This is a traditional time of year for remembering those who've passed on, so I put together an anthology of Victorian poetry on death and mourning:
Words For Parting Love and grief and the two most private, and at the same time the most universal of all human emotions. It is for love that we remember the dead: love of their spirits, love of their vibrancy, love of the good deeds which they did and which live on after them. The poems in this collection were all written by grieving hearts who have now themselves passed over into that great mystery. We can not truly know what death is, yet we know it will come to all of us. In ancient times when a friend told the philosopher Socrates that his judges had sentenced him to death he responded, "And has not Nature passed the same sentence on them?" "…Go to a typical American elementary school a day or so before Hallowe’en and ask a classroom of schoolchildren to draw a ghost’s house. If our culture simply associated ghosts with any general group of people who have passed on, one would expect a broad range of dwellings to be represented in the children’s drawings, representing a span across human history: caves, huts, castles, etc. Yet it’s rare for our culture to conjure these as their first impulse picture of a ghost’s abode. With the possible exception of classrooms in certain New England communities, I expect that even an eighteenth-century home would be the exception rather than the rule in the drawings produced by our theoretical class of children—with most of the boys and girls happily sketching away at nearly identical images of decayed Victorian mansions while one or two immigrant children wondered why their classmates’ drawings had such a striking uniformity. Their puzzlement would be entirely legitimate. After all, why isn’t an American’s first thought when they hear the word "ghost" an eighteenth- or a seventeenth-century specter? If it’s simply a matter of accessibility and familiarity, why don’t we think of twentieth-century ghosts? It’s not as though no one died in the past hundred years. There is an immense amount of cultural baggage tied up with the idea of a haunted house, and nearly all of the images first appearing when the phrase is invoked are Victorian in nature. Simply utter the words "haunted house" and the average American mind instantly conjures up a silhouette of a Queen Anne mansion with crumbling gables and a small graveyard to the side, the whole scene backlit by a huge harvest moon. Few would associate the term with a 1950s rambler or a tract house quite so quickly, no matter how many grisly murders had been committed there… How did such lovely examples of architecture as Victorian houses become associated with dead people who can’t make up their minds about an afterlife? Culturally speaking, much of the ectoplasmic trail can be followed back to the economic depression of the 1930s. At that time, Victorian buildings were seen as white elephants: embarrassing remembrances of a more affluent time. No one could afford their upkeep any longer and they were thus left to rot and become infested by unpleasant creatures making frightening sounds in the dark. As disenfranchised people wandered the country looking for work and scraping for food, they hated these empty reminders of an ancestral prosperity and dignity now lost, with their broken windows that leered like the disapproving eyes of the dead. The New Yorker cartoonist Charles Addams illustrated the spirit of that discomfort in his Addams Family drawings, macabre caricatures of ghoulish creatures living amid decayed Victorian settings. In doing so, he cemented these images in the American subconscious for decades to come. It can be quite interesting to see how modern purveyors of the macabre take advantage of this permeating connection lingering in our minds…" --This Victorian Life, Sarah A. Chrisman *** |
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Words For Parting
Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning
The Case of the Small Shoes —a.k.a. Survival Bias: No, people were NOT "just smaller then."
10/16/2017
Recently my husband and I found ourselves visiting a modern apartment and I was struck by how low the ceilings seemed. I remarked on it to Gabriel: "You know, I've gotten so used to the ten-foot ceilings in our house, I almost feel like I have to duck my head in a modern place." I giggled at myself. "—And isn't it funny how low the counters and cabinets seem in a twenty-first century kitchen?"
"Funny, isn't it?" He agreed.
"I'm sure a hundred years from now people will look at a building like this and say, "Oh, people were just smaller then!"
We both laughed at this because it was a reference to a misconception we hear so often it seems downright trite to us. It comes from something called survival bias: some artifacts survive through time better than others, and the ones which do create a bias of opinion about the past.
