Choosing Voluntary Simplicity » Glimpse into the Past

Prices from the 1899 Sears, Roebuck Grocery Lists

Shirley — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:07:00 +0000

Another of the old family journals... this one for the year 1899... seems to be mostly an accounting of what the weather was like on a given day, when animals on the farm were born or sold, crop information, and prices for various items... including many references to the subscription-only Sears, Roebuck multi-page grocery list. Apparently a yearly subscription to this list cost 13¢ and six updated lists were sent out to subscribers every year.

The Year Without a Summer — 1816

Shirley — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 14:46:03 +0000

I found this old newspaper clipping tucked away inside one of the old 1889 diaries. The year "1889" is written in pencil in a margin on the back, but there is no identifying source on this clipping because of the way it is cut. I would guess that this clipping, like the many others that were saved in these diaries, probably came from the same newspaper that we have always assumed originated in Boston.

“Any Citizen of the United States Has the Recognized Right of Paying His Respects to the President”

Shirley — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:09:58 +0000

I came across an amazing old book about culture and manners this weekend, and I found the tutorial on how to act when meeting the President especially interesting. The book is copyrighted 1890, so the President at the time would have been our twenty-third President, Benjamin Harrison. It's hard to imagine the President of the United States ever being that accessible to the general public.

A Little Book About Law and Life, Circa 1881

Shirley — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:35:58 +0000

This little book started life as a leather covered textbook that was written by a man named Walter S. Cox. He led an interesting life... he was one of several lawyers who defended the group of people who were accused of conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. After he became a judge and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia, he presided over the trial of the man who assassinated President James Garfield. Later he became a professor in the Law Department of Columbia University and the first Dean of Columbia Law School. He wrote this book, called Questions for the Use of Students in the Junior Law Class of Columbia University, which served as a textbook for law students. Versions of this book came out every few years. This one is dated 1881. It is set up like a study guide, with a summary of various legal principles, including questions and blank pages for the law student's answers and notes. My law student was very diligent. This book is packed full of his responses and essays written in the most beautiful handwriting... it's all very neat, very legible, and in the very distinctive writing style of that time period.

I almost didn't even look through this one... after all, I'm not a law student and I don't really need an 1881 study guide for the junior law class of Columbia University. :o) But apparently this particular law student finished the course with blank pages still left in his textbook, and someone else decided to use these pages for a journal.

What Did Things Cost in 1872?

Shirley — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:47:49 +0000

In 1872, the U.S. population had grown to over 38 million people, and Ulysses S. Grant had just been re-elected for a second term as President. Luther Burbank developed the Idaho potato from a single seed ball, much of Boston burned during a three-day fire, and an American cargo ship called the Mary Celeste was found drifting in the Atlantic Ocean with no crew aboard. On average, horses cost $60, pigs $5, milking cows just over $20, and goats only $2. A farm worker earned $23 per month, a place to sleep, and meals.

Dr. Rose’s French Arsenic Complexion Wafers — 1902 Sears Roebuck Catalog

Shirley — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 15:42:20 +0000

Have you ever looked through a copy of the 1902 Sears Roebuck catalog? It's 1,192 pages packed full of anything and everything anyone might need from windmills, buggies, furniture, and cooking utensils to fabric, hair brushes, phonograph records, and ready-made clothing... with everything described in the most minute detail. Some of the most interesting items for sale, I think, are the medicines and personal care products, like the Dr. Rose's French Arsenic Complexion Wafers (ad shown below). I especially enjoy the grandiose phrasing but stilted language used to promote these products. In the case of Dr. Rose's complexion wafers, prospective buyers were led to believe that their regular use would make even the ugliest person beautiful by clearing up any facial "disfigurements" and even softening angular features... in fact, such a transformation was guaranteed if the product was used as directed. And of course, the buyer was repeatedly assured that this particular dose of arsenic was completely safe.

Why Very Old Recipes Often Seem Incomplete

Shirley — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:16:37 +0000

It used to be that people learned to cook by watching someone else. Cookbooks were mostly reminders or suggestions for people who already knew the techniques. This is why very old recipes often seem incomplete... most were intended to be used as a guide, rather than as actual instructions. It wasn't until about 1890, when cooking schools became popular, that general methods of cooking were taught. At that time, many recipes were studied and rewritten to make them more understandable for the student. Fanny Farmer, a woman whose name is still well-known today, was a student at one of these schools. She eventually became a teacher in the same school, and she was responsible for introducing the idea that all recipe measurements should be level measures. Until then, cookbooks called for such things as "butter the size of an egg" and "flour enough to make a stiff dough."

What Did Things Cost in 1860?

Shirley — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:10:54 +0000

In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was campaigning for President, home canning jars and the Winchester rifle had just been invented, and the Pony Express was beginning its mail delivery service. The latest census showed that the United States had 31 million people, 77 of whom were killed that year in the country's first factory disaster. Land was selling for $3 to $5 an acre, and a laborer's wage without board was 90 cents a day.

One Test of a Good Cook, Circa 1880

Shirley — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:07:17 +0000

Have you ever noticed how there used to be specific procedures and complete instructions for doing even the simplest household chore? I found the following very detailed information about "boiling a potato perfectly" in an 1880 book on housekeeping that was written especially for the beginning cook or new bride.

How To Do Laundry, Circa 1880

Shirley — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:04:09 +0000

I love to read through old books, especially the kind of book that gave advice and detailed instructions for some of the more ordinary tasks that are still a part of everyday life but are now accomplished with so much less effort. Reading this excerpt... a complete guide to doing laundry from a book on housekeeping and cooking... made me really grateful for my automatic washing machine!