Gorgeous Jewelry from Alchemy Gothic

If you are in want of some lovely hardware and have some money to spend, have a look at these pretty cool 18th century inspired pieces from the UK based Alchemy Gothic:
Coffin Drop Cameo earrings and matching necklace
Marie Antoinette earrings and matching necklace (which I plan on getting)
Memento For A Highwayman earrings and matching necklace

Harmonia Post: 1801

You can have a listen to it here!

Cool Cookbooks

I recently found some era related cookbooks that I wanted to share...as I have discovered I have extended my love of the past to includes cooking era appropriate meals! If you feel the same, you may want to have a look at these:

• Cooking in Europe, 1650-1850
  
• Georgian Cookery: Recipes and History
• Dinner With Tom Jones: Eighteenth-Century Cookery Adapted for the Modern Kitchen
• Food & Cooking in Eighteenth-Century Britain
• Food & Cooking in Nineteenth-Century Britain: History and Recipes
• Cooking with Jane Austen
• The Jane Austen Cookbook
• Jane Austen and Food
• Victorian Cookery: Recipes and History
• Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History
• The Victorian Cookbook
• The Great Victorian Cookbook
• The Victorian Kitchen

And last but not least, the ancestor of Victorian Cookbooks: Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book and Household Guide

Daily Life Books

A post for those of you who enjoyed the posts on the American Girl/Dear America series: the Daily Life Through History/Writers' Guide series have a few more books I wanted to pass along to enhance your reading experience should you feel so inclined:

18th century:

When Columbus discovered America in 1492, there were over five hundred indigenous groups living in what is now the United States. Despite the breathtaking diversity and inventiveness of these peoples, the culture, customs, and history of Native Americans are relatively unknown to many students and general readers today. In ten narrative chapters, organized by geographical region, Nash and Strobel examine the real history of Native Americans. How did Natives interact with European settlers? Did they really have pow-wows? Where did Indian children go to school? Did chiefs really wear feathered headdresses and smoke peace pipes? Dispelling the myths and stereotypes, the day-to-day lives of these tribes and groups during a time of tremendous change is discussed. Chapters include details of daily life such as: clothing; colonization; education; farming & hunting; households & homes; leadership & political power; spirituality, rituals & customs; trade & alliance; warfare; women's & children's roles. Readers will learn the other history of indigenous people; not what is told in many history books, or seen in Hollywood movies and old westerns.
Greenwood's Daily Life through History series looks at the everyday lives of common people. This book will illuminate the lives of this indigenous group and provide a basis for further research. Black and white photographs, maps and charts are interspersed throughout the text to assist readers. Reference features include a timeline of historic events, sources for further reading, glossary of terms, bibliography and index.

The daily lives of most colonial New Englanders were much more colorful and exotic than the drab, pious picture many of us have in mind. Daily Life in Colonial New England exposes as myth much of what we might believe about this era and reveals surprising truths―for example, that sex was openly discussed in Colonial times and was regarded as a welcome necessity of married life, and that women had more legal and marital rights than they did in the 19th century.
The book describes topics such as the legal and sexual rights of women, the extent of infant mortality; the lives of underclass citizens who formed the majority in New England, such as indentured servants, African slaves, debtors, and criminals; and the integral role that pirates played in business and employment during the Colonial period. Readers will gain deeper insight into what life during this period was like through accounts of the real terror of being one of the accused in witch hunts and the sympathy that the general population had for dissidents who were questioned and arrested by the government. Primary materials that range from legal documents to sermons, letters, and diaries are used as sources that verify historical ideas and events.

The frontier region was the interface between the American wilderness and European-style civilization. To the Europeans, the frontier teemed with undomesticated and unfamiliar beasts. Even its indigenous peoples seemed perplexing, uninhibited, and violent. The frontier wasn't just a place, but a process, too. It was a hazy line between colliding cultures, and a volatile region in which those cultures interacted.

This volume explores the frontier, explorers, traders, missionaries, colonists, and native peoples that came into contact. Everyday life is presented with all of its difficulties-the trading, trapping, and farming, not to mention the chronic threat of violence. Examining the period from the perspective of both Europeans and Native Americans, this book features over 40 illustrations, photographs, and maps, making it the perfect source for anyone interested in how people lived on the old colonial frontier.