Virtually all the articles of clothing on display in museums —especially the shoes— are far too small to fit the modern adults examining them. This is generally explained with a dismissive, "People were smaller back then." (Never mind that if we extend this hypothesis to take the ten-foot ceilings in my 1888 home into account we are left with a comical image of towering beanpoles of humanity stilt-walking through life on minute feet.) In fact, the average heights of people in the late-nineteenth-century are fairly close to their modern counterparts:
—An 1861 government report recorded that the average height of men in Ohio was "a fraction under five feet ten and a half inches.". (Source: http://tinyurl.com/y9zjbyh4)
—An article published in the Port Townsend Leader, February 14, 1895, confirmed: "The English professional classes, who head the list as the tallest of adult males, attain the average of 5 feet, 9.14 inches. Next on the list come the males of all classes in the United States, and a minute fraction behind them come the English of all classes."
—An 1884 reference book listed the required heights of men for acceptance into various branches of the British military:
"The "Royal Horse Guards"…take none but picked men of good character, and over 5 feet 10 inches
ft. in. ft. in.
The Dragoon Guards
take men from 5 8 to 5 11
The Lancers " " 5 7 to 5 9
The Hussars " " 5 6 to 5 8"
Source: 1,000 Answers to 1,000 Questions. London: "Tit-Bits" Offices, 1884. p. 243.
—According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the current average height for an American male in 2017 is 5 ft. 9.2 inches: a statistic with no appreciable difference from the figures of 1861 or 1895.
—To come at the question from a different angle, remember that high wheel bicycles are sized to leg-length and we'll examine the average wheels sold in 1883: (N.B. Gabriel is 5'10" and rides a 52 inch wheel.) In 1883 a major American cycling firm reported: "For every 61-inch machine sold, they have sold two 58-inch; sixteen 56-inch; fifty 54-inch; ninety-one 52-inch; one hundred and four 50-inch; sixty-nine 48-inch; thirty-three 46-inch; thirteen 44-inch; and twelve 42-inch." (Source: "Wheel News." The Wheelman. June, 1883., p. 233.)
So, if average heights haven't changed that much since the nineteenth-century, why are the clothes in museums so small? Survival bias.
Clothes that are worn every day tend to be worn, until they wear out. If someone gets tired of a garment that still has some functional use left, they generally pass it on to a friend, relative or charity and then someone else wears it until it wears out. This was even more pronouncedly the case in the past, when clothing was more expensive than at present. The most common sizes go through the most hands before being discarded and they are used until they fall to pieces. In the nineteenth-century even after clothing had deteriorated into bits its usefulness was not yet over: pretty fabrics could be cut up into quilting pieces, doll clothes or other children's toys, and rough materials found use as cleaning rags, furniture stuffing, and any other use a resourceful human mind was capable of devising. After being worn out as rags shredded bits of fabric were finally gathered by rag collectors and turned into pulp for making paper.
The most common items of life rarely survive through time: survival bias works against them. The clothes that do survive long enought to find their way into museums are the ones few people can wear. Teenaged sizes, and clothes worn by particularly small women are more likely to end their days in a museum than clothes worn by an average woman. More women's clothing than men's clothing has survived through time because in the twentieth-century it became socially acceptable for a woman to wear second-hand men's clothing as rough garments: the idea of a man wearing second-hand women's clothing for rough work has never really caught on. Women's fashions also changed more quickly, and items that had become unfashionable were worn less. Leather garments (especially shoes and gloves) on display in museums seem even smaller than they would have at the time they were worn, because leather shrinks over time.
Besides size considerations, the type of clothing which does tend to be saved is that deemed too valuable or special to wear very often: christening gowns, wedding dresses, ball gowns and military dress uniforms (not fatigues).
For us, the most interesting artifacts are the items that were once most common and that represent daily activities. These are the items that were most rarely preserved, and their absence from museums skews the general view of the past. Most people's instant associations with a given era are profoundly shaped by the niche focus carved by time. When people regard museum collections, the prevelance of fancy dress and formal wear —the articles which did not get worn with enough frequency to be worn out— ironically lead them to the faulty conclusion that these were the most common items worn on a daily basis. In actuality, the daily wear during the Victorian era was comprised of a wide variety of clothing which is frequently forgotten, including the first mail-order dresses and denim jeans, and like garments appropriate to the humdrum activities which fill most of life's hours.
