-white Japan lilies, when one can afford to cut the whole stalk with flowers, buds and leaves, make a most beautiful table decoration. Tall glasses, each containing a few stalks scattered here and there all about the table, are very effective, and the pretty face of one's opposite neighbor is even prettier seen through a forest of lilies. To make the pink-and-blue luncheon as "Frenchy" as possible, dress little bisque dolls about four or five inches high -- some as pages in pink satin knee breeches, blue satin coats with lace jabots and three- cornered pink satin hats ; some as court ladies in blue satin skirts and pink satin trains. After we have succeeded in powdering their wee wigs and dotting their small cheeks with infinitesimal bits of court plaster, we shall be quite satisfied with the work. Cut small cards and write on them Mme. A. or Mlle. B., and tie them to the hands of the dolls with narrow pink and blue ribbons. Good Housekeeping 1894

The Linen Closet - Tablecloths and Napkins

2008-12-28T05:00:00Z

Most young housekeepers take a deep interest in the furnishing and equipment of their tables -- not alone with the food supplies which are there to be served, the dishes which are to contain them, the appointments which are to make everything neat and cozy but as well and especially with the cloth by which the table is to be covered, the napkins which are to be placed beside each plate, whether for the members of her own household or for the visitor -- friendly or critical as the case may be -- who shall occupy a seat at the board, or whose casual glance may rest thereon. Fortunately, she may give pretty free rein to her fancy in this portion of her realm, whatever fashion may dictate in other directions. If for any reason this tablecloth or that set of napkins commend themselves to her favor, they may be purchased and used for all ordinary occasions. Naturally, if in command of ordinary means with which to equip her dining room, she will have a special cloth, "with napkins to match," to be brought forward on the more ceremonious occasions but for ordinary service this is not at all necessary, though, on the other hand, there is no reason why a preference in that direction should not be followed. The matter is entirely in her own hands. The size of the tablecloth must, of course, be determined in a general way by that of the table. Where an extension is used, there should be one cloth large enough for the table when all of the leaves are in place ; but such a spread would be entirely out of place when half of the surface had been taken away, and smaller cloths should be provided, of proper size for the ordinary use. While any approved pattern may be purchased, it is generally a mistake to select fancy colored linens. The white is always standard, always appropriate, looks well, and will be in fashion but as much cannot be said for the colors, which may be popular one season and entirely under the ban within a year. Besides, when the cloth has become so worn that it is not available for further use on the table, its utility is very much greater if white than if colored. In the former case it may be cut over and acceptably used in a multitude of ways. Tablecloths may be bought either woven and finished complete, or by the yard. For kitchen tables, and not infrequently for general use, the latter is an entirely satisfactory way, while it is decidedly more economical. The ends may be secured by a simple hem, or finished in any approved manner, and some very pleasing effects may be produced by the housekeeper skilled in such work an by the housekeeper skilled in such work and having a little spare time which may be thus employed. The napkin is now indispensable at all well-regulated tables, though it was not so very long ago that it was looked upon as a fancy attachment, adapted only to "stuck-up" people and to children. It is historically interesting to read that almost as far back as books of etiquette are to be found, including such as have come down to us in manuscript, from a time prior to the discover)- of the art of printing, children were directed to wipe their hands and mouths with their napkins ; but it does not appear that grown people were supposed to use these convenient articles earlier than the middle of the fifteenth century. At that time tablecloths, among the wealthy -- and nobody else had them at all-- were long enough to come nearly or quite to the floor, and the ample margin which hung over the edge of the table served the purpose for which the handcloth is now employed. When the napkin first came into use, it was handled quite differently from the present custom. For a time it was considered the thing to throw it over the shoulder then it was placed upon the left arm, as it is now carried quite generally by waiters ; being still later placed under the chin by one corner, while the lateral corners were carried around the body and tied at the back. This was the custom during the days of elaborately frilled shirt fronts, and the philosophy of the fashion is quite apparent. More recently it dropped into the lap, where it still reposes, though many individuals have habits of their own to which tenacious adherence is given, regardless of the usages of society. One of the accomplishments of an "expert waitress" has long been the ability to fold a napkin in all manner of curious forms. This fancy doubtless comes from the fashion, at one time prevalent, of folding the napkin for each member of the household or each guest in a different manner. This was a French custom, and at one time napkin etiquette ran so high that they were perfumed with rose water and were changed