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A Victorian Passage has published 152 articles on a diverse range of subjects. Most of our growing archive of Victorian Era subjects are taken directly from 19th century sources to achieve a closer look into how our ancestors really lived. We have also been expanding our historical eras to include Early American from 1790-1839 and the Edwardian period of the early 20th century. Latest article added November 16, 2009

Listing all the Articles

What Is Bluing?

If you open any cookbook or other domestic book for house keepers you will usually find instructions on how to do laundry. Inevitably you will come upon the rinsing of clothes to be done by putting into bluing. This is what was commonly used to brighten whites. In it's earliest forms it was used by having indigo tied in a thin muslin bag and...Continue Reading

Unfolding the Mysteries of Sealing Wax and Wafers

Introduction To Sealing Wax and Wafers In the 19th century, sealing wax was a material made by the melting of lac or rosin with turpentine and pigments. In it's earliest forms it would have been made of beeswax and resin. The sealing wax was used to "seal" the letters or envelopes, with or without a wafer. During the early to mid 19th century the...Continue Reading

Victorian Shoes in the Making

Different regions were known for wanting different characteristics in shoes. For example in the United States the Northerner liked shoes that were comfortable, neat but also stylish. The southerner was known to desire a pair that were fancy and handsome. Then the westerners would demand a shoe that had solidity and fullness to deal with the rough terrain. There were many resources were put...Continue Reading

Time Line of the Sand Box.

Baby's Sand Pile {1904} In a great wooden box, Nice and smooth to save her frocks, Is the baby's sand-pile, where all day she plays; And the things she thinks and makes, From a house and barn to cakes, Would keep, I think, her family all their days. Once she said she'd make a pie, - Or, at least, she'd like to try, -...Continue Reading

The Dawn of the Egg Beater

AN advertisement in 1899 showing the coveted family size Dover Egg Beater. In the last half of the 19th century a new kind of egg beater came on the scene with the intent of reducing the time a cook needed to beat, whip or froth eggs. At first many of these devices were cumbersome, difficult and most didn't even live up to the claims...Continue Reading

Cane Bottomed Chairs

Ladder-back chairs have gained a lot of attention in the collectors realm in the past few years. But this really isn't anything new. A book that was originally published in 1903 went on to describe these rush bottomed chairs as something that had up until then been quite overlooked. So in an effort to preserve it explained the process of how to make the...Continue Reading

In the Early Kitchen...Cooking Utensils

WOODEN WARES There was quite a variety of the kitchen items made from wood. A pretty good list includes wooden tubs, boxes, buckets, bowls, bread troughs, pans, sieves, sifters, potato mashing "beetles", meat "beetles", hickory egg-beaters, spaddles or round short hickory sticks flattened at one end, paste-boards, coffee-sticks, mush-sticks, clothes-sticks, spoons and ladles. Oak was considered a better choice over the cedar wood. Often...Continue Reading

A Look Around the Early Country Kitchen

"IN the primitive days of our grandfathers' time, When the fire-place, genial and bright, Its cavernous recesses glowing with flame, Filled the old-fashioned kitchen with light;" - Taken from a poem by Lizzie Clark Hardy 1877 Kitchens have changed dramatically since the early days of the 19th century. They were simple and often very plainly furnished. This simple mentality is reiterated in the statement...Continue Reading

The Making of Beeswax Candles

What a variety of candles can be found today! The types of waxes have extended beyond the tallow and beeswax of our early ancestors to include paraffin, soy, and gel. There is even another type of wax which was discovered by the American colonists and still in use today. It is called Bayberry wax, which is derived from bayberries, naturally! Many people are interested...Continue Reading

19th Century Diaries

Many of our 19th century ancestors kept diaries, scrapbooks or even autograph books. The reasons varied from person to person, but one article on the subject noted that it would be a wise idea to keep a diary of the events that played out. This was true even in the common man [or woman's] life, since after all "every man's life is of importance...Continue Reading

Sweet Dreams - A Look at the Bed and Bedroom of the 1850's

This being a cold and snowy afternoon has me drowsy and looking over at my feather pillows and covers wishing to slip off into slumber. So with that said and the fact that we have had some recent articles on bedroom cottage furniture, we are going to go over some advice from the book The Practical Housekeeper, about this topic. We have mentioned before how...Continue Reading

If Walls Could Say, "I'm Clean!"

WALLS The methods of cleaning paint, wallpaper, and wainscoting varied only slightly throughout the early 19th century. Between 1800 and 1840 we see a few methods spoken of throughout the various cookbooks or servants companions that were being published. One such book called A New System of Domestic Cookery published in 1807 explains how to clean paint: Never use a cloth, but take off the...Continue Reading