We love historical artifacts because they are the physical manifestations of stories: we ask ourselves who used them long ago, and what the world was like when they were new. To understand that world fully, we must also take into account the ages which have passed since then, and remember how an item reflects not only the generation which created it, but also each successive generation who preserved it. To the questions asked above about the item's owner, we must add one more about the item itself: why was it saved? The inquiry opens a new and fascinating path through the labyrinth of the past.
"Funny, isn't it?" He agreed.
"I'm sure a hundred years from now people will look at a building like this and say, "Oh, people were just smaller then!"
We both laughed at this because it was a reference to a misconception we hear so often it seems downright trite to us. It comes from something called survival bias: some artifacts survive through time better than others, and the ones which do create a bias of opinion about the past.
Virtually all the articles of clothing on display in museums —especially the shoes— are far too small to fit the modern adults examining them. This is generally explained with a dismissive, "People were smaller back then." (Never mind that if we extend this hypothesis to take the ten-foot ceilings in my 1888 home into account we are left with a comical image of towering beanpoles of humanity stilt-walking through life on minute feet.) In fact, the average heights of people in the late-nineteenth-century are fairly close to their modern counterparts:
—An 1861 government report recorded that the average height of men in Ohio was "a fraction under five feet ten and a half inches.". (Source: http://tinyurl.com/y9zjbyh4)
—An article published in the Port Townsend Leader, February 14, 1895, confirmed: "The English professional classes, who head the list as the tallest of adult males, attain the average of 5 feet, 9.14 inches. Next on the list come the males of all classes in the United States, and a minute fraction behind them come the English of all classes."
—An 1884 reference book listed the required heights of men for acceptance into various branches of the British military:
"The "Royal Horse Guards"…take none but picked men of good character, and over 5 feet 10 inches
ft. in. ft. in.
The Dragoon Guards
take men from 5 8 to 5 11
The Lancers " " 5 7 to 5 9
The Hussars " " 5 6 to 5 8"
Source: 1,000 Answers to 1,000 Questions. London: "Tit-Bits" Offices, 1884. p. 243.
—According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, the current average height for an American male in 2017 is 5 ft. 9.2 inches: a statistic with no appreciable difference from the figures of 1861 or 1895.
—To come at the question from a different angle, remember that high wheel bicycles are sized to leg-length and we'll examine the average wheels sold in 1883: (N.B. Gabriel is 5'10" and rides a 52 inch wheel.) In 1883 a major American cycling firm reported: "For every 61-inch machine sold, they have sold two 58-inch; sixteen 56-inch; fifty 54-inch; ninety-one 52-inch; one hundred and four 50-inch; sixty-nine 48-inch; thirty-three 46-inch; thirteen 44-inch; and twelve 42-inch." (Source: "Wheel News." The Wheelman. June, 1883., p. 233.)
So, if average heights haven't changed that much since the nineteenth-century, why are the clothes in museums so small? Survival bias.
Clothes that are worn every day tend to be worn, until they wear out. If someone gets tired of a garment that still has some functional use left, they generally pass it on to a friend, relative or charity and then someone else wears it until it wears out. This was even more pronouncedly the case in the past, when clothing was more expensive than at present. The most common sizes go through the most hands before being discarded and they are used until they fall to pieces. In the nineteenth-century even after clothing had deteriorated into bits its usefulness was not yet over: pretty fabrics could be cut up into quilting pieces, doll clothes or other children's toys, and rough materials found use as cleaning rags, furniture stuffing, and any other use a resourceful human mind was capable of devising. After being worn out as rags shredded bits of fabric were finally gathered by rag collectors and turned into pulp for making paper.