with each course, at ceremonial dinners. A French work published in 1650, which undertook to teach how properly to wait on tables and to fold napkins, gives the following forms in which the cloths might be folded : "Square, twisted, folded in bands, and in the forms of a double-and- twisted shell, single shell, double melon, cock, hen, hen and chickens, two chickens, pigeon in a basket, partridge, pheasant, two capons in a pie, hare, two rabbits, sucking pig, dog with a collar, pike, carp, turbot, mitre, turkey, tortoise, the holy cross and the Lorraine cross." Breakfast napkins are considered of the right size if half a yard square but for dinner they should be three-quarters of a yard. They are sometimes made an eighth larger, but those are too large for convenience, and there is no necessity for the extra size. Besides the tablecloth and napkins, there are numerous bits of linen connected with the table service which will be found of the greatest usefulness most of which can, if necessary, be readily and very acceptably made from linen remnants that may be bought for a trifle, or from the best portions of worn tablecloths. By using a little time and pains in drawing threads and hemstitching, or other graceful working, these cloths can be made very tasteful ; they can be employed where there is danger of spots and stains, and if mishap occurs to them, they are very much more easily treated than the larger articles, while if ruined, the loss is comparatively slight. We thus secure carving cloths, tray cloths, children's cloths, as well as the means for protecting a fine cloth or the table from tea or coffee stains and the like. Sometimes a square of thin oilcloth may be placed upon the tablecloth, and being in turn covered by what might be called "a table rug," will give double protection. In the matter of economy in purchasing table linen, there are two factors to be borne in mind. Where a pattern proves unpopular, the goods are soon to be had at a considerable discount from the prices of popular patterns of the same quality. This is generally the "inside reason" for the great "bargains" which are sometimes advertised in these goods. The purchaser must decide for herself whether this reason makes the bargain an undesirable one, in her particular case. In any case, it may be set down as poor policy and poor economy to buy thin, light goods, no matter how fine they may be, for ordinary table use. A much coarser article, with strength and firmness of fibre, will look vastly better after a little time, owing to its power of resisting wear. The suggestions thus far given are for the benefit of the ordinary household, at ordinary times. Neatness, convenience and good taste will determine what shall adorn the family board, as its members gather around it at each mealtime. On more elaborate occasions, and in the homes where wealth and social position bring constant responsibility, fashions have their rise and fall, in table linen as elsewhere. For these, the formal dinner, the less formal luncheon, the cozy tea, have each their requirements as to table napery and service. Just at present, the "right thing" for the several occasions, as laid down by a recognized authority, may be thus briefly summarized "For dinners and for luncheons, cloths are woven with borders complete and with napkins to match each set. For the afternoon tea, small fringed napkins will be used, and they may or may not match the pattern of the cloth, as taste and circumstances determine. The dinner cloths are all required to show a finish of narrow hand-sewed hem, as on the napkins that accompany each. The lunch cloths are hemstitched. The 5 o'clock tea cloths are to have cut-work centers, cut-work edges, drawn- work borders, and as much elaboration as individual taste may suggest." Closely allied to the table linen and the bed linen is the department of toweling, for which still other grades of linen are required. This is a large department, and no more than a few suggestions would be in place at the end of an article which has already practically reached its limit. But there is one rule regarding toweling which should never be overlooked--let there be a good supply. Towels are closely related to health, purity and cleanliness. There is something defective in the management of a household which finds itself obliged to get along upon a scant supply. Then they should be of good size, if for no other reason, because they are so much more satisfactory in use when of ample dimensions. For everyday service and especially by children, servants and laborers, the very best form of towel is that familiar and much-abused variety, the roller, with its endless web of crash. For such use this has manifold advantages, not the least of which is that it is always in place, waiting for the next patron. Cotton towels are an abomination, and should never be countenanced though it is not demeaning any housekeeper that she shall make it a point to buy her toweling at such times and in such manner as shall give her the best value for the money invested. "Special sale" towels, if not defective in quality, may be commended to the prudent. Never put a towel into use -- and especially not in the guest room -- with the store starch still rendering its surface about as pleasant as a sheet of steel. At least give it a good thorough rinsing to remove the starch, allow it to dry, then iron lightly on both sides, and it will be found to present a very satisfactory surface ; though nothing can take the place, for luxurious use, of a soft, well-worn piece of linen, from which every trace of harshness has been long since removed. Good Housekeeping 1894

