Live 1880, the best time in American history. (villages, chickens, North Carolina)
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Slice of History: First U.S. Incubator Baby: Sept. 7, 1888
For the first time, a premature baby is treated in an incubator in America. Her name is Edith Eleanor McLean and, though she weighs only two and a half pounds, she’s nursed to health at State Emigrant Hospital in New York in a 3-ft. square, 4-ft. high box called a “hatching cradle”
That makes sense because the device, first used in France a few years earlier, is modeled after a chicken incubator being used at the Paris Zoo.
How to make condoms and other useful things. The article linked above tells you where to find the 1884 edition of this book.
The United States Practical Receipt Book: Or, the Complete Book of Reference for the Manufacturer, Tradesman, Agriculturist, or Housekeeper; Containing Many Thousand Valuable Receipts, in All the Useful and Domestic Arts
Is it time to buy a carriage? They're not terribly expensive.
Here are several websites that I found. Search "horse-drawn carriages'' for sale on https://duckduckgo.com/ to find more. Old classics as well as current production are available.
Slice of History: First U.S. Incubator Baby: Sept. 7, 1888
For the first time, a premature baby is treated in an incubator in America. Her name is Edith Eleanor McLean and, though she weighs only two and a half pounds, she’s nursed to health at State Emigrant Hospital in New York in a 3-ft. square, 4-ft. high box called a “hatching cradle”
That makes sense because the device, first used in France a few years earlier, is modeled after a chicken incubator being used at the Paris Zoo.
How to make condoms and other useful things. The article linked above tells you where to find the 1884 edition of this book.
The United States Practical Receipt Book: Or, the Complete Book of Reference for the Manufacturer, Tradesman, Agriculturist, or Housekeeper; Containing Many Thousand Valuable Receipts, in All the Useful and Domestic Arts
Here's a real winner. First published in 1907, it continued until at least 1988. It contains everything from industrial processes to domestic tips. I ran across a test for quality of lemon extract. It's a good test. I read that a few drops of Oil of Lavender on a piece of moist sponge repels house flies. I tried it and it works. There have been some revisions over the years. They apparently cut out recipes for laudanum and other opiates after The Pure Food and Drug Act as well as alcoholic recipes after the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. They did add a special supplementary article after Congress removed the tax on denatured alcohol. Although written during Prohibition it's still in my book. There's an article on photography that dates to the early fifties at the latest judging by the films mentioned.
I'm currently looking for the 1907 edition but haven't yet been successful. I want a physical edition, ideally an original. I can't rate this book highly enough. The author, Gordon D. Hiscox, wrote several other books also of interest.
I just mentioned this one on my Christmas thread, but I'll mention it again with another link to a good review beside Amazon. It's of interest to any antiquarian worthy of the name. I like Jock Dempsey's reviews. You may wish to take a look at the books, particularly the review on Mousehill Forge where they made steel-faced cast iron anvils in the eighteenth century. Mousehill is pronounced MOWzil.
It's written by an amateur living historian who lives in the Detroit area. He primarily specializes in the Civil War era, but has branched out into the Revolutionary War era. He's not a military reenactor. He is very into how those in the past actually lived. While he's interested in an earlier time, I suspect you would find much of interest on this blog.
I just want to say I really enjoy this thread. It's the only thread on City Data I'm subscribed to. The longer it gets, the more I enjoy it.
The 1880s are a bittersweet time though. Things were sure simpler than they are today, but the Industrial Revolution was speeding things up so rapidly, the old ways became near unrecognizable.
The western frontier was settled up. The railroads connected the continent. The telegraph improved communications, then the telephone. Factories made goods that made life physically easier.
The pioneer's way of life was over. Soon, a lot of them will move to cities, go to work in those factories, then the 9-5 grind (more like the 10-12 grind) would start and the "in the good old days, before all this modern technology..." talk would begin.
Yes, the 1880s saw a lof of great inventions and innovation, but at the cost of the real simple life.
I'll ask the rare and antiquarian book dealers I know. They are retired but might have some leads.
Abe Books has original 1914 and 1924 editions if you are interested.
It seems the title varied slightly over the years if what I'm finding is correct. The first one was Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Recipes, Formulas and Processes and then became Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Processes and Trade Secrets
Oil of Lavender - It has many practical uses, as do other essential oils, or essences as they were known.
I wish I could find a comprehensive [old] book on essential oils. I find bits and pieces in old books but much of that information is vague, I suppose because it was common knowledge so details weren't needed.
The Household Cyclopedia, 1881, that I linked to several weeks or months ago in this thread has a section on essential oils, but it's focused on distillation.
I'll ask the rare and antiquarian book dealers I know. They are retired but might have some leads.
Abe Books has original 1914 and 1924 editions if you are interested.
It seems the title varied slightly over the years if what I'm finding is correct. The first one was Henley's Twentieth Century Book of Recipes, Formulas and Processes and then became Henley's Twentieth Century Formulas, Processes and Trade Secrets
I got more hits searching by those two titles.
Thank you for that information. I'll begin to search using both terms. I'd like to find out more on the work itself as well as on the author.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SimplySagacious
Oil of Lavender - It has many practical uses, as do other essential oils, or essences as they were known.
I wish I could find a comprehensive [old] book on essential oils. I find bits and pieces in old books but much of that information is vague, I suppose because it was common knowledge so details weren't needed.
The Household Cyclopedia, 1881, that I linked to several weeks or months ago in this thread has a section on essential oils, but it's focused on distillation.
With respect to essentiial oils it may be a better course to begin with modern flavor chemistry and work backwards. Purdue University seems involved in research so a call to the technical library there could be producve. Academic librarians are often excellent sources of information on obscure topics. They may be able to supply you with the names of some older works. Working back through bibliographies is almost always productive, but you need to be in a good library.
I am sure that the information is available; however, it may require some haystack searching.
Here's a link that may be of interest. There are several other interesting items at Purdue.
Searching on Amazon using the terms flavor chemistry essential oils gave some good modern results. These would be good places to start looking backwards. It's conceivable that you could get some via interlibrary loan.
Thank you for that information. I'll begin to search using both terms. I'd like to find out more on the work itself as well as on the author.
With respect to essentiial oils it may be a better course to begin with modern flavor chemistry and work backwards. Purdue University seems involved in research so a call to the technical library there could be producve. Academic librarians are often excellent sources of information on obscure topics. They may be able to supply you with the names of some older works. Working back through bibliographies is almost always productive, but you need to be in a good library.
I am sure that the information is available; however, it may require some haystack searching.
Here's a link that may be of interest. There are several other interesting items at Purdue.
Searching on Amazon using the terms flavor chemistry essential oils gave some good modern results. These would be good places to start looking backwards. It's conceivable that you could get some via interlibrary loan.
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