The most common items of life rarely survive through time: survival bias works against them. The clothes that do survive long enought to find their way into museums are the ones few people can wear. Teenaged sizes, and clothes worn by particularly small women are more likely to end their days in a museum than clothes worn by an average woman. More women's clothing than men's clothing has survived through time because in the twentieth-century it became socially acceptable for a woman to wear second-hand men's clothing as rough garments: the idea of a man wearing second-hand women's clothing for rough work has never really caught on. Women's fashions also changed more quickly, and items that had become unfashionable were worn less. Leather garments (especially shoes and gloves) on display in museums seem even smaller than they would have at the time they were worn, because leather shrinks over time.
Besides size considerations, the type of clothing which does tend to be saved is that deemed too valuable or special to wear very often: christening gowns, wedding dresses, ball gowns and military dress uniforms (not fatigues).
For us, the most interesting artifacts are the items that were once most common and that represent daily activities. These are the items that were most rarely preserved, and their absence from museums skews the general view of the past. Most people's instant associations with a given era are profoundly shaped by the niche focus carved by time. When people regard museum collections, the prevelance of fancy dress and formal wear —the articles which did not get worn with enough frequency to be worn out— ironically lead them to the faulty conclusion that these were the most common items worn on a daily basis. In actuality, the daily wear during the Victorian era was comprised of a wide variety of clothing which is frequently forgotten, including the first mail-order dresses and denim jeans, and like garments appropriate to the humdrum activities which fill most of life's hours.
We love historical artifacts because they are the physical manifestations of stories: we ask ourselves who used them long ago, and what the world was like when they were new. To understand that world fully, we must also take into account the ages which have passed since then, and remember how an item reflects not only the generation which created it, but also each successive generation who preserved it. To the questions asked above about the item's owner, we must add one more about the item itself: why was it saved? The inquiry opens a new and fascinating path through the labyrinth of the past.
***
If you enjoy our website, be sure to check out my books!
In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing. In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into. Join their adventures in
The Tales of Chetzemoka
***
Anthologies
Hey, everyone!
Looking for a spooky read as the days get shorter and the nights turn chilly? I'm sure you'll enjoy
A Rapping At The Door:
A Victorian Cycling Club Suspense Story
When the delivery of a mysterious letter to Silas Hayes' mansion is followed by the arrival of a beautiful young woman who claims she can communicate with the dead, Nurse McCoy sniffs trouble in the wind. It's obvious to her that the newcomer is after Silas' fortune, but he is helplessly in awe of the medium's eerily intimate knowledge of his past and her seemingly supernatural abilities. Meanwhile, Kitty Brown's yearning to reach out to the departed spirit of her first love is making her push away her new husband, just when she needs him the most. The whole situation is a dreadful mess, and McCoy's got to straighten it all out before Silas' nephew and his bride come back from their honeymoon. Honestly, she doesn't know how any of the fools in this world would get along without her…
Buy the book
Learn more
Reviews for A Rapping At The Door:
5.0 out of 5 stars Chrisman has a writing style that I quite enjoy as she brought to life each scene in the ...
By USCG Mom
What a delightful read! A Rapping at the Door is the charming 3rd book in the Victorian Cycling Club series. Ms. Chrisman has a writing style that I quite enjoy as she brought to life each scene in the book and flushed out the personalities of each of the characters more and more.
I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery of what was occurring as the plot unfolded and couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next. A fun, exciting read. I look forward to Ms. Chrisman's next book!!
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Offering
By Chris C.
Another great offering from Ms. Chrisman. I have read all three books in this series and they are all well-written. I like the way they are loosely tied together with the a shared cast of characters, town, and themes. I really appreciate that the author treats writing as an art in style, presentation, and story line. It seems there are very few indie authors these days who do that. I more often than not find that indie authors seem to think they are writing an extended text message. If I want informality, I'll read a text message, not a book. Ms. Chrisman, on the other hand, takes her art seriously and strives to offer a good traditional style that is both pleasant and in-sync with the time frame of her stories. Also, the story carries itself without shock content, profanity, and filth substituting for a good story, which as with the author's other offerings, is much appreciated. Nice work.