Bed Sheets and Blankets

2008-12-27T18:44:27Z

So much has recently been written and printed regarding sheets, pillow-slips and other white clothes for the bed that it may be quite as well to dismiss them with a few words. In the great majority of cases, even those favored housewives who have GOOD GOUSEKEEPING as a guide, are content for the most part with plain, serviceable cotton. This if neatly made up and kept tidy, contains all the elements of comfort-- and that is the first consideration for the equipment of the bed. Something a little finer, more attractive -- perhaps set off with a bit of embroidery or lace; whatever will be in good taste -- for "best" given so much, and we have the groundwork of common sense and comfort. From this basis, according to the means at hand, the taste and the opportunity for decoration and adornment, we go up the scale of excellence and elegance, to the sumptuous couch which in its wealth of luxuriance seems almost to repel rather than invite thoughts of repose. But leaving each good wife and mother to furnish her bed linen entirely to suit herself, we come to a field where there is opportunity for plenty of suggestion, and where many an one is glad to profit by the experience of others. Before going on to mention blankets, quilts, comfortables and spreads, it may not be amiss to suggest the desirability of having a full supply for all the beds in the house. Nothing is so vexatious as for a guest to find, on preparing to retire, that the bed is lightly clothed. Of course the thoughtful hostess makes sure on this point before the guest reaches the point of retiring, or on assigning the chamber; but unfortunately it is very easy to overlook or forget so simple a matter. Naturally most guests are reluctant to ask for more bedding, especially when left alone, with the probability that all others in the house may have gone to bed ; so they either lie and shiver through a considerable portion of the night, or are driven to other expedients for obtaining the essential degree of warmth. There is a happy mean, in the use of bedding, as in almost everything else. While there is certainly such a thing as piling too many clothes upon one, even in cold weather, there is just as certainly the danger of sleeping with too light a covering. There will be no mistake if one's own comfort regulates the quantity. Let the would-be sleeper feel conscious of having "just clothes enough," and the resulting sleep will be sound and restful -- other conditions being correct. A sense of oppressive weight means that there is too much bedding; just as surely as an instinctive desire to bury one's self in the mattress means that there is too little. An article of bed covering which should receive more attention than has been bestowed upon it, is the blanket. For numerous reasons it ought to be the standard covering. While it gives warmth and a sense of restfulness, it is sufficiently porous to admit some change of air, and so a degree of ventilation which cannot be too earnestly commended from a sanitary standpoint. It is not by any means "the thing" to so confine the body that it must be surrounded, all through the night, by a layer of impure air, growing more impure continually from the action of the system. The kind of warmth thus attained is not that which commends itself to those who would be healthful and robust. For summer use, when the weather is warm, a sufficient covering is given by the top sheet, a single blanket and a light spread. An extra blanket should always be at hand, for use on a cool night, or for the comfort of those people who like "a little more weight over them," even in warm weather. As the nights grow cooler, another pair of blankets should be added and for all ordinary conditions this amount of covering will be found ample, and will give the best results -- adequate warmth, with a satisfactory degree of ventilation. It will be better, from the sanitary point of view, that this much be required from blankets before resorting to the quilted " comfortables," regarding which a few plain considerations may not be amiss. A "quilt" is a thing of beauty, broadly speaking and on the same basis it is an artistic production. The patient woman has toiled on, without rejoinder for, was it not indispensable to her peace of mind that her "blazing star of Mexico" should blaze more brilliantly than that of her neighbor, whose work was the admiration of the community of favored inspectors or that her "crazy patchwork" should be crazier than that of some one else? And so the quilt is evolved, and is admired and why should it not be so? Yet after all it must be admitted that it has its defects as an article of bedding. It has warmth, to be sure. But it has that principally because it excludes the fresh air and retains the warm, foul air. It does the latter most effectually; and from this quality it derives its undesirable features. Of course we are