1900 House: The best source for the 1900's IN ENGLAND is the PBS tape 1900's house where a family is chosen to live in an English townhouse as a 1900's family. Wonderful detail on life, clothing and what they could buy at the grocery store or order from catalogs. Sort of Survivor series with historical punch. Well researched...with  attitude. 

Laurie Sisson

Tara and Southern Plantation Homes. - There are many beautiful books available with detailed pictures of Southern Plantations. Many of these homes are still open to the public for tours and as "Bed and Breakfasts." Some have their own website. A few Louisiana plantations to seek out information on are Nottaway, Madewood, Bittersweet, Oak Alley, Ormonde, Houmas House, and Rosedown. The following info is from the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism's site http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/profiles/planta.html

The earliest furnishings of the homes were made of oak or cypress by slaves on the plantations. Later, in prosperous years, European craftsmen came to Louisiana. European furnishings and art were imported through New Orleans and other ports. The plantation mansions of Louisiana still bear signs of efforts to make life in the new world as genteel and pleasant as possible. Many are surrounded by extensive formal gardens, and the approaches to some of the homes are lined with avenues of live oaks that are now huge in their old age.

Ceilings would have been at least 10 - 12' high (helps with cooling); beds would usually have been four poster with canopies for mosquito netting; polished wood floors; tall windows with door portions at the bottom or the bottom sash going all the way to the floor (to help with circulation and access the porch); at least a front and back porch and maybe even all the way around the house (again, a cooling strategy); large dining room and the kitchen would have been in a separate building. Generally speaking: If the family had English roots, the furnishings would have been made by or patterned after European craftsman and pretty elegant. (This would include families that had Acadian or "Cajun" connections, although most pure Acadian families did not own plantation homes.) If the family were Creole, the plantation would have been a working plantation and the furnishings would have been plain. (Their wealth would be in another home in New Orleans).

Incidentally, some southerners do not refer to the Civil War, but to the "War of Northern Aggression"

SmallStuff Member

Historical Paint Colors: Benjamin Moore puts out a "Historical Color Card". I think it would be very handy for picking out colors for our period houses. It should be at all the stores that sell their paint or you can go to their web site and email them a request.

K Wong

Architectural Research: Check out this link at Dezignare Interior Design Collective's Design Library http://www.dezignare.com/library.html to "browse and explore the many resources available across the Web. Here you will find information ranging from medieval architecture to modern furniture design". Listings for Modern architecture, Arts and Crafts Movement, Frank Lloyd Right and Charles Rennie Mackintosh can be found there, plus a whole world more, just like they say.

Joanne in South Jersey

Indian Dwellings

To anyone wanting to build American Indian housing: If you want to get the feel of a village... Dances with Wolves is correctly researched. A teepee is really quite large inside and may have 18 poles. It is made of dressed Buffalo hide. Other dwellings were called wanagans (not sure of spelling) which were shaped saplings covered with Birch bark (much larger trees in past times). Those were used by tribes in areas with trees. Plains Indians had to have the portable teepees. Now Eskimos and other northern tribes had sort of a wangan house but dug into the ground with a small air chamber in front of it for an entry. When it was covered with snow...Igloo. That 's the general idea.

Laurie Sisson (Born in Alaska when it was a Territ

1900 Kitchen: Ice boxes were definitely in in 1900.  A Middle class household would have actually been quite well off by today’s standards. While out walking I happened to stumble upon a house where the original built-in icebox was still installed.  They were gracious enough to let me go in and take measurements and photos. They said it still functions and in the wintertime it's better than the refrigerator! I'm working on making up plans for a kit of it because I've not seen that offered before.  It had a door on it to the outside so that the ice-man could deliver the block directly into the box...really cool!! Less wealthy would have had small separate units although I've seen some HUGE ones in some of the estates that would equate to the very large doubles we have now.  I would guess that ice-boxes were around in some form or another since they discovered that ice preserved food. I have no idea how the poor kept their food (especially in the summer). Since I read about so many dying of food poisoning while doing historical research I would guess that they, as always, were "out of luck". 

Ana

Colonial:  I plan to make a Colonial kitchen roombox (after retirement next year) and am collecting things for it and got to making foods, veggies, etc. for it.  I have a question about foods they would have, but first I want to share what I found.  I bought several books on architecture from Edward R. Hamilton...*very* reasonably priced at under $5. and found an old kitchen fireplace I plan to duplicate.  The fireplace was built in the 1600s, I believe, so it will be the main attraction in my kitchen of a later time about 1780s, probably).  I loved the fireplace and have found so many other architectural helps and plans in these books that I figured some of you may be interested in buying them for reference, too.  They were all published in the early 1900s (reprints now) and have a wealth of information...and scale drawings!  I bought a bunch just for reference and they may still be available in the architecture section of the website.