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written with excellent historical research
By Rachel A.
Beautifully written with excellent historical research, I loved reading more about the indomitable Nurse McCoy! Chrisman's writing is engaging, her characters refreshingly considerate and empathetic, and her story a sheer delight. If you're looking for a quick read to make you smile, kindle your imagination, and reflect on the Pacific Northwest past, this is the perfect book for you. Can't wait for the next tale of Chetzemoka!
5.0 out of 5 stars A compelling read
By kelly fejeran
I have enjoyed all three of Sarah Chrisman's Victorian Cycling Club books. The last one is a departure from the first two romances that are quaint and heartwarming. A suspense story, I was hoping for more of the same, I didn't think I'd like it, but the reader is immediately drawn in and captivated. There are reoccurring characters and new ones that are credits to the series. I felt I was there during the seances and learned many things reading this book, the Victorian era is depicted so well!
5.0 out of 5 stars Looking forward to more books in the series.
I really enjoy watching how this series develops, and learning more about characters in earlier books as they take on side roles in later books. There are separate stories but an integrated fictional world, and it is a world I enjoy spending time in!
5.0 out of 5 stars I love it
By johnboy
You can read this book so easily and still full of enjoyment
Sarah has a wonderful style to write her victorian novels.
I have most of her books i highly recommend them.
Also it would be a wonderful gift to give.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!
ByCatherine Garcia
I love this series, each story just keeps getting better. I can't wait for the next one.
October 2, 1866: Cyclist George M. Hendee born. In 1883 a Washington D.C. newspaper would report, "George M. Hendee, of Springfield, Mass., is the most remarkable bicyclist in America when speed and stamina are concerned. He is champion of America at all recognized distances, and holds best on records at almost every distance between a quarter of a mile and twenty miles. George is the pride of Springfield, and in September, when the club of which he is a member gave a three days' meet at Hampden Park, he received only one defeat. Then the people of the city felt sad, and ladies promenading the streets were seen wearing his picture with black margins. During the meet, those of the stores that were open for business sold Hendee clothing, Hendee hats, Hendee shoes, and even Hendee corsets for ladies were for sale. The celebrated Kentuckian, Charles Jenkins, of Louisville, raced against Hendee one day, but was beaten. Hendee also beat "Doodle Robinson and Charles D. Vesey, the English bicyclists, with consummate ease." --Evening Star, December 26, 1883, p. 6.
George M. Hendee, photo courtesy https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=45026626
October 6: Happy birthday, Jenny Lind! Born October 6, 1820.
Jennie Lind was a Victorian singing sensation, and beyond that she was an incredibly kind and generous human being. Lauded as "The Swedish Nightingale," her magnificent voice was admired around the world, and her concerts (in halls which seated thousands) constantly sold out. She gave innumerable concerts to benefit charities, as well as doing personal kindnesses whenever she saw people in need. Just one of her concerts yielded $4,000 for charity in the 1850s! Once when a poor, working girl bought a $3 ticket to one of Miss Lind's concerts, the girl told the ticket seller, "There goes half a month's wages, but I'm determined to hear Jennie Lind!" When the ticket seller reported the story to Miss Lind, she gave him a twenty-dollar gold piece and ordered him to find the girl in the audience and give it to her.
P.T. Barnum, who organized Miss Lind's concerts in America, wrote, "With all her excellent and even extraordinarily good qualities... Jenny Lind was human, though the reputation she bore in Europe for her many charitable acts led me to believe... that she was nearly perfect. I think now that her natural impulses were more simple, childlike, pure and generous than those of almost any other person I ever met." (Quoted from P.T. Barnum's biography, p. 341.)
Miss Lind was a celebrity of incredible renown and people were eager for details of her life. Cookbooks even printed recipes for her favorite foods, one of which is referenced in my historical novel, Delivery Delayed:
"At the other end of the table Addie asked everyone to pass down their bowls, then handed them back full of sago soup.