This work provides the first synthesis of daily life in the colonial South from the time of European arrival to 1770―a period that is often overlooked or treated briefly in most surveys on the history of the South. Daily Life in the Colonial South describes how a diverse mix of people created new patterns of living, behaving, and believing across diverse and changing physical, demographic, economic, and social environments by adapting inherited cultures in new settings.
The book emphasizes the everyday experiences of ordinary people from the Chesapeake Bay to the Lower Mississippi River, examining aspects of daily life such as work, families, possessions, food, leisure, bodies, and beliefs. It presents balanced coverage of English, French, Spanish, and Native American settlements, describing the lives of both men and women, and making use of quotes from historical documents. An introductory chapter profiles the colonial South at six periods set 50 years apart between 1500 and 1750, while the conclusion discusses colonial southern identities on the eve of the American Revolution.

The American city was an integral part of the colonial experience. Although the five largest cities in colonial America--Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Charles Town, and Newport--held less than ten percent of the American popularion on the eve of the American Revolution, they were particularly significant for a people who resided mostly in rural areas, and wilderness. These cities and other urban hubs contained and preserved the European traditions, habits, customs, and institutions from which their residents had emerged. They were also centers of commerce, transportation, and communication; held seats of colonial government; and were conduits for the transfer of Old World cultures. With a focus on the five largest cities but also including life in smaller urban centers, Krawczynski's nuanced treatment will fill a significant gap on the reference shelves and serve as an essential source for students of American history, sociology, and culture.
In-depth, thematic chapters explore many aspects of urban life in colonial America, including working conditions for men, women, children, free blacks, and slaves as well as strikes and labor issues; the class hierarchy and its purpose in urban society; childbirth, courtship, family, and death; housing styles and urban diet; and the threat of disease and the growth of poverty.

How did the patriot army dress themselves? What was the British soldier's food ration and what were women's roles during the revolution? What types of weapons did the combatants use and how large were the naval vessels of the day? This engaging and informative resource on the social and material history of the Revolutionary War period answers these and many other questions. Covering more than just political ideologies and the outcomes of battles, Daily Life During the Revolutionary War looks at the real stuff of history―people's lives and how they lived them.

Looking at the war and society from many angles, the book's 20 chapters cover such important topics as radicals, Tories, taxation, the French, the Hessians, prisoner-of-war conditions, fashion, leisure time activities, and war on the frontier, among others. Also included are more than 35 photographs and illustrations, and over a dozen charts. This behind-the-scenes look at history presents a fascinating picture of everyday life deeply affected by the spirit of '76.

In the early years of the American Republic the political ideals of the Revolution took definite form, and pervaded the daily lives of Americans in multifarious ways, affirming and transforming the country and its people in the process. In this informative and eminently readable resource, award-winning authors David and Jeanne Heidler discuss the people who lived during this critical time, and uncover the essential and unexpected realities of ordinary life in the early American republic.
Rapid developments in agriculture, encouraged by a strong sense of dignity in work and a bold new spirit of ingenuity sharply reduced the percentage of people who made their living in the fields; the tone of religious tolerance taken up by the founders manifested itself in a fervent yet incredibly diverse spiritual community; workingmen and educated citizens alike attended intellectual lectures together in an effort to become responsible and informed citizens; and the family dynamic underwent a profound transformation, especially as it involved children, at the hands of a new democratic idealism. In this informative and eminently readable resource, award-winning authors David and Jeanne Heidler discuss the people who lived during this critical time, and uncover the essential and unexpected realities of ordinary life in the early American republic.
Included are sections on agriculture; rituals of life, love, and death; employment and the economy; leisure; religion; life beyond the mainstream; and life in the military. This volume is ideal for high school and college students, as well as anyone interested in examining the prosaic realities underpinning the lives of the people of the time. A chronology of the time period, maps, illustrations, a bibliography and an index are also included.

This volume in Greenwood's American Popular Culture through History series recreates the many ways in which a new American culture took root during the Revolutionary period. Tavern culture and pamphlet literature played integral parts in debates surrounding the Revolution. Newspapers spread information while printing the first advertisements. Courtship and marriage rituals varied greatly among the rich and poor, and among city and country folk. Public performance art was a hotly debated component of the increased schism between secular and religious concerns, though many Americans enjoyed recreations of recent military battles. Foodways were distinctly regional, yet food rationing was a universal hardship among army personnel. Randall Huff's narrative essays, as well as many extra front- and back-matter resources, help describe citizen's lives in the newly formed United States of America as the nation fought to win its independence.
American Popular Culture through History is the only reference series that presents a detailed, narrative discussion of United States popular culture. This volume is one of 17 in the series, each of which presents essays on Everyday America, The World of Youth, Advertising, Architecture, Fashion, Food, Leisure Activities, Literature, Music, Performing Arts, Travel, and Visual Arts.

