All of the content is very polite and proper, of course, which I think makes it even more charming. Have a look:
Showing posts with label neat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label neat. Show all posts
Friday, October 27, 2017
Circa 1853
To feed my love of all things Victorian American I purchased a couple of partial Godey's Lady's Books from Threads and Memories on Etsy; both date back to the mid-nineteenth century. The illustrations (three in color) are marvelous, as are the fashion plates, embroidery patterns and stories. Ladies who read these issues got the latest style trends, from even as far away as Paris, gardening ideas, every day advice and even sheet music and floor plans for a cottage.
All of the content is very polite and proper, of course, which I think makes it even more charming. Have a look:
All of the content is very polite and proper, of course, which I think makes it even more charming. Have a look:
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Recycling Books (in 1892)
One of my latest research acquisitions is an American lady's scrapbook dated 1892. If the price is right I'll buy something like this sight unseen, which was the case this time. This is also why I didn't know the lady had recycled a hardcover to serve as her scrapbook base:
A hundred and twenty-one years ago Florence Champlain decided to recycle a copy of Lockwood's Directory from 1887-1888, and began storing interesting bits in it. She did this (probably with flour paste) with about 100 newspaper articles, each one very precisely cut and fitted to each side of the directory's pages:
To keep the book from becoming overstuffed Florence cut out about half the pages, leaving behind just enough of the page to keep the binding intact.
Some of the pages in the very back were left uncovered, and contain some very cool 19th century advertising:
It appears that the scrapbook was preserved (and possibly added to) by at least two more family members; I haven't yet had time to date all the articles saved in it. The majority appear to be from the turn of the century, however, so I think Florence deserves most of the credit. There are at least a dozen obituaries of important folks including great writers (Victor Hugo), composers (Gounod) and poets (Tennyson), an interview with Tolstoy's widow and intimate profiles on the lives of men like George Washington, Edgar Allen Poe and James Fenimore Cooper. One article wrestles with the debate over divorce in America; another insists most "great" women never marry because no woman can sustain a career, a home and a family (ha.)
Along with newspaper articles Florence saved bits of poetry and humor, scholarly pieces on things like the study of heraldry and what sort of weapons were used in warfare before the invention of gunpowder. A friendly look at the life of the Czar of Russia, his wife and family takes up five pages, and there's a wonderful piece on the house in which Shakespeare was born. About half the articles in the scrapbook focus on writers, poets or books, reminding me of how well-read most people were in the 19th century (no radio, TV or movies for these folks.)
What Florence created with the scrapbook was not only a collection of articles she thought interesting or important, she opened a lovely little window into late 19th century America, and through it I can see exactly what she and her contemporaries were reading in the papers. As way-back machines go, this one is pretty fantastic.
To find antique scrapbooks like this one, check listings on eBay or Etsy, or do a search for rare booksellers online.
A hundred and twenty-one years ago Florence Champlain decided to recycle a copy of Lockwood's Directory from 1887-1888, and began storing interesting bits in it. She did this (probably with flour paste) with about 100 newspaper articles, each one very precisely cut and fitted to each side of the directory's pages:
To keep the book from becoming overstuffed Florence cut out about half the pages, leaving behind just enough of the page to keep the binding intact.
Some of the pages in the very back were left uncovered, and contain some very cool 19th century advertising:
It appears that the scrapbook was preserved (and possibly added to) by at least two more family members; I haven't yet had time to date all the articles saved in it. The majority appear to be from the turn of the century, however, so I think Florence deserves most of the credit. There are at least a dozen obituaries of important folks including great writers (Victor Hugo), composers (Gounod) and poets (Tennyson), an interview with Tolstoy's widow and intimate profiles on the lives of men like George Washington, Edgar Allen Poe and James Fenimore Cooper. One article wrestles with the debate over divorce in America; another insists most "great" women never marry because no woman can sustain a career, a home and a family (ha.)
