People, Places, Things

The Yo-Yo



Since it's first recorded existence in ancient Greece, the yo-yo has remained a popular toy through the ages.  Initially made from clay discs, wood, metal or stone, this child's play thing was often reliquished to the Gods as part of a coming-of-age ceremony.

The next time we see a documented version of this plaything is in the 1700's.  By 1791, the yo-yo, then known by a variety of names like the bandalore, quiz, incroyable, de Coblenz, emigrette and joujou de Normadie, was the must have toy for both the poor and rich alike, be they adults or children.  It is even rumoured that Napoleon, to relieve stress, played with his bandalore, even taking it with him to Waterloo!

Like any popular past time, the yo-yo fell out of favour until the 1860's and then rising in popularity again in 1928, when Pedro Flores opened the Yo-Yo Manufacturing Company in Santa Barbara, CA.  The toy was a huge success! 

The Yo-Yo was trendy again in the 1960's and late 1990's.

No one really knows where the word yo-yo comes from but some suggest that it is Filipino in origin, others suggest that it is an English version of the French word joujou.

http://www.wikipedia.com/

www.yoyomuseum.com 



People, Places & Things

Ezekiel Hart

May 15, 1767 – September 16, 1843

Ezekiel Hart was elected into the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada in 1807.  He represented the town of Trois-Rivieres, where he and his family had become respected members of the community, running a general store and brewery.  He was the first Jewish member of the elected assembly.

In January 1808, he was removed from the Legislature and denied his seat because he would only swear on the Hebrew Bible and could therefore not take his oath "in the true faith of a Christian". 

Another election was held later that year and again he was elected to the assembly and took his oath of office on the Christian Bible. Pierre-Stanilas Bedard, leader of the Le Canadien, a popular paper, protested against, what he believed, to be an affront to the laws of the land stating that:

"no Christian nation had granted Jews the rights of citizens, not for unjust reasons, but because they themselves do not wish to be part of any country. They may make a country their residence to pursue their business dealings, but never their home. This state of affairs is a result of the Jewish tradition, which requires Jews to wait for the messiah, their prince; while waiting, they cannot pledge allegiance to any other prince."

 In 1809, due to much public outrage, Ezekiel was again removed from the assembly.

Ezekiel Hart never ran for office again.  But due to the efforts of his grandson, Benjamin Hart, the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada passed a law giving equal rights to Jews in 1832.  It was the first law of its kind in the British Empire.

- Ford, K., MacLean J. & Wansbrough B., Great Canadian Lives: Portraits in Heroism to 1867, 1985

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezekiel_Hart

Vanity & Happiness

A Portrait of a Young Lady (E. N. Likhachyova). 1790

By Yermolai Kamezhenkov

According to Sir Harry Beaumont (Joseph Spence) in his Dialogue on Beauty, published in 1752, the following list makes up the most beautiful woman in the 18th century.:

• "The head should be well rounded and small, the forehead white, smooth and open (not with the hair growing down too deep upon it, neither flat nor prominent.
• the hair either black, bright or brown; not thin, but full and waving...the black is particularly useful for setting off the whiteness of the neck and skin.
• the eyes, black, chestnut or blue, clear, bright and lively, rather large in proportion than small.
• the eyebrows, well divided, rather full than thin; semicircular and broader in the middle than at the ends; of a neat turn, but not formal
• the cheeks should not be wide; and should look firm and soft; have a degree of plumpness with the red and white finely blended together.
• the ear should be rather small than large; well folded and with an agreeable tinge of red
• the nose would be...of a moderate size, strait and well-squared; though sometimes a little rising in the nose which is but just perceivable, may give a very graceful look to it
• the mouth should be small; and the lips, not of equal thickness; they should be well-turned, small, rather than gross; soft, even to the eye and with a living read in them.  A truly pretty mouth is like a rose-bud that is beginning to blow
• the skin in general should be white, properly tinged with red; with an apparent softness and a look of thriving health in it."

So naturally, the ladies turned to the use of cosmetics!  However, such widespread use was not universally accepted.  In 1770 the British Parliament passed the following law:

"All women, of whatever age, rank, profession or degree, whether virgins, maids, or widows, that shall from and after this act impose upon, seduce or betray into matrimony any of His Majesty's subjects by the use of scents, paints, cosmetics, washes, artificial teeth, false hair, Spanish wool, iron stays, hoops, high-heeled shoes, or bolstered hips, shall incur the penalty of law now in force against witchcraft and like misdemeanors, and that the marriage, upon conviction, shall stand null and void."

I wonder just how many women were convicted.

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

Why Don't They Eat Cake?