1783-1816

Most historical studies bury us in wars and politics, paying scant attention to the everyday effects of pop culture. Welcome to America's other history: the arts, activities, common items, and popular opinions that profoundly impacted our national way of life.
At the birth of the nation, when America's statesmen were laying the foundations of a new government, citizens were forging a popular culture to call their own. Patriotic symbols like the eagle and the profile of George Washington symbolized the virtues of the young nation. People from all classes―farmers, merchants, and the educated wealthy―turned away from European culture and began to recognize America's own prodigies. Homes, furnitures, fashions, and pastimes sprang from the new climate and topography. The styles, hobbies, and entertainments would evolve into the uniquely American popular culture we recognize today.
Early American artists such as Benjamin West, John Singleton Copley, and Charles Wilson Peale emerged along with original contributions to culture, including:
• The first novels for women
• The first American music, a unprecedented blend of religious hymns, African tribal music, and folk songs from the Middle Ages
• Ninepins and skittles, the forerunners of bowling
• Architecture incorporating the classical styles of Greece and Rome.
A wealth of facts, information, and interesting sidelights not available elsewhere makes this a treasure trove for students and interested readers.

Colonial America comes alive in this depiction of the daily lives of families―mothers, fathers, children, and grandparents. The Volo's examine the role of the family in society and typical family life in 17th- and 18th-century America. Through narrative chapters, aspects of family life are discussed in depth such as maintaining the household, work, entertainment, death and dying, ceremonies and holidays, customs and rites of passage, parenting, education, and widowhood. Readers will gain an in-depth understanding of the world in which these families lived and how that world affected their lives. Also included are sources for further information and a timeline of historic events.
Volumes in the Family Life through History series focus on the day-to-day lives and roles of families throughout history. The roles of all family members are defined and information on daily family life, the role of the family in society, and the ever-changing definition of family are discussed. Discussion of the nuclear family, single parent homes, foster and adoptive families, stepfamilies, and gay and lesbian families are included where appropriate. Topics such as meal planning, homes, entertainment and celebrations are discussed along with larger social issues that originate in the home, such as domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and divorce. Ideal for students and general readers alike, books in this series bring the history of everyday people to life.

The colonial days of America marked not only the beginnings of a country, but also of a new culture, part of which was the first American music publishers, entrepreneurs, and instrument makers forging musical communities from New England to New Spain. Elements of British, Spanish, German, Scots-Irish, and Native American music all contributed to the many cultures and subcultures of the early nation. While English settlers largely sought to impose their own culture in the new land, the adaptation of native music by Spanish settlers provided an important cultural intersection. The music of the Scots-Irish in the middle colonies planted the seeds of a folk ballad tradition. In New England, the Puritans developed a surprisingly rich―and recreational―musical culture. At the same time, the Regular Singing Movement attempted to reduce the role of the clergy in religious services. More of a cultural examination than a music theory book, this work provides vastly informative narrative chapters on early American music and its role in colonial and Revolutionary culture. Chapter bibliographies, a timeline, and a subject index offer additional resources for readers.
The American History through Music series examines the many different types of music prevalent throughout U.S. history, as well as the roles these music types have played in American culture. John Ogasapian's volume on the Colonial and Revolutionary period applies this cultural focus to the music of America's infancy and illuminates the surprisingly complex relationships in music of that time.

19th century:

The nineteenth century American frontier comes alive for students and interested readers in this unique exploration of westward expansion. This study examines the daily lives of ordinary men and women who flooded into the Trans-Mississippi West in search of land, fortune, a fresh start, and a new identity. Their daily life was rarely easy. If they were to survive, they had to adapt to the land and modify every aspect of their lives, from housing to transportation, from education to defense, from food gathering and preparation to the establishment of rudimentary laws and social structures. They also had to adapt to the Native Americans already on the land―whether through acculturation, warfare, or coexistence.
Jones provides insight into the experiences that affected the daily lives of the diverse people who inhabited the American frontier: the Native Americans, trappers, explorers, ranchers, homesteaders, soldiers and townspeople. This fascinating book gives a sense of the extraordinary ordinariness of surviving, prospering, failing, and dying in a new land; and explores how these westering Americans inevitably displaced those already bound to the land by tradition, culture, and religion. A wealth of illustrations complement the text of this easy-to use reference.