Along with newspaper articles Florence saved bits of poetry and humor, scholarly pieces on things like the study of heraldry and what sort of weapons were used in warfare before the invention of gunpowder. A friendly look at the life of the Czar of Russia, his wife and family takes up five pages, and there's a wonderful piece on the house in which Shakespeare was born. About half the articles in the scrapbook focus on writers, poets or books, reminding me of how well-read most people were in the 19th century (no radio, TV or movies for these folks.)
What Florence created with the scrapbook was not only a collection of articles she thought interesting or important, she opened a lovely little window into late 19th century America, and through it I can see exactly what she and her contemporaries were reading in the papers. As way-back machines go, this one is pretty fantastic.
To find antique scrapbooks like this one, check listings on eBay or Etsy, or do a search for rare booksellers online.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Free Quilt Design Online
I rarely see any free online stuff for quilters, so I'm going to hijack today's post for my quilter pals and anyone out there who likes to sew and design.
The August '12 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting has some interesting patterns in it, and while I was figuring out yardage for a neat maze quilt I noticed a little ad on the page for "free online quilt design" with something called Quilter's Toolbox. The advertiser, Thousands of Bolts, also called it "a new way to shop for fabric."
I figured it was some kind of fabric picker thing, but I decided to visit the site and see what the deal was. Turns out they offer an actual block and quilt generator that you use with swatches of fabrics you can buy from the site. Once you register and choose the fabrics you like (it's free, and you just add the fabrics you like to your wishlist) you can begin using the toolbox right away.
The toolbox, which allows you to drop-and-drag fabric swatches from your wishlist into a variety of patchwork block templates, is extremely cool and very easy to use. In less than a minute after registering I designed this:
The block design screen looks like this:
And when you drag and drop your fabric choices, changes to this:
Once you're happy with your quilt block, you can then use it to design a quilt:
You can save your block and quilt designs, keep them private, or share them with the site's community, which makes it an excellent generator for friends or groups who want to collaborate on the piece. This is also so incredibly neat for anyone who has ever wanted to try quilt designing by computer but didn't want to invest in the pricey design software. It's most definitely a new and excellent way to shop for fabric.
To use the toolbox, I recommend you watch the two-part video tutorial first (part one is here and part two is here). Also, if you don't have a pattern for or know how to make the block you're designing, no worries there -- click on the little blue question mark beside "Quilt Block Instructions" at the bottom of your wishlist window and complete instructions on how to make the block will come up on your screen.
The August '12 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting has some interesting patterns in it, and while I was figuring out yardage for a neat maze quilt I noticed a little ad on the page for "free online quilt design" with something called Quilter's Toolbox. The advertiser, Thousands of Bolts, also called it "a new way to shop for fabric."
I figured it was some kind of fabric picker thing, but I decided to visit the site and see what the deal was. Turns out they offer an actual block and quilt generator that you use with swatches of fabrics you can buy from the site. Once you register and choose the fabrics you like (it's free, and you just add the fabrics you like to your wishlist) you can begin using the toolbox right away.
The toolbox, which allows you to drop-and-drag fabric swatches from your wishlist into a variety of patchwork block templates, is extremely cool and very easy to use. In less than a minute after registering I designed this:
The block design screen looks like this:
And when you drag and drop your fabric choices, changes to this:
Once you're happy with your quilt block, you can then use it to design a quilt:
You can save your block and quilt designs, keep them private, or share them with the site's community, which makes it an excellent generator for friends or groups who want to collaborate on the piece. This is also so incredibly neat for anyone who has ever wanted to try quilt designing by computer but didn't want to invest in the pricey design software. It's most definitely a new and excellent way to shop for fabric.
To use the toolbox, I recommend you watch the two-part video tutorial first (part one is here and part two is here). Also, if you don't have a pattern for or know how to make the block you're designing, no worries there -- click on the little blue question mark beside "Quilt Block Instructions" at the bottom of your wishlist window and complete instructions on how to make the block will come up on your screen.
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