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A Victorian Passage has published 134 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 September 5, 2008

Listing all the Early American 1790-1839 Articles

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

Wintertime Maladies

When winter gets here it likes to dry our skin. Most of us can relate since we still suffer with chapped lips and dried hands, the very same things our ancestors have dealt with through the centuries. Only today we grab the bottle of lotion for our hands and burt's bees wax, or chapstick, to ease our irritated lips. Interestingly the book "A New System...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

TWELVE BILLS OF FARE

A Bill of FARE for JANUARY. First Course. 1 Cod's Head. 2 Soup Sante. 3 Roast Beef. 4 Scotch Collops. 5 Leg of Lamb. 6 Plumb Pudding. 7 Petit Patties. 8 Boiled Chickens. 9 Tongue. Second Course. 1 Roast Turkey. 2 Jellies. 3 Woodcocks. 4 Marinated Smelts. 5 Leg of Lamb. 6 Almond Cheese-cakes. 7 Minced Pies. 8 Larks. 9 Lobsters. A Bill of...Continue Reading

Loaf Sugar

The old loaf sugar came from wooden molds that were conical shaped. Thus they themselves were cone shaped and a cook would have to pound the loaf to get loose sugar for cooking. They had to use special tongs/cutters to break of pieces of the loaf for consumption. The Frugal Housewife. from 1830 says this about its wrapping, "The purple paper, which comes on...Continue Reading

Horsehair Sieve

A kitchen utensil often used in sifting bran. A man named Benjamin Gilbert was a tanner/currier/shoemaker by birth, but he percieved a market in making horsehair sieves for the common people who already used these in the making of meal. He began his business venture around 1818 and they did become quite popular....Continue Reading