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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 January 18, 2010

Listing all the 1890 Articles

Secret Floor Stains

WITH the spread of Anglo-mania, smooth, bare floors, in early English style, have grown more and more popular, and wealthy men pay more dollars per square foot than I care to specify, for rosewood, mahogany, West India cherry, and antique oak floors, solid, not veneered. And yet, with all this lavish expense, there are few of them more beautiful than some which might have...Continue Reading

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

The Strawberry

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...Continue Reading

Baby's Announcement Cards.

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 received 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...Continue Reading

The Lunch Table - Some Suggestions as to its Decoration

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...Continue Reading

The Linen Closet - Tablecloths and Napkins

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...Continue Reading

Bed Sheets and Blankets

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 HOUSEKEEPING as a guide, are content for the most part with plain, serviceable cotton. This if neatly made up...Continue Reading

Covering Jam.

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...Continue Reading

Broom Covers

To every woman who does her own housework, "those porches" are a daily nightmare -- particularly in dry, dusty weather. Mopping is wet, dirty work -- hard alike on hands, clothes and temper. To avoid this vexation of spirit, try the plan given below: Buy a yard and a quarter of colored Canton flannel, which will be enough for two covers. It comes in...Continue Reading

Sarah J. Ames

Mrs. A. T. Ames Deputy Sheriff of Boone County, Illinois The excerpt below is about a Mrs. A. T. Ames who was elected as Deputy Sheriff in Belvidere, Boone County Illinois. After a quick search of the 1880 and 1900 census I found Albert T Ames, Sheriff in 1880 for the aforesaid location. He was born in New York and his wife, Sarah J.,...Continue Reading

The Shoe Bag

"A Place for Every Shoe, and Every Shoe in its Place." A spicy magazine article, entitled "Skeletons in Closets," enters complaint against the omnipresent shoe bag; protesting against " wall pockets nailed inside closet doors, for holding boots and shoes," saying, " It is the worst possible plan yet devised for keeping them," and inviting suggestions for something better in its place. An old...Continue Reading

How Blue Monday was Named

An Advertisement for Pearline washing Soap - 1892 The custom of having wash-day on Monday has probably caused more inconvenience to the housekeeper's servants, in fact to the whole household, than they dream of, thereby making it a day to be dreaded, and causing it to be called "blue Monday." Every member of a household feels it, from the darling babe to the pater...Continue Reading

Julius B. Bruenn - A New York Merchant

I like to run across ordinary people who found their way into the publications of the era. Oftentimes there is biographical information that can be gleamed for genealogy purposes. And too many times this information is totally lost to the family lines involved. So as I run across them I shall add them for historical interest. Today's subject is Julius B. Bruenn. I ran...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

Aluminum Cooking Ware.

This article from Manufacture and Builder March 1894 - From present indications, there is one important field which the metal aluminum has just fairly invaded, and which it will shortly occupy to the exclusion of all other materials. We refer to kitchen and cooking utensils. It has only been within the past year or two that any special attention has been directed to the...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

Pig Latin, Goose Latin and all those Secret Languages

One of my favorite things to do is read articles from old magazines and periodicals. I find it intriguing to get a 19th century view on things, including their own recollections of their past. I was searching for articles about school houses since I had read some rather inspiring verses of prose so that I wanted to explore that theme a little more. While searching...Continue Reading

Wall Papers

If a paneled effect is desired for a room that is intended to be particularly dainty, .such as a boudoir, nothing would be prettier than to use a plain paper at the top and bottom of the wall, and to separate the panels. This should be delicate in tone, buff, cream or pale blue, and used in strips from fifteen to eighteen inches wide. The...Continue Reading

Stencil Designs for Ceilings, etc.

Click Image for a Larger View Until lately, it was the prevailing fashion, in all houses of any pretension to elegance of interior finish, to introduce more or less elaborate ornamentation of the ceilings with the aid of stucco, which was then finished in colors, giving a florid, but, for apartments of good size, a general attractive appearance. This fashion has to some extent...Continue Reading

Toilet Roll Holder

This Victorian toilet roll holder dates around 1891. It was originally in a blackened finish and it measures around 8" x 6 1/2"....Continue Reading

The Rochester Lamp

Click Image for a Larger View The attention devoted to the construction of lamps, electroliers and chandeliers for gas and electric lighting, has had the effect of greatly improving the artistic merits of these fixtures, which afford so inviting a field for the exercise of the skill and good taste of the designer. The same improvement may be remarked in the production of artistic...Continue Reading

The Albee Champion Router.