"Now, my cookbook said this is Jenny Lind's favorite soup," Addie told everyone. She giggled and added, "So you can blame the soup if people start breaking out into song!"
Laughter broke out around the table and Ken started humming the "Jenny Lind Polka."
Lizzie started explaining to Isaac, "Jenny Lind is a very famous soprano—"
He smiled and held up a hand. "I know Jenny Lind, of course. The Swedish Nightingale."
"That's right!" Lizzie smiled, then settled into eating her soup with a very comfortable expression…"
A 19th-century recipe for this soup appears in the book's appendix.
October 8, 1871: Great Fire of Chicago
October 9, 1888: Washington Monument opened to the public. More about the monument: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc72.htm
October 12, 1895: Port Townsend's football team defeats Vashon College. Read the account of the game:
The Old Gold and Black Victorious http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-old-gold-and-black-victorious.html
Dan Bracken, who is mentioned prominently in this article as an important player on the Port Townsend team, was living in our house at the time this game took place! He was a teamster by trade, and lived here with his siblings. Their father was the son of Irish immigrants and their mother was a native Klallam. (Researching Dan's sister Mathilda —whose old room is now my writing den— gave me the idea for the character of Mary Breagan in my Tales of Chetzemoka series. The names Bracken and Breagan both come from the same Irish root meaning "freckles".) The story of the Bracken family is told in chapter eight of my non-fiction book, This Victorian Life. When Gabriel and I talk about the Brackens and Dan's football picture comes up I like to tease my husband that he's lucky that it's been over a hundred years since Dan lived in our house —because wow, that man was good looking! Gabriel just laughs and tells me he's not jealous.
Images courtesy Jefferson County Historical Society
Dan Bracken
October 24, 1861: First transcontinental telegram in America sent
October 26, 1881: Shootout at the Okay Corral.
More information:
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/shootout-at-the-ok-corral
http://www.ok-corral.com/pages/history.shtml
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday images courtesy www.legendsofamerica.com/we-docholliday.html
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October 28, 1886: Statue of Liberty dedicated
More details: https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/28/oct-28-1886-statue-of-liberty-unveiled/?mcubz=3
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October-related items:
For the spooky month of October, check out the Mysteries section of the Victorian reading list on Favorite Books page. This page contains many, many links to free pdfs and free audiobooks of works by our favorite 19th-century authors!
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PROVISIONS IN SEASON IN OCTOBER
From Isabella Beeton's The Book of Household Management, 1893 edition.
Vegetables. - Artichokes, beets, cabbages, cauliflowers, carrots, celery, lettuces, mushrooms, onions, potatoes, sprouts, tomatoes, turnips, vegetable marrows - various herbs.
Fruit. - Apples, black and white bull aces, damsons, figs, filberts, grapes, pears, quinces, walnuts.
Special days in October:
October 4th: Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Animals
19th-century animal images: http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/animals.html
19th-century animal articles:
A Plea for Pussy and Her Possibilities as a Pet (1889) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-plea-for-pussy-and-her-possibilities-as-a-pet.html
Our American Birds (1889) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/our-american-birds-1889.html
Purrings (Poem—1888) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/purrings-poemmdash1888.html
Was it an Angel's Song? (Poem—1883) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/was-it-an-angels-song-poem-1883.html
What Three Little Kittens Did: A Fact (Poem—1889) : http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/what-three-little-kittens-did-a-fact-poem.html
October 4—11th 2017: Sukkot (Jewish holiday)
19th-century Sukkot images scanned from our collection:
October 12, 2017 is World Sight Day
An 1891 article about Helen Keller: Helen Adams Keller
Victorian author Wilkie Collins wrote a particularly engaging romance with a blind heroine, entitled Poor Miss Finch. The protagonist feels that her blindness is not a burden, but rather a distinction and a blessing that allows her to see the world in ways denied to others. A free digital version is available here: Poor Miss Finch and a free audiobook version is available here: Librivox (free audiobook) version.
October 13th is the Feast Day for the patron saint of cyclists, La Madonna del Ghisallo.
19th-century cycling articles:
A Burglar, A Bicycle, and A Storm (Fiction—1896)
A Cycle of the Seasons: A Bicycle Romance in Four Meets (Fiction—1883)
A Cycle Show in Little (1896)
A Song of the Wheel (Poem—1883)
A Header (?) (Poem—1883)
A Midwinter-Night's Dream (1883)
A Modern Love Sung in Ancient Fashion (Poem—1884)
Bicycle Riding In The United States (1881)
Bicycler's Song (1882)
Bicycling and Tricycling (1884)
Bikes on Trains (1883)
Cycling's Value As An Exercise (1879)
Cycling for Women (1888)
Is Bicycling Harmful? (1896)
An Early Morning Ride (Poem—1883)
The Evolution of a Sport (1896)
Foreign [Bicycling News] (1884)
My Wheel (Poem —1883)
'Neath the Magnolias (Poem—1883)
On Wings of Love (Poem—1884)
Rosalind A Wheel (Fiction—1896)
Snakes in his Wheel (1895)
Wheelman's Song (Poem—1883)
The Wheelman's Joy (Poem—1883)
The Work of Wheelmen for Better Roads (1896)
Woman's Cycle (1896)
October 14th is National Fossil Day
An 1869 article about fossil hunter Mary Anning:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/the-little-fossil-gatherer-1869.html
October 31st:
Articles of interest for Hallowe'en:
All Hallow's Eve (1895) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/all-hallow-eve-1895.html
A Supernatural Swindle (Fiction—1896) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-supernatural-swindle-fictionmdash1896.html
The Children of Arachne: European Spiders (1889)
Great Grandma's Hallowe'en (Poem —1887) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/great-grandmas-halloween-poemmdash1887.html
Mourning and Mourners (1888) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/mourning-and-mourners-1888.html
First ladies and spiritualism: http://www.firstladies.org/blog/first-ladies-the-occult-seances-and-spiritualists-part-1/
I always enjoy handing out candy at Hallowe'en (one for me, one for the kids, one for me…), but I also hand out coloring pages as well. It's fun to see that some young folks are more excited about the coloring pages than the sweets! Here's a "secret page" on our website that's not on the main menu —enjoy!
Coloring Pages for All Ages
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The end of October is a traditional time for remembering the dead in a number of different cultures. It therefore seems an appropriate time to offer some links about Victorian mourning customs:
Mourning and Mourners (1888) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/mourning-and-mourners-1888.html
"All is Vanity": Image from 1892, with modern commentary
"An Anniversary": Artwork from 1893
"A Retrospective Widow": Cartoon from 1892
"The Evening": Artwork by Charles Dana Gibson, 1899, republished in 1906
"Etiquette of Mourning" article from Collier's, 1882: Google Books link
1861 Mourning attire
1870 Mourning dress and bonnets from The Peterson Magazine
1871 Mourning attire from Harper's Bazaar
1873 Half-mourning from The Peterson Magazine
1883 Mourning attire from The Peterson Magazine
1883 Mourning dresses from The Queen
1883 Mourning dress from The Queen
1883 Plastron for mourning from The Peterson Magazine
1885 Mourning dress
1886 Mourning dress from The Peterson Magazine
1889 Deep mourning outfit from The Peterson Magazine
1890 mourning dresses, for ladies and children
1891 mourning attire from Harper's Bazaar
If you are interested in Victorian mourning customs that are still practiced, check out WISP Adornments. Angela Kirkpatrick is a modern jewelry artist who makes mourning jewelry in the Victorian style, and is one of my oldest friends:
WISP Adornments on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wisp-Adornments-140903286083078/
WISP Adornments on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WispAdornments
Angela & me
Words For Parting: Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning
October poems:
"October" (1888) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/october-poem.html
"A Song for October" (1888) http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/a-song-for-october-poemmdash1888.html
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In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing. In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into. Join their adventures in
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Author: Sarah A. Chrisman(Known around Port Townsend as "The Victorian Lady" |
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