considering those which are homemade, and so are commendable in other ways. There is nothing to be purchased at the stores more generally and entirely unsatisfactory than the various sorts of quilts and comfortables. In the first place, they are very seldom large enough for a bed of ordinary size, and whoever sleeps beneath them runs the risk of finding a "shortage" at one end or one side, or both, long before morning. The cotton which they contain is usually of the poorest quality, even when the price paid would indicate that first-class materials had been used. Then its arrangement would indicate that it had actually, been "thrown together" and secured where it fell with here a lump and there an entire absence - enough in the total to have given the proper thickness, perhaps, but no possible method short of an entire rebuilding, to getting an even distribution. Quilts and comfortables are not adapted to the sickbed, on account of the difficulty of thoroughly cleansing or disinfecting them. Sheets, blankets, spreads-- these can be washed and perfectly purified ; but with the comfortable the case is quite different. In the first place, the loose cotton with which it is padded is extremely absorbent, and is naturally adapted to take up and hold the germs of disease. This is a fact which should not be lost sight of in consideration of the desirability of the cotton-filled comforter. Not that it should never be used, though it is a question whether the advantage would not be on the right side, if it were entirely abolished. But its use should be confined to the beds of people in good health, large children or adults ; and it should have frequent thorough airing and full exposure to the sunshine. Thus used, during the coldest of the season, homemade quilts and comfortables have a place of utility. The list of materials which may be used in the making of these articles is almost endless. The upper portion and the lining should be of contrasting colors, and it is always an advantage if the two sides are so finished that the quilt may be reversible. A light side and a dark, or a brilliant and one with medium shades only, varied to suit the materials obtainable, give the general scheme, which each designer can carry out to her own satisfaction-- perhaps. It may not be inappropriate to suggest a few materials which may be used with good effect. Unbleached table damask makes one of the most desirable; prints and similar goods are naturally the standard, but in the same line may be included nun's veiling, coarse linen, brown hollands, Swiss muslins, ginghams and silesias. The line between quilts and spreads is an almost imperceptible one. The good old term of coverlet, which strictly applied to the outermost "spread" upon the bed, has almost gone out of use, with the peculiarly woven blue-and-white blanket with which its name was so closely associated a half-century since. Its successor was by natural course of fashion the white Marseilles spread, which has had, and still has, so large a degree of popular favor. But with the development of artistic taste, and the necessity for harmony throughout the appointments of a room, new designs and materials for outer coverings have become a necessity. In consequence, we not only have the hitherto spotlessly white Marseilles masquerading under a number of tints -- blue, pink, yellow, and the like -- but wholly different material has come into service -- with embroidery, lace, fringes and other modifications without number. As to this matter of harmony, it may be said that very few combinations or effects would be marred by dressing the bed entirely in white ; but if this is departed from, the covering should be in harmony with the prevailing tints of the room. The coverlet or counterpane which does service through the day should not as a rule form part of the covering when the bed is occupied, and only be added when the bed is again made up. If used at night, it speedily becomes soiled about the upper portion, and requires frequent laundering. And this brings us to consider one of the important things about the bed and its clothing. A word will cover all that need be said-- tidiness! No matter what degree of plainness may be necessary, or how unpretentious the apartment or the home; neatness may dwell in the midst of poverty, disarming it of half its sting; while in the home of comfort it is the one crowning and indispensable virtue. Hints For the Bedroom Be tidy. Luxury cannot induce sleep. Comfort is the first consideration. Use the blanket in preference to the comfortable. Never omit to have spare bedding in the guest chamber. Too many bedclothes are even more uncomfortable than not enough. Elegant fittings make a poor atonement for untidiness and disorder. A comfortable mattress is more desirable than a brilliant counterpane. Give the comfortables plenty of sun and air; never use them over sick persons. - Good Housekeeping 1894