  Now my question about what foods would be available to these 1780s people.  I am making a stew of meat, onions, potatoes, and carrots (one of Mary's contributions to NN in 1983). I've made 3 kinds of breads: dark, soda-type, and regular wheat. I've made a cake and 2 pies (pumpkin and berry) and want to have some veggies on the table and in bowls.  Would it be okay to assume they would have: potatoes, carrots, onions, squash, pumpkins, corn, green beans, tomatoes, eggs, apples, peaches?  Will have some cheeses: yellow like cheddar color, and white. Also, hanging from ceiling beams: Indian corn, herbs, and meat looking like sausages.  Are all these foods okay to use?  Should I remove any from the setting?  What could be added?  I want to keep this roombox authentic as to content.

  Mary Eccher, I appreciate your past contributions to the old NN mags. I've been making your foods and having such fun!  I think I have to redo my meat for the stew of yours I'm making.  Last night (3 a.m.) I did what I thought I was reading, but after baking the meat, realized it was so *tiny* compared to the potatoes and onions in your recipe.  So back to the drawing board and make the meat a little larger chunks.  Loved the color...like *real* meat!  You are one talented lady!!!  If I could, I'd hug your neck for all the joy you've given me from these old recipes!  BTW, folks, I make her onion rings like she said and they look great.  She said use transparent, cut with a 3/16" round cutter, then use a small drinking straw to cut the center out.  They look great.  I had tried cutting drinking straws in the past, but they look like cut drinking straws to me...really like these!  You're a wonder, Mary!

  Sorry this is so long, but would like to know about the foods and keep them authentic for this roombox.  Any help would be appreciated. 

Rita Pierce

Colonial American food - 1780s:   By 1780 there were colonists in many different areas, so some foods would be different.  For example, if a colonist did not live by the sea, fish and shellfish would not be on their menus.

      Your list is right on target as to what you should include, although I remember no mention of cheeses in colonial days...would have to look that one up.  Well, here are some more suggestions:

      The four basics - corn, beans, squash and pumpkin.  Corn was made into breads, puddings, such as Indian Pudding using tree sap to sweeten it,  corn cooked with lima beans for succotash, Johnnycakes, and breads as you have already "baked".

      Then there was the eternal pot of stew - long, slow cooking was necessary because the meat from wild game or fowl was tough and that made it more edible.  Lots of all kinds of vegetables and beans would be added to the pot.

  And potatoes too, of course but here's an odd thing.  The Indians grew potatoes, but they were for many years rejected by the colonists as a tasty food. 

      The hog provided colonists with a bunch of stuff...some of it was served fresh, other parts salted, pickled or smoked for ham, the rest made into head cheese or sausage.  So that string of sausages is very accurate, Rita.  The fat was rendered into lard or served as chitterlings.

      Going on a bit long here, so I will just conclude with a few other suggestions for your kitchen.  Basket of berries or apples, some crude pieces of pottery for bean cooking, mortar & pestle (the colonial blender!), jug of hard cider, crocks and pitchers, tin or pewter plates, wooden kitchen utensils, jars of jam & jelly, black cook pots and bread pans, candles in colonial holders, cone of sugar for the table, colonial fireplace stuff such as, long-handled bread pan, etc. 

Mary Eccher

Colonial Kitchen: don't forget to have a salt celler as salt was also a precious commodity and was locked away so that it didn't disappear. 

Rusty

Colonial Food: I love learning about the Colonial way of life!  Here is a link for information on how they lived in Colonial Williamsburg, I love that place!

http://www.history.org/life/life.htm

The information on the food they prepared is recipes and I find them wonderful!  Many other categories too! 

Laura

Refrigerator - 1930's. These all have pictures on the site:

http://www.loggia.com/vignette/129b.html (Coldspot refrigerator - no 'monitor' top) - designed in the 1930s

http://www.electrolux.com/node218.asp Electrolux fridge history

Jan Matthews Melbourne, Australia

Historic clothing: There is also a neat web site that has historical clothing. Someone had posted it on SS a while back. http://www.premierclothing.com/

Parisa Davidi

Period clothing: Here is another costume info site. http://www.costumes.org/

Marlene Chapman

Costumes: Last year, I put together a list of technical theatre links and books, and it includes links about costume. It might be helpful to people here, too. The list is in two places:

http://www.ipl.org/ref/QUE/PF/stagecraft.html

http://bentley.simplenet.com/etc/stagecraft.html

Betsy Vera

Some helpful sites: Came across some interesting sites which I hope will be helpful to someone: Egyptian Art: If anyone is doing a 1920s place and is looking for Egyptian clip art, you might check out http://www.neferchichi.com

Wasn't too thrilled with the gift shop but the clip art I looked at seemed promising.

