My New Colonial Outfit

I have been working on hand-sewing a new Colonial jacket, shift and petticoat. It has been moving very slow. The shift is completely sewn other than the two armbands at the bottom of the sleeves and my jacket is about halfway done. The jacket is taking a long time because the fabric and the lining are sewn separately so it is like sewing two jackets and putting them together. I am still not sure what color petticoat I should make. I originally thought that a nice checkered linen pattern would be pretty, but I ended up having blue and white linen fabric for my jacket, I now need a plainer petticoat. Above is a sketch of what I hope the finished dress will look like. (Sorry it is really not a good drawing, I was really just trying to see how it looked all put together. You'd never know I was an artist!) I am not sure about the maroon skirt, yet.

My shift is very plain, there is a diagram for a shift on A Stitch in Time at Home that is very easy to use. Linen wrinkles like crazy, sorry about the picture.

This is the the detail of the hand sewing on my shift. I very much like the look of hand-sewing. It is definitely not the best but it does make a prettier looking garment. I used to be afraid of hand-sewing. It really isn't that hard and you have a larger selection of stitches to choose from.

This is my jacket fabric. It is linen but was too thin so I have been lining it with a linen tablecloth. The fabric is pretty, but I think I will feel like a china plate wearing it. It was the only stamped, linen I could find, though.

So, will the maroon petticoat look nice or will it look to "old timesy patriotic?" The other option I have been thinking about is possible blue and white stripes (run vertically.) Any other ideas? I am hoping to finish the outfit in time for reenacting season.

How to Date Old Books: How to Read Roman Numerals

 I love old books. There's a smell to old books and the worn in, well read feel that you just can't get from a modern book. Great care used to go into making books, many were even hand bound, today machines manufacture the whole books. 

Many of us have old books but have no idea what year they are from. Many 18^th and 19^th century books have no publication date and leave us to research for ourselves to determine their origins. 

The first thing to look at is the front pages of the book to see if there is any publisher’s information. If there is publisher’s information, you can do some research online to find out between what years a publisher was in business. You may also be able to find lists of when they published certain titles.

Also, look to see if there is a forward in the book. Sometimes forwards include the date of publication so it is unnecessary to include it in the publishers notes. Another thing to look at is if there are any advertisements in the book. These are more common in older books than you would think. Try to research a little on any advertisements in the book as other books advertised are likely to have been published in the same year.
  

If nothing else, you can try to date a book by the style of binding or printing as well as any etchings or photographs included. Book printed on rag paper, were normally printed during the 1600s and 1700s. Books printed on wood pulp paper normally date after 1840.









If an illustrator created images especially for the book, try researching the illustrator as well as some of the artwork. Woodcut illustrations (usually only one) were used in books in the 18th century. Woodcut designs are normally thicker and less detailed than "etchings" which were used from the 1800s to the early 1900s.  

The date may also be included with the publisher’s information as Roman numerals. Roman numerals are one of those things that many people half-learned. Most of us learned enough to read a clock, but nothing else.  Roman numerals take a bit of work to figure out but it is well worth it to learn how just to know if your copy of Walden is from 1854 or 1910. The practice of using roman numerals was more prevalent in Britain but can still be found in a lot of old American books.

• Roman numerals are written with the largest numerically equivalent letter to the left and the smallest numerically equivalent letters to the right in largest to smallest order.

                  Ex. MDCLX = 1660

• Each letter’s value is added together.

                  Ex. MMC = 1,000 + 1,000 + 100 = 2,100

• Each letter is normally only used three times in each number (this is sometimes four but it is rare.)

                  Ex. VIII

• To make sure that each letter is only used three times, there is a “subtraction rule” which is if a numerically smaller letter is before a larger one, it is subtracted from the larger letter’s numeric value.

                  Ex. MCMXLII = 1,000 + (1,000-100) + (50-10) + 2 =1942

Some Roman Numeral Dates to try:

Answers: 1. 1854, 2. 1862, 3. 1861, 4. 1843 

I hope this helped and that many of you can now date your antique books. This is eventually leading up to a post on how to care and preserve your old books.  


*Note: The woodcut design was drawn by Paul Revere in the 1770s, the etching is from Godey's Lady's Book 1860.

The Neshaminy Event : 100% Success

The Neshaminy Event was gruelingly hot. Seagulls cawed overhead while the smell of salt water wafted through our camps. As we bent over our fire to heat water for cleaning dishes, we ladies could hear the low rumbles of cannon fire and the sharp pops of rifles coming from the woods. The sun was too hot so we agreed to forgo the dishes and dragged our chairs under the shade of an oak tree. Too hot to move, we sat with our heads bowed in our hot skirts wondering how the men were, in their wool coats, running in the woods carrying their heavy guns and ammunition packs.

            “They will be miserable,” we groaned.

    
  A little after all firing had ceased, the men stumbled into camp at a slight run. They dropped their packs and tore apart the meat we had for making sandwiches. Exhausted and excited the men reported that our company was finally large enough to be its own company and they did not have to join up with another one, a large feat!

Andy then relayed that he got to be acting corporal! A short-lived rise in the ranks, but a rise nonetheless. :D I congratulated Andy and told him that I was happy about his new position as it would also move up my ‘position’ in Civil War Era society. Then I poured some water over his head. :D It was happily accepted.        

We ended the night with a walk on the beach. There was a ball going on and we could hear the music, but those affairs are stuffy and boisterous. We sat on a bench overlooking the water and talked. Neshaminy Park really is very beautiful and relaxing. It was still a good event despite the heat (89 degrees.)