Edwardian Children's Winter Picnic

2008-12-21T05:00:00Z

Margie Dean was a little girl who had been patient and good through a long illness, but now that she felt strong again it seemed hard to her that she could not run and play with the boys and girls she knew. One day she was standing at the window mournfully watch- ig the children go by with their sleds and skates, when her mother said: "Margie, let's have your little friends spend Saturday here. Suppose we play 'tis summer and ask all the boys and girls to a winter picnic." The invitations were short notes on small sheets of white paper with a bit of fern at the top of each. You may imagine the children's surprise when they read: Will you come down to my pond at 1 o'clock Saturday?'' They asked each other: "Did your note have 125 Blank Street on it ? How can Margie Dean have a pond in he house ? Where does she keep it ?" You may be sure they all decided not to go skating that Saturday. What fun Margie and her mother had getting ready! They moved all the potted plants to the dining room. They covered the sideboard, serving table and mantelpiece with white. Here and there they scattered a few ferns and Margie arranged some cat-tails she had brought from the country last summer in a great jar a one corner. The round table was covered with denim of a soft green. In the center of the table was the pond. This pond was really a round mirror with edges concealed with smilax. On its surface were toy ducks and geese, little toys of the most inexpensive sort, while grazing on the banks were miniature cows, horses and sheep. The chandelier was entirely concealed with branches of arbor vitae. Over the tablecloth were scattered a few ferns and white narcissi. The menu was very simple, but each course was so "picnicky" that the children entered merrily into the fun. This was what they had for the picnic luncheon: Malaga grapes Bouillon Thin bread and butter Broiled chicken Potato straws Brown bread and butter Sandwiches Cocoa Cream cheese and lettuce Nut sandwiches Bird's nest pudding Whipped cream Small cakes The fruit course was in place when the children entered the dining room. Though very simply arranged this added greatly to the charm of the table. Mrs. Dean had made small nests of excelsior and placed one at each cover filled with Malaga grapes. Under each nest was a fern frond. After the first course small packages, wrapped in Japanese napkins and tied with yellow and green baby ribbon, were passed. These packages proved to be sandwiches made of different things and to be eaten with the different courses. The potato straws were crisp and dry. With each cup of cocoa were two papier mache straws. The cream cheese was made into small "bird's eggs," flecked with pepper and disposed in nests of lettuce. The blancmange was molded in eggshells that Margie had taken great delight in "blowing." They were arranged upon a flat platter in a nest of whipped cream. For this course spoons were passed, and Margie gaily reminded her friends that even at an outdoor picnic one spoon was allowed and she had saved them for the whipped cream. The small cakes were iced in three tints, white, yellow and pale green. At the very last a tray was passed, piled high with round bags of yellow and green crepe paper. These bags were simply squares of crepe paper fluffed at the edges, filled with marshmallows and tied with baby ribbon. The spring colors made a pretty showing and the opening of the packages was an added pleasure for the children. When the picnic was over Mrs. Dean gathered the children around a big wood fire and beguiled them into discussing summer days, gardening, and the flowers they loved best. Together they went through flower catalogs till their enthusiasm was high. She then left the room and when she came back she had a pretty bag filled with small packages of flower seeds. From this each child was allowed to take a package and she told them to wait until spring and then plant the seed and see what flowers would grow. The recipes used for the luncheon were the following : Potato Straws-Potato straws are light and harmless and should not be classed with harmful fried food. Cut the straws lengthwise of the potato, first in slices about one-eighth of an inch thick, and then into straws the length of the slices. They should be cooked quickly in hot fat until crisp and of a lemon color. The straws are especially pretty if cut with a fluted knife. Nut Sandwiches-Cut thin slices of buttered graham bread into circles with a small biscuit cutter. Place on top of each sandwich the meat of one-half of an English walnut. The walnuts may be held in place with a little butter. Bird's Nest Pudding-Put one pint of milk on to heat in a double boiler, moisten four tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with four tablespoons sugar with a little cold milk and stir into the hot milk; stir until it thickens, then add a teaspoon of vanilla. Have ready some eggshells that have been emptied from a small hole in the top, fill them with this mixture, stand them in a pan of Indian meal or flour to prevent them from falling over, and put in a cold place to harden. Whip a pint of cream, dispose the cornstarch eggs upon a round platter, surrounded with a nest of whipped cream. - The Good Housekeeping Hostess 1904

Covering Jam.

2008-12-14T05:00:00Z

Jam Jars, Glass Jars, Tumblers, and Pails from 1894 A SERIOUS JAR. If Jem is the same as Jim, And G sounds the same as J, Then between a Gem, and Jim, and Jem, What is the difference, pray ? We read about Gem Jars, -- Jars made for holding jam. Then, are these Gem jars jim jam jars? (Be calm, my mind, be calm.) - The Popular Speaker 1885 Few of the rising generation remember the world before the "gem jar," but the middle aged remember with sorrow the many golden summer hours of their youth spent in holding down the refractory paper while an elder member of the family wasted strength and energy on getting the string round the top in the tightest manner possible. First on the list came the white paper, all neatly notched round, dipped in brandy. Sometimes, for scientific reasons unknown to the writer, a few grains of granulated sugar were sprinkled on this. Then came the outer covering of thick brown paper, likewise notched, and then the string, which often broke at the trying moment of the final tug. The white pound pot is still on many a storeroom shelf. It is well to make use of it. Buy a package of very best toilet paper. Cut two rounds for each of your pots, each round large enough to overlap an inch. Have ready a saucer of milk, which, by the way, had better be boiled first to destroy all micro-organisms. Dip the paper in the milk one round at a time, for if left soaking in the milk it will become too pulpy. Cover each pot with a sheet and in about five minutes, when that has slightly dried, put on a second. These will form a sort of parchment, and your jam will keep excellently. The writer speaks from the experience of years. - Good Housekeeping 1894

Displaying Small Kitchen Wares

2008-12-13T05:00:00Z

In many stores we have seen window displays of small kitchen wares, they being usually laid on the show window floor. It is a somewhat difficult method of display, as they do not stand out sufficiently prominent. Kieffer Brothers utilize the method indicated in the accompanying illustration. The boards are 8 feet high and 3 feet wide. Two are used in the large show windows at a time. On the one board were fastened various sized enamel spoons. On the other were shown dippers, graters, cake turners, cups, ect both in tin and graniteware. As the background on the boards was a dull red cloth and the edges of the boards were a black moulding, these, together with the color of the goods gave a touch of color to the display. It is an inexpensive method and at the same time more attractive if the goods were loosely laid around the window bottom. - Hardware Dealers 1911