I Scream…
One of the surest signs of spring in New England is the sudden disappearance of popsicles and ice cream sandwiches from local grocery stores’ freezers
Tag: 19th century
“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.”
I’ve been fortunate to acquire a number of issues of a 19th century British magazine called The Mirror, dating from 1824 and 1825. They make
It’s Not That Easy Being Green
Spring. It’s just around the corner, right? Right? That’s what the little green pips of bulbs in my yard are trying to tell me. I’m
Oh, the Ennui!
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, a popular weekly magazine published in London between 1822 and 1847, ran the following short piece in its
Did They Really Say That?
One of the joys of leafing through the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is running across slang expressions and figures of speech still in
Treasures from the Past
Used bookstores. Is there anything better than an afternoon spent hunting through the shelves and stacks in one? As delightful as a new bookstore is,
Hey! Where’d Everyone Go?
Some time around late July every year, a very odd thing would happen in 19th century London: anyone who was anyone (if you know what
Sundry Miseries
This is a brief article from the April 3, 1824 edition of The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, which was sort of the Reader’s
So That’s What They Look Like
I’m going to post a word, and I want you to tell me what mental image you get when you read it. Ready? Penknife. So
Mall-rats, Nineteenth Century Style–or, Meet the Beadles!
When Lord George Cavendish, younger brother of the 5th Duke of Devonshire (or should I say brother-in-law of the famous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire?) inherited
I Wrote a Letter to My Love
Who remembers writing letters—you know, sitting down with some stationery and a pen and being chatty or pouring out one’s innermost thoughts onto the page,
Is It Okay? No, But It’s OK
Over the course of doing research, I ran across a fascinating fact about one of the most common casual expressions in use in modern times—“okay”.
Prinny Gets Gas
In the first of my posts on lighting a couple of weeks ago, we saw how the world depended on candles and oil lamps…and as