We also tried to make Soda Bread from this recipe. It was so hot out that even our serving utensils and pans, nowhere near the fire were hurting our hands to touch. We ended up burning it a little but the guys still devoured the whole of it before marching off to fight. By the time I realized I should have taken a picture of it, the bread was no more. It was a very fun event in a unique setting.                    

Getting Ready for the Neshaminy Event

There will be a Civil War reenactment at Neshaminy Park in Bensalem, PA this Saturday and Sunday. It is open to the public for free. It starts at 9 and ends at 4. The park is really lovely, there will be a large encampment and battle right along the waterfront. The weather is supposed to be very nice. Don't miss a grand opportunity to see the Civil War come to life. Rugged soldiers, fair belles, cannon and a nice day. It doesn't get any better. :D 

This is a very fun event for us, even though the water makes it cold at night. We are so excited and can't wait to start the reenacting season off. Our reenacting company got together over the weekend to clean the rifles and to get all of our gear together. Andy got a brush stuck in his rifle, which he had to shoot out. It is always interesting to see something live-fired as we normally never actually shoot a real object out of the rifles.

The gun I cleaned was very rusty. I don't think I got enough of it off. I scrubbed a ton and it still wouldn't come off. I guess it will just stay a rusty rifle. I am really very excited to go. I have gotten my petticoats and dress and corset out of winter storage and have dusted off my shoes. I can't wait to sleep with the crisp night air, the smell of camp fire and the chirps of crickets. It is so relaxing and enjoyable. Hope to see some of you there!

Here are some pictures from the 2009 Neshaminy Reenactment. Look how scenic! 

Hints for Servants from 1859: How to address the family

The servant class is practically obsolete today, although it was thriving up until the 1900s. We today would not even know how to have a servant. Servants used to help dress, cook and clean in the place of middle and upper class women. Could you imagine having someone dress you? It was only proper for the lady of the house to enter the kitchen once a day, only to tell her servants what to cook. Many immigrant women quickly became servants when they came to America, especially the Irish women in the 1860s. These women were known by common names such as "Maggie" or "Bridget." It was even customary for the Master and Mistress of the house to rename their servants to names that suited the family. It also was not required for families to know the names of their servants.

It is important to remember how vital the servant class was in the past. In the case that you are portraying a servant or a middle class person at a living history or reenactment, you should remember the role of a servant or the amount of work that the upper and middle class people would not be able to do on their own. 

These are some excerpts from the Servant's Behavior Book to get a better idea of how a servant would have to talk to her employing family.

Servant’s Behavior Book; or Hints on Behavior and Dress by Mrs. Motherly (1859):

• “My Dear Girls, Every rule in this book is necessary to a girl entering a gentleman's family. Some of the things I shall tell you will be known to many of you, and some will seem new and strange; but all are equally important, if you wish to be well-behaved and agreeable servants. If you neglect to observe the rules I shall teach you, you will always be awkward, and fit only for common places and low wages; but if you learn and practise them, you will be able to rise higher as your domestic knowledge and abilities improve, (v.)”

• “Never Speak To A Lady Or Gentleman Without Saying, "sir," " Ma'am," Or "miss," As The Case May Be. I have had several servants who had not been in place before, and in every instance have had much trouble in making them observe this rule. Every young person will say “Sir " or " Ma'am " occasionally; but few do it always, till taught to do so in a regular place. Some, on my telling them several times of this omission, have said, as an excuse, that it seemed awkward to say “Ma’am " so often; but this is quite a mistake. It sounds very awkward to leave it out; and, what is worse, it sounds, and will always be thought, very ill-bred and disrespectful, (32.)”

• “In some houses, the servants call the lady and gentleman of the house " My master " and " My mistress ;" in others, " Mr. Smith " and " Mrs. Smith," or by whatever may be the surname. I would advise you in this matter to follow the custom of the house you are in. You are most likely to be in families where the first mode of speaking is adopted; but whichever title you may give your master and mistress, in speaking of them, be sure you never address them by a surname; as, “Thank you, Mr. Smith." This would sound very rude. The simple " Sir " and " Ma'am "—of which we have before spoken—is always the right word to use in speaking To a lady or gentleman, (36.)”

• “If you wish to call your mistress, as it may sometimes chance, in a hurry,—or on going into a dark room, to ask if she is there,—do not call her by name, as, " Mrs. Smith!" but speak in some way that does not need the use of a name ; as, " Are you there, ma'am ?"—" Can I speak to you, ma'am ? (37.)”

• “I need scarcely tell you that you should never speak of any lady or gentleman, whether friends of your mistress or not, without saying "Mr." or " Mrs." before the name. It is sometimes a habit with tradesmen and others, for quickness, to say, " Up at Green's," " Over at Turner's," &c., in speaking of gentlemen's houses; but this sounds very unbecoming in a servant. If, in speaking of your master's next-door neighbour to him, you say, " The blinds are down at Anderson's," he will naturally suppose that were you speaking of his house to Mr. Anderson, you would say, " They are not down at Taylor's "—or whatever his name may be; so you are guilty of rudeness, in a certain way, to both your master and his neighbour. I should not have thought any girl in service would need to be warned against this mistake, had it not been committed by Rose, who always spoke of my neighbours as " the Browns," " the Millers," &c. There is no harm in speaking thus of tradesmen; as, " Over at Thompson's," " Past Eley's dairy," &c.; but private houses should never be so styled, (39.)

It is kind of sad to read that the best these women could do was to "be a good servant." The promise that if they were a good servant, they could work in a nicer house is sad. Most of the girls lived with the families they worked for and rarely saw their real families. Some families couldn't afford to feed and house their daughters so eagerly sought out servant positions.