An Early Country Kitchen

When it's this cold outside I look for comfort food!  Here is a receipt for a chicken pot-pie from The Kentucky Housewife, by Lettice Bryan, 1839.

A Chicken Pot-Pie

Take two fat young fowls, not fully grown; cut them into joints, rinse them lean in cold water, and season them with salt and pepper.  Have ready a porridge pot, or oven, rub the bottom and sides with lard, then with flour, and line it with a thick crust of suet or dripping paste.  Lay in the bottom a few slices of ham.  Having a sheet of paste [pastry] rolled out thin, cut it into four squares and put them into the oven with the chickens, in alternate layers, interspersing between each layer some raw eggs, carefully dropping them from the shells, lest you break them.  When they are all put in, lay a few slices of ham on the top, pour in three pints [6 cups] of water, or what is better, veal gravy: and four ounces of butter, rolled in flour and broken up; then put on the top a crust of paste, and bake it with moderate heat.  When it is done, turn the crust bottom upwards on the dish; put the other ingredients on it, pour the gravy round, and eat it warm.  Just before you take it from the fire, raise the top-crust; and if it looks too dry, add a little water, in which a spoonful of flour and a tea-spoonful of pepper have been stirred, or a cup of sweet milk, prepared in the same manner, as people who are fond of pot-pies universally prefer a good deal of gravy.  A similar pie may be made of almost any kind of poultry or game.

From the Archives

A View of Quebec in Winter

Reproduction by: William F. Wilson

To order:  www.artchive.com

Today in Calgary, AB it is -23C with a windchill of -36C.  This brought to mind a passage in Mrs. Frances Brooke's book, The History of Emily Montague, written in the 1760's:

"Dec 29

I will never take a beaver's word again as long as I live:  there is no supporting this cold; the Canadians say it is seventeen years since there has been so severe a season.  I thought beavers had been people of more honor.
Adieu!  I can no more: the ink freezes as I take it from the standish to the paper, though close to a large stove.  Don't expect me to write again till May; one's faculties are absolutely congealed this weather.

Jan 1

It is with difficulty I breathe, my dear; the cold is so amazingly intense as almost totally to stop respiration.  I have business, the business of pleasure, at Quebec; but have not courage to stir from the stove.

We have had five days, the severity of which none of the natives remember to have ever seen equaled: 'tis said, the cold is beyond all the thermometers here, tho' intended for the climate.

The strongest wine freezes in a room which has a stove in it; even brandy is thickened to the consistence of oil: the largest wood fire, in a wide chimney, does not throw out its heat a quarter of a yard.
........
I no longer wonder the elegant arts are unknown here; the rigour of the climate suspends the very powers of the understanding; what then must become of those of the imagination?  ...Genius will never mount high, where the faculties of the mind are benumbed half the year.

'Tis sufficient employment for the msot lively spirit here to contrive how to preserve an existence, of which there are moments that one is hardly conscious: the cold really sometimes brings on a sort of stupefaction."

She recommends taking brandy on a regular basis to keep one "...coquet and agreeable" during the cold weather.  Bottoms up!

People, Places & Things

Frances Brooke 1724-1789

Most of us do not know the name of Mrs. Frances Brooke, but she was an important figure in early Canadian literature.

Frances Brooke was from England and was a successful novelist, essayist, playwright and translator.  In 1756 she married Rev. Dr. John Brooke, who was the first clergyman of the Church of England in Quebec.  He was the military chaplain to the British Forces stationed there.  Frances followed her husband to Canada in 1763 and remained until her return to England in 1768.  While there she wrote and published "The History of Emily Montague" which was the first novel ever written and published in Canada. 

It is written as a series of letters, a style which was popular at the time.  It contains descriptions of the vistas, seasons and people of Quebec which is highly entertaining.  On page 84 she writes:  "Your idea of Quebec, my dear, is perfectly just; it is like a third or fourth rate country town in England; much hospitality, little society; cards, scandal, dancing, and good chear..."

I highly recommend this book if you are inclined to read first hand accounts of our country in its young and tender years.  It is entertaining and educational and should be a must read for any re-enactor or history enthusiast.

Why Don't They Eat Cake?

Before, by William Hogarth

Aphrodisiacs in the 18th Century

In this month of love, what better subject to look at but that of aphrodisiacs? 

Aphrodisiacs have a long and celebrated history in our culture.  Most of them centre around different types of food.  In the 18th century this was no different.  In an age where everyone had some sort of venereal infection is there any wonder that they would turn to food to counteract some of the affects?

Referring to the ancient Roman writer, Galen, cooks took his advise to use those foods which were "wet and moist", "long and stiff" or "windy (causing flatulence) and hot".  some of these foods included truffles, vanilla, chili, pepper, asparagus, oysters, celery, carrots, mustard, anise, nettles, champagne and eel.