This valuable machine, by reason of the multifarious functions it is capable of exercising, will be found a most desirable addition to the outfit of the wood-working factory. In a former issue of this journal we gave some account of this machine, with an illustration of specimens of its work. Since that time, arrangements have been perfected by which the machine has been taken...Continue Reading

Color in House Interiors.

The principles of the proper use of color in house interiors are not difficult to master. It is unthinking, unreflective action which makes so many un-restful interiors of homes. The creator of a home should consider, in the first place, that it is matter as important as climate, and as difficult to get away from, and that the first shades of color used in the...Continue Reading

Bouquet

MATERIALS REQUIRED : Sheets of colored tissue-paper of light yellow, orange, rose-color, red, light and dark violet, deep crimson, purple, light and dark blue, and white, two of each; also a fourth as many sheets of light and dark green tissue-paper as there are players; one spool of fine wire, such as tissue-paper manufactorers sell; No. 8 needles and Nu 70 white and black...Continue Reading

Home Decoration - The Hall

"The Hall" The hall being the index to the whole house, due care should therefore be given to its furnishing. Light colors and gilding should be avoided. The wall and ceiling decorations now mostly used are in dark rich colors, shaded in maroons or deep reds. Plain tinted walls and ceilings in fresco or wainscot are also frequently used. The latest shades of wall paper...Continue Reading

Home Decoration - The Kitchen

"The Kitchen" It is a remark too often made that this or that "is good enough for a servant." If all knew that unpleasant surroundings made unpleasant servants and ill-prepared meals, we think more pains would be taken to have pleasant and comfortable kitchens. There should be a pleasant window or two through which fresh air and floods of sunlight may come, a few plants...Continue Reading

Home Decoration - Dining Room

"Dining Room" The dining-room should be furnished with a view to convenience, richness, and comfort. Choose deep rich grounds for the walls-bronze-maroon, black, Pompeiian red, and deep olive-and the designs and traceries in old gold, olive or moss green, with dado and frieze to correspond. Or, the walls may be wainscoted with oak, walnut, maple, ect. Some are finished in plain panels, with different kinds...Continue Reading

Home Decoration - The Chambers

"Chambers" The walls of bedrooms should be decorated in light tints and shadings, with a narrow rail and deep frieze. Most housekeepers prefer rugs and oiled floors to carpets, but this is a matter of individual taste. Rugs are as fashionable as they are wholesome and tidy. These floor coverings should be darker than the furniture, yet blending in shade. If carpets are chosen they...Continue Reading

Home Decoration - The Library

"The Library" The walls of the library should be hung with rich, dark colors, the latest style in wall paper being a black ground with old gold and olive-green designs. The carpet comes in Pompeiian red, with moss-green and peacock-blue patterns. Statuary and the best pictures should find a place in the library. The library table should be massive and the top laid with...Continue Reading

Home Decoration - The Sitting Room

"The Sitting Room" The sitting or everyday room should be the brightest and most attractive room in the house. Its beauty of decoration should not be so much in the richness and variety of material as in its comfort, simplicity, and the harmony in its tints-the main features being the fitness of each article to the needs of the room. In these days of so...Continue Reading

Home Decoration - The Parlor

"The Parlor" The furnishing of the parlor should be subject to its architectural finish. The first things to be considered are the walls and floor. The former may be decorated in fresco or papered, according to the individual taste and means. The prettiest styles of parlor paper are light tints of gray, olive, pearl, and lavender grounds, and in small scroll patterns, panels, birds, and...Continue Reading

Home Decoration - Overview

Taken from Useful Information for Ladies 1897 "Overview" The chief features to be observed in house furnishing are color, form, and proportion. All stiffness of design in furniture should be avoided. Do not attempt to match articles, but rather carry out the same idea as to color and form in the whole. It is not ?n r?gle to have decorations in sets or pairs ;...Continue Reading