Daily Life in the American West combines the credibility and coverage of a history textbook with a close and nuanced view of the amazing peoples who struggled to make a home for themselves in a beautiful and evocative but harsh and unforgiving region. Included here are close descriptions of how a variety of peoples lived their daily lives, from nomadic Indian tribes to Chinese immigrants and from cowboys to city-dwellers. It also conveys how those individual lives are reflected in the sweeping changes that occurred in a century that saw the West become the most modern and diverse of all the nation's regions.
Readers will also find the expected cast of characters (gunfighters, American Indian leaders, cowboys, and so on) that have long captured the imagination of people around the world covered with an academic focus that tries to tell an accurate story of the West and its role in the United States. The book provides the scale of a textbook, but in a more-engaging format that should appeal to students and the general public.

It is easy to see the vestiges of the California Gold Rush in the state's modern culture. The San Francisco 49ers football team are named after the term given to those who flocked to California in 1849 in search of gold; California is nicknamed "The Golden State;" and the official state motto is "Eureka" meaning "I have found it" in Greek-a reference to mining success. But the Gold Rush was not only a pivotal event with lasting impact in California; it also greatly affected America as a whole and global society.

This book examines the historical significances of the California Gold Rush, beginning with life in California prior to the Gold Rush and European colonization and concluding with information regarding contemporary California. Readers will gain historical insights from the highly detailed explorations of how life in California evolved and understand the enormous impact of an event over 160 years ago on present-day America.

When first published, Daily Life in Civil War America shifted the spotlight from the conflict's military operations and famous leaders to its affect on day-to-day living. Now this popular, groundbreaking work returns in a thoroughly updated new edition, drawing on an expanded range of journals, journalism, diaries, and correspondence to capture the realities of wartime life for soldiers and citizens, slaves and free persons, women and children, on both sides of the conflict.
In addition to chapter-by-chapter updating, the edition features new chapters on two important topics: the affects of the war on families, focusing on the absence of men on the home front and the plight of nearly 26,000 children orphaned by the war; and the activities of the Copperheads, anti-Confederate border residents, and other Southern pacifist groups.

Daily Life in the Industrial United States: 1870–1900 is a narrative-based social history that is ideal for college and high school students researching this era. Thematically organized chapters, devoted to Economic Life, Domestic Life, Recreational Life, and other themes, are broad in scope but include primary documents and telling details that give readers a visceral sense of the lives of people who lived during the era of industrialization.
Primary documents range from first-person diaries of individuals who lived during the era, to letters from freed slaves looking to reunite with relatives sold away from them, to speeches and essays by activists including Frederick Douglass and Jane Addams. They reveal how people understood the goals of education, the legal position of African Americans in the South, and marriage, among many other daily phenomena. Readers will become privy to a range of personal experiences while comprehending the importance of the economic and social developments of the period. A chronology, a glossary, a selection of illustrations, and further reading sources complete the work.

1849-1890

As men and women traveled west to settle America's untamed lands, and tried to strike it rich in gold, they led a simple existence, often carrying the barest necessities from one location to another. Yet they also carried with them their own popular culture, through folk songs, legends, and literature, that has often been mythologized into our present American popular culture. Through primary sources such as letters, diaries, and photographs, the author draws parallels and makes distinctions between the pioneers and cowboys of the past and those of today. Students and fans of the Old West will find this volume a rich source of history for this time period.
Many images and items in today's popular culture were born in the time of westward expansion. Log cabins, cowboys such as the Marlboro Man and Woody of ^I Toy Story^R fame, and Levi's jeans, all have their roots in the Old West. Outlaws such as Wild Bill Hikock, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James, and good guys such as Davy Crockett, continue to fascinate students and western enthusiasts. Traveling entertainments, mail-order houses, and patent medicines, although no longer popular in today's society, tell us much about the nomadic existence of families during this time. With a timeline and a list of everyday products and their prices during the time period, this volume will be an invaluable resource to students and historians tracing the roots of American popular culture.

The Antebellum Era was a complex time in American culture. Young ladies had suitors call upon them, while men often settled quarrels by dueling, and mill girls worked 16-hour days to help their families make ends meet. Yet at the same time, a new America was emerging. The rapid growth of cities inspired Frederick Law Olmstead to lead the movement for public parks. Stephen Foster helped forge a catalog of American popular music; writers such as Washington Irving and Ralph Waldo Emerson raised the level of American literature; artists such as Thomas Cole and Thomas Doughty defined a new style of painting called the Hudson River School. All the while, schisms between northern and southern culture threatened to divide the nation. This volume in Greenwood's American Popular Culture Through History recounts the ways in which things old and new intersected in the decades before the Civil War.
James and Dorothy Volo are one of the more prolific author teams in reference publishing today, and with this volume they make important contributions to Greenwood's successful series on America's other history.