The British National Archives Virtual Museum has a wonderful collection including WWII propaganda posters, Victorian fashion cut-outs (click on the first image and it will lead you to more), and a sample of 16th century Tudor wallpaper (only one that I could find but very interesting).

http://learningcurve.pro.gov.uk/virtualmuseum/

Got a book catalogue at school today which looks like it have some wonderful offerings. An author, Bobbie Kalman, has written some really great historical books.

They are aimed at young children but they seem very detailed. Only 32 pages but as little as $7 something US at Amazon and $9.95 Cdn at Chapters. Some of the books include: The Victorian Home, Victorian Christmas, 19th Century Girls and Women, Children's Clothing of the 1800s, One Room School. To check them out go to http://crabtreebooks.com then click on teacher or librarian under Canada, USA, or International, then click on Bobbie Kalman. When the write-up appears, click on Historic Communities. There are 31 books available. Crabtree also offers a free catalogue so you may want to check that out.

Maureen Heuchert

Sherlock Holmes Study: These links may tell you everything you wanted to know about Sherlock Holmes.

221b Baker Street: Sherlock Holmes

http://members.tripod.com/~msherman/holmes.htm

Sherlockian site complete with illustrations and text of the canon.

http://members.tripod.com/~msherman/holmes.html

The Mysterious Home Page: Sherlockian

http://www.webfic.com/mysthome/sherlock.htm

Collecting many Sherlockian links. Categories include: guides, discussions and information, e-texts and graphics, etc. (also includes a picture and a virtual tour of his study; newspaper articles; museum shop - merchandise probably not to scale, but has good photos for diy plus a 3-D scale model of study; more)

http://www.webfic.com/mysthome/sherlock.htm

Pat from Romulus, Michigan

1900 House: "The 1900 House" has a big section of its own on PBS's site. You can watch video clips, tour most of the house, and read about some of their trials and tribulations.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/1900house/ You can also buy the video there. Click on "Shop" then enter "1900 House" in the search box. I ordered one, I haven't seen it yet but I've heard so many raves about it that I just had to.

Christine from San Francisco

Ads: http://www.adflip.com is a site with highlights print ads from the 1940s to the 90s. There are over 300 ads in the 1940s section alone. Chock full of ideas for each decade.

Maureen in St. Albert

American Flag: From 1896-1908, the US flag had 45 stars with Utah being admitted to the Union. From 1908 - 1912, the US flag had 46 stars with the admission of Oklahoma to the Union.

Lucy Seiler in CT

1930's Appliances: I was born in 1931. My parents were college graduates, but they were not very well off in the thirties. They had less fancy things than my grandparents, so I will tell you about both when there is a difference. Also there is a difference between 1933, when I first have memories, and 1939, when world's fairs in NY and SF got people thinking about the gadgets of the future, some of which have not yet come to pass!

A key to amount of appliances is that the houses of that era had very limited wiring. Modern people couldn't get along at all in a house of that age that didn't have the wiring updated. My most brilliant suggestion is to find a library where you can see copies of Life magazine. Life magazine had photos of all kinds of people in all kinds of settings.

Toaster: we had a toaster that was shaped like a skinny triangle. There was an element in the middle and sort of doors on each side. They were racks that held the toast. You had to watch and open the doors when the toast was done on the first side. Then flip it over and try not to burn your fingers, close the door and wait for it to toast on the other side. Lots of burned toast resulted, and a few burned fingers. There were fancier versions that toasted both sides, but you still had to watch for it to be done. I can't remember when we got our first "pop-up" toaster, but it sure was great to have it. Definitely before 1940, but I think it would be cuter to have the other kind. If you decide on that I could draw one and mail to you.

Mixer: my grandmother had one. It was quite a luxury, so you would only use it if the family is affluent--quite an exception in the thirties. I can't picture my grandmother's so far. I am getting a flash of it being yellow or cream color. Not a whole lot different from later ones. Definitely no blender or food processor! Never heard of a hand-held mixer until late in the forties.

Bar Turner of La Honda CA