The poet, John Gay, 1685-1732 wrote "To a Young Lady, with some Lampreys".  The poem is about a poor poet who bestows a gift of lamprey eels to his lover.  Her maiden aunt dissaproves with the following lament: 

Lamprey's a most immodest diet:

You'll neither wake nor sleep in quiet.

Should I tonight eat sago-cream,

'Twould make me blush to tell my dream:

If I eat lobster, 'tis so warming,

That every man I see looks charming.

.........

The shepherdess, who lives on salad,

To cool her youth, controls her palate.

The poem goes on to commend the Aunt for her warnings, as it should be the look of one's lover which drives one's passion alone, to which the poet agrees wholeheartedly.

If food didn't work, one could always resort to Spanish Fly, the dried and ground remains of the emerald green Blister Beetle.  The smallest amount could cause even the most flacid of men to rise to the occassion.  Unfortunately, the difference between the amount which could "stiffen one's resolve" or kill you outright wasn't much.  Often Spanish Fly was mixed into food, but it was also available as a candy.  A small amount used as an ingredient in Pastilles Richelieu, rumoured to be used by the Marquis de Sade.  Spanish Fly was used by Kings and commoners alike.  It is no longer available for use as an aphrodisiac.

Instead, I suggest you try this receipt if your passion needs priming, from "The Horizon Cookbook, Menus and Recipes, Vol II, Wendy Buehr, 1968, pg 589

Celery Fritters

Orignally from "Adam's Luxury, and Eve's Cookery: or the Kitchen-Garden Displayed", Anon. 1744

1 bunch celery, cut into 2" pieces

2 eggs, separated

1/4 cup milk

Salt & pepper

1 cup flour

Vegetable shortening for frying

Cook the celery in boiling salted water until tender but still firm, about 10 mins.  Drain well.  Beat the egg yolks with the milk, season with salt and pepper, and whisk into the flour.  Beat the whites stiff and fold into the milk and flour.  Dip the celery in the batter and fry, a few pieces at a time, in the fat heated to 360 degrees - about 5 mins or until puffed and golden.

People, Places & Things

Giacomo Casanova

April 2, 1725 – June 4, 1798

Who doesn't know the name of Casanova?  We associate the man with charm, wit and sexual desire, but did you know that he was also a physician, lawyer, writer, spy, alchemist, philosopher, violinist, Rosicrusian, Freemason, gambler, silk merchant, inventor of the state lottery, and escaped convict? 

He lived most of his life abroad, traveling the European contintent, having scandalous affairs, working as a spy for a variety of governments, moving in all of the most desired social circles and living off the money of his patrons and lovers.

He lived out his later years as the librarian at the Castle of Dux in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and bored to tears, wrote his lengthy life story called the histoire de ma vie, a 12 volume set that only accounts for his life until 1774.

The man is a legend.  Even I have to admit that reading about him has put me into a bit of a swoon.  Sigh.  To read more about our beloved Casanova, check out the Wikipedia link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacomo_Casanova

From the Archives

Many years ago I was lucky enough to stumble upon a book of days, the subject of which was 18th century lovers, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989.  It is a delightful little book full of pictures and poems.  In honour of Valentine's Day I publish the following poem:

The Progress of Love

by Robert Dodsley 1703-1764

Beneath the myrtle's secret shade,

When Delia blessed my eyes;

At first I viewed the lovely maid

In silent soft surprise.

With trembling voice, and anxious mind,

I softly whispered love;

She blushed a smile so sweetly kind,

Did all my fears remove.

Her lovely yielding form I pressed,

Sweet maddening kisses stole;

And soon her swimming eyes confessed

The wishes of her soul:

In wild tumultuous bliss, I cry,

'O Delia, now be kind!"

She pressed me close, and with a sigh,

To melting joys resigned.

The First Top Hats

The first silk top hat is attributed to one Mr. George Dunnage of Middlesex, UK in 1793.

At this time is was not called a "top hat" but rather a beaver hat though this particular style of hat was first made from silk plush covering a felt body.

It was not socially accepted for approximately 20 years but did gain popularity with "Les Incroyables" who were always at the extreme end of fashion.

In 1797, one John Hetherington wore a top hat in public causing a great stir, which lead some ladies to faint and his arrest. 

In 1812 Antoine Gibus created the collapsing top hat called the chapeau claque, because of the sound it made when it popped open.  These hats were adopted by opera goers because they could be flattened.  This style of top hat is also called a Gibus.

For more information go to these sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_hat
http://www.silktophats.eu/firsttophat.html