The Civil War tore America apart. The ensuing era of Reconstruction sewed it back together. In this vivid look at the popular culture of the era, Browne and Kreiser examine how Americans coped with the trials and tribulations of this cataclysmic period.
Narrative essays examine the lives of everyday Americans―young and old, Northern and Southern, soldier and civilian―along with the major traditions and trends in every facet of the time's popular culture. Dime novels, illustrated newspapers, iceboxes, patriotic hymns and rebel rhythms, minstrel shows, and professional baseball teams were just some of the cultural phenomena that thrived during this period. Readers will benefit from the chapter bibliographies, a timeline, a cost comparison, and suggestions for further reading. This latest addition to Greenwood's ^IAmerican Popular Culture Through History^R series is an invaluable contribution to the study of American popular culture.

The Gilded Age―the time between Reconstruction and the Spanish-American War―marked the beginnings of modern America. The advertising industry became an important part of selling the American Dream. Americans dined out more than ever before, and began to take leisure activities more seriously. Women's fashion gradually grew less restrictive, and architecture experienced an American Renaissance. Twelve narrative chapters chronicle how American culture changed and grew near the end of the 20th century. Included are chapter bibliographies, a timeline, a cost comparison, and a suggested reading list for students. This latest addition to Greenwood's American Popular Culture Through History series is an invaluable contribution to the study of American popular culture.
American Popular Culture Through History is the only reference series that presents a detailed, narrative discussion of U.S. popular culture. This volume is one of 17 in the series, each of which presents essays on Everyday America, The World of Youth, Advertising, Architecture, Fashion, Food, Leisure Activities, Literature, Music, Performing Arts, Travel, and Visual Arts.

Nineteenth century families had to deal with enormous changes in almost all of life's categories. The first generation of nineteenth century Americans was generally anxious to remove the Anglo from their Anglo-Americanism. The generation that grew up in Jacksonian America matured during a period of nationalism, egalitarianism, and widespread reformism. Finally, the generation of the pre-war decades was innately diverse in terms of their ethnic backgrounds, employment, social class, education, language, customs, and religion. Americans were acutely aware of the need to create a stable and cohesive society firmly founded on the family and traditional family values. Yet the people of America were among the most mobile and diverse on earth. Geographically, socially, and economically, Americans (and those immigrants who wished to be Americans) were dedicated to change, movement, and progress. This dichotomy between tradition and change may have been the most durable and common of American traits, and it was a difficult quality to circumvent when trying to form a unified national persona.
Volumes in the Family Life in America series focus on the day-to-day lives and roles of families throughout history. The roles of all family members are defined and information on daily family life, the role of the family in society, and the ever-changing definition of family are discussed. Discussion of the nuclear family, single parent homes, foster and adoptive families, stepfamilies, and gay and lesbian families are included where appropriate. Topics such as meal planning, homes, entertainment and celebrations, are discussed along with larger social issues that originate in the home like domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, and divorce. Ideal for students and general readers alike, books in this series bring the history of everyday people to life.

As divisive and destructive as the Civil War was, the era nevertheless demonstrated the power that music could play in American culture. Popular songs roused passion on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, and military bands played music to entertain infantry units-and to rally them on to war. The institution of slavery was debated in songs of the day, ranging from abolitionist anthems to racist minstrel shows. Across the larger cultural backdrop, the growth of music publishing led to a flourishing of urban concert music, while folk music became indelibly linked with American populism. This volume, one of the first in the American History through Music series, presents narrative chapters that recount the many vibrant roles of music during this troubled period of American history. A chapter of biographical entries, a dictionary of Civil War era music, and a subject index offer useful reference tools.
The American History through Music series examines the many different styles of music that have played a significant part in our nation's history. While volumes in this series show the multifaceted roles of music in culture, they also use music as a lens through which readers may study American social history. The authors present in-depth analysis of American musical genres, significant musicians, technological innovations, and the many connections between music and the realms of art, politics, and daily life. Chapters present accessible narratives on music and its cultural resonations, music theory and technique is broken down for the lay reader, and each volume presents a chapter of alphabetically arranged entries on significant people and terms.

America's Gilded Age was a time of great musical evolution. As the country continued to develop a musical style apart from Europe, its church and religious music and opera took on new forms. Music-as-entertainment also evