Say What?!

PHENAKISTOSCOPE

Literally a "decptive viewer" from Greek, this toy consisted of patterns painted on a thin oval piece of wood and spun before a mirror to produce an animated sequence.  It was marketed in 1832 by its inventor, Joseph Plateau, whose research proved important in the creation of motion pictures.  A mon more than two millennia Plateau's senior with a remarkably similar name, the Greek philosopher Plato, created what may be the earliest recorded cinema in his allegory of the cave, from "The Republic" in which chained prisoners watch a moving shadow show created by their captors in lieu of real actions.

Forgotten English Knowledge Cards by Jeffrey Kacirk, Pomegranate, CA

Why Don't They Eat Cake?

Summer has finally arrived!  What better time to make and eat ice cream!  Following is a receipt for 18th Century Parmesan Ice Cream from the Two Fat Ladies - Full Throttle cookbook, J.Paterson & CD Wright, Pressclan, 1998

55g Sugar

300mL water

6 beaten eggs
600mL double cream
85g Parmesan cheese

Dissolve sugar in water and boil rapidly until it reduces to 1 cup.  Add eggs and cream and heat gently until it thickens and comes to a boil.  Add cheese and pass through a seive.  Chill, then freeze.

Goody Housekeeping

A 1754 Nightlight

Into a bottle put 1 oz of almond oil, 1/2 drachm of phosphorous and 2-3 grains of powdered sulpher. Hold in a gentle warmth to dissolve, then shake and draw your cork. Rubbing some on the rim will make it look aflame.

(Alright, I don't know where I found this, but it is out of some book I once looked at. I've never tried it, and unless you are a chemist, I suggest you don't try it either!)

Say What?!

Mortmain

Literally a "dead hand". From Latin through French, it meant "to give property to an organization, such as a guild or fraternity, that would hold it in perpetuity." The compound word mortgage, "dead pledge", implied that if the loan was not repaid, the collateral was dead and given to the lender; but if the loan was repaid, the pledge became dead. In the late fourteenth century, gage meant collateral to ensure the repayment of a loan.

From, "Forgotten English Knowledge Cards" by Jeffry Kacirk, Pomegranate, CA

Why Don't They Eat Cake?

Washington Cake

The first receipt from 1831

"One pound of sugar, one of flour, half pound of butter, four eggs, one pound of raisins, one of currants, one gill of brandy, teacup of cream, spice to taste."

Second receipt from 1846

"To one pound of flour, put one pound of sugar, three quarters of a pound of butter, eight eggs, two nutmegs, one pound of raisins, and one of currents."

Modern Equivalent

"Steep together 2 1/4 cups raisins, the same of currants in 1/2 cup brandy for 30 minutes, stirring occassionally. Cream 1 cup butter until soft, adding 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup at a time blending well. Beat 4 eggs with electric mixer for 2 minutes. Add eggs to butter mixture and mix thoroughly. Blen in 3 1/2 - 4 cups of flour alternatively with 3/4 cup table cream, ending with liquid. Add your spices to the brandied fruit, then fold into batter. Pour into a buttered and floured tube pan, or ten inch springform. Bake at 350 degrees F for 2 hours in tube pan or 1 hr 15 mins in springform pan. Let cool for 10 mins and turn out.

Sourced by Melanie Garrison from The Cook Not Mad, 1831, The Young Housekeeper's Friend, 1846 and American Cookery, 1796.

Vanity & Happiness

Powdering and Changing the Colour of the Hair

Should one wish to study portraits from the 18th century, one would notice that in most, the eyebrows have been darkened. This was not some fashionable fancy of the painter, but was in fact, considered proper if one was going to be made up.

Eyebrows were stained, powdered and dyed. It was also popular to bleach your hair or beard. There were many receipts that claimed that the colour would not run when wet as I suppose many did.

Hair powder was not only bought in white, but also in blue, grey, yellow, pink, black, brown and red. Evidently, if you darkened your hair the effect of a light powder would be all the more spectacular. Vice versa should one bleach the hair and use a dark powder.

- Fashions in Makeup, by Richard Corson, Peter Owen, London, 1972

The Doctor's Notebook

You may use these recipes at your own risk.

Mint Teas

Teas made from various mints, using either dried or fresh leaves, are favourites. It is believed they can heal bee stings, bruises (of the heart and body), drive away headaches, strengthen weak stomaches, etc.

Relaxing tea: 1 tsp tea leaves, spring of any mint, 2 rose geranium leaves, 4 leaves lemon verbena, 1 rosemary tip, 1 sprig lemon thyme. Place in a teapot. Add 4 cups boliling water, steep 7-10 mins. Sweeten with honey, serve with lemon. Excellent hot or cold.

Mint tea: tea from leaves of different mints may be used alone or with other herbs. Good as a pick-me-up, helps with digestion, liver upset and is a good coffee substitute.

Orange Mint tea: to 3 cups orange mint leaves, add grated rind of 1 orange or 1 lemon, 3 tbsp tea leaves, 1 tsp ground cloves and 1 cup marigold petals. Store in airtight container. T0 serve, use same amounts as regular tea.

- From the Pioneer Kitchens, Southern Alberta Pioneers, Cantex Books, 1990

People, Places & Things

Edward Winslow 1746-1815

Edward, or Ned, Winslow gew up in Massachusetts. he was a man of means who loved British traditions. When the revolution came, he joined the British Army and went to Halifax where he became Muster Master General of all the British and Colonial troops.

After the revolution, he took it upon himself to find homes for the more than 6000 refugees arriving in Nova Scotia.

In 1783, he arrived at the mouth of the St. John River and was appalled by the lack of organization. Every where there were refugees, crowded, without proper provisions, starving and cold. He ordered surveys and began to hand out grants of land. Hw was so inspired that he explored 200 kilometers of the St. John River himself and came back with a dream of creating a Loyalist colonly north of the Bay of Fundy. His enthusiasm caught on and by 1784, a partition movement had formed and by June the provine of New Brunswick had been born.

- Great Canadian Lives: Portraits in Heroism to 1867, K. Ford, J. MacLean, and B. Wansbrough, Bryan Mills and Assoc. Ltd., Canada 1985-

Vanity & Happiness

Fashions in Makeup by Richard Corson and Peter Owen (London, 1972) suggests that it was a popular past time for many ladies of the day to make their cosmetics at home. There were a wide variety of receipts for oils, creams, hair tonics and powders.

According to several accounts, the dull powdered faces one associates witht he eighteenth century is misleading. There are hundreds of receipts for white face paint which was commonly called a varnish. It seems that a shiny face was preferred to a matte finish so one would glow with health in the light of so many candles.

Here are two receipts for varnish which are included for interest's sake ONLY. I do not advise you making and using these at home.

Varnish for the Face, Le CAmus

Put into a bottle twelve ounces of brandy, an ounce of sandarach and half an ounce of benjamin. Shake the bottle often and afterwards let it settle. When you use it, wash your face beforehand and it will give it the ahndsomest lustre imaginable.

Oil of Pearls, Abdeker

Put upon a plate any quantity of pearls and pour over them some good distilled vinegar. When the pearls are dissolved, add a small quantity of gum arabic, keep the solution for use. Wash your face before you bathe it with this solution, which will soon dry of itself. This is the best secrets that have been invented for rendering the face both white and fair.

Why Don't They Eat Cake?

A spring supper salad from 1733.

(Mrs. Groundes-Peace's Old Cookery Notebook, by Z. Groundes-Peace and R. Howe, David and Charles, UK, 1971)

Salmogundy

Mince very fine two boiled or roasted chickens, or veal, which you like best: mince also very small the yolks and whites of hard eggs themselves: shred also the pulp of a lemon very small: then lay in the dish a layer of minced meat, a layer of the yolks and then a layer of the whites of eggs, over which a layer of anchovies, and on them a layer of the shred pulp of a lemon, next a layer of pickles minced small, then a layer of sorrel, and last of all a layer of spinach and onions, or shallots shred small: having thus filled the dish, set an orange or lemon on the top, and garnish with scraped horseradish, barberries and slices of lemon; let the sauce be oil, beat up thick with the juice of lemons, salt and mustard.

From the Archives

This is an excerpt from a letter sent from the Marquise de la Tour du Pin, Albany, NY, 1794. It challenges the notion that all women wore their stays ALL the time. I've never thought this was true, afterall, how many of us modern gals wear our bras from the crack of dawn until bedtime?

"We had acquired moccasins, a kind of covering of buffalo skin, made and sold by the indians...

...One thing that had rendered me at once very popular with my neighbours. The day we took possession of our farm, I adopted the costume worn by the women of the neighbouring places, that is to say, a skirt of blue and black striped wool, a little camisole of light brown cotton cloth, a handkerchief of the same colour, with my hair parted, as it is worn now, caught up with a comb.

In winter I wore grey or blue woollen stockings with moccasins or slippers of buffalo skin; in summer cotton stockings and shoes. I never put on a dress or a corset except to go into the city."

- Dress in North America, the New World 1492-1800, by Diana de Marley, Holmes & Meier, NY, 1990

Twisted Knickers Returns!

After an absence of an obscene amount of time, your newsletter guide to trivial imformation from the 18th and 19th centuries has returned!

I will be posting some information already published in previous newsletters plus a lot more interesting gossip and tidbits to share around the campfire!

Posts will focus on all types of information on medicine, clothing, society, history, people, events, entertainment, politics, vanity, and most importantly, food!

There will also be reviews posted about books, movies, television and websites.

Please feel free to drop a line or comment at will!