Welcome to our virtual museum!
Sarah and Gabriel Chrisman are a married couple engaged in a long-term experiential study of culture and technologies of the late nineteenth-century. Sarah writes books about the Victorian era, and our entire life is an ongoing research project into our favorite decades of the 1880's and '90's.
Our home was built in 1888/89, and we incorporate as many details of the late nineteenth-century into our daily lives as we possibly can —from the Victorian-style clothes we wear every day, to our wood-burning stove and antique ice box, to countless other details of everyday life in the Victorian era. The way we choose to live provides us a depth of insight which gives an exceptional vibrancy and realism to Sarah's historical fiction. Be sure to check out her Tales of Chetzemoka Victorian cycling club series!
We are NOT actors playing dress-up to portray "great men/women", but just ordinary people choosing to insert as much of history into our present as we can, and using our experiences to teach others. Sarah wears a corset 24/7, 365 days a year. All of Gabriel's current glasses date from the nineteenth century, from his 1850's green sunglasses, to his everyday gold-rimmed spectacles, to his pince-nez for reading. We don't have cell phones, or watch television; Sarah doesn't even have a driver's license. This is who we are.
Our home was built in 1888/89, and we incorporate as many details of the late nineteenth-century into our daily lives as we possibly can —from the Victorian-style clothes we wear every day, to our wood-burning stove and antique ice box, to countless other details of everyday life in the Victorian era. The way we choose to live provides us a depth of insight which gives an exceptional vibrancy and realism to Sarah's historical fiction. Be sure to check out her Tales of Chetzemoka Victorian cycling club series!
We are NOT actors playing dress-up to portray "great men/women", but just ordinary people choosing to insert as much of history into our present as we can, and using our experiences to teach others. Sarah wears a corset 24/7, 365 days a year. All of Gabriel's current glasses date from the nineteenth century, from his 1850's green sunglasses, to his everyday gold-rimmed spectacles, to his pince-nez for reading. We don't have cell phones, or watch television; Sarah doesn't even have a driver's license. This is who we are.
We help researchers in various genres with their projects. We've worked with novel writers, film producers (for documentaries as well as movies), and radio programs. For help with your project, please contact us through our Historical Consulting page.
We also make appearances at history-oriented events, as well as giving formal presentations. If your organization is interested in having us present, by all means please contact us! A number of different options are available: check out the choices by clicking on "Services We Offer."
"From my earliest boyhood, ancient wearing apparel, old household and kitchen utensils, and antique furniture, have appealed to me with peculiar force, telling facts and relating incidents to me in such a plain, homely but graphic manner of the every-day life of our ancestors, that I look upon them more as text-books than as curiosities; for it is only by the light of truth reflected from these objects that we are enabled to. . . pierce the. . . fiction with which the perspective of years surrounds the commonest objects of those remote times."
—Beard, Dan C. "Six Feet of Romance." The Cosmopolitan. July, 1889. p. 226.
—Beard, Dan C. "Six Feet of Romance." The Cosmopolitan. July, 1889. p. 226.
Essays by Sarah about a few of our philosophies:
Costumes vs. Clothing: An excerpt from Victorian Secrets:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/costume-vs-clothing.html
Curating history:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/curating-history
The difference between digitization and preservation:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/digitization-does-not-equal-preservation
Daily Challenges:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/-daily-challenges-perverts-at-purple-haze-fire-to-temper-steel
Getting Intimate With History:
https://vintorian.blogspot.ca/2015/12/getting-intimate-with-history-lessons.html
What Millenial Women Can Learn From Victorian Ladies:
http://www.refinery29.com/victorian-living-millennial-women
Photo courtesy Estar Hyo-Gyung Choi, Mary Studio.
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For peeks into our daily life, click on the links to the left!
(They are also indexed below, for easy searching.)
The Everyday Life and Cycling pages are especially popular.
Also, please read my books!
Buying my books is the best way to find out more about us and support what we do. Thank you!
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This Victorian Life: Modern Adventures in Nineteenth-Century Culture, Cooking, Fashion, and Technologies (Non-fiction) More true stories from our daily life! |
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Check out my fiction, too!
Tales of Chetzemoka Victorian cycling club series
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Index to this website:
Books
Books we've written or otherwise been involved with. Thank you for looking!
Presentation Menu
Our educational presentations
Consulting Services
Our Victorian Home
Cooking / Mealtimes
Home - our Victorian house and its rooms
-Bedroom
-Kitchen / Dining room
-Parlor
-Sarah's massage studio / "Tillie's room"
Light and Heat
Sewing
Sports & Leisure
Writing
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Daily Challenges
Antique Clothes
Selections from our antique clothing collection
Everyday Clothes
Selections from our everyday clothes
Sarah
A few words about Sarah
Gabriel
A few words about Gabriel
Upcoming Presentations
Past events
Links
Media
Articles about us and interviews on radio and television
Portraits
Photographic portraits of us
Frequently Asked Questions
Cycling
A bit of cycling history—and pictures of us with our wheels!
Leisure Activities
Popular Victorian sports and leisure activities and pictures of our experiences with them
Victorian Food
Fun with Fine Art
Paintings and photographs
Research materials
Our home
A virtual tour of our Eastlake-style Victorian home, built in 1888-89
Bedroom
Kitchen and dining room
Parlor
Sarah's massage studio
Blog
Historical articles
Historical articles transcribed from materials in our collection, indexed by title and by subject
Historical images
Historical images scanned from ephemera in our collection
Animals
Athletes
Bicycles
Comics
Children
Corset advertisements
Dining
Fashion Plates
Flowers
Food advertisements
Health and Beauty Products
Misc.
Photo of children
Photos of couples and families
Photos of maids
Photos of nurses
Photos of various Victorian women
Romantic images
Servants
Sheet music
Donate
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Please like Sarah's author page on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ThisVictorianLife?fref=ts
Thank you!
If you've found our website helpful, please consider making a cash donation.
Your generous support helps us maintain this website and continue our outreach, so that we can keep teaching others about the history we love.
Everything helps and is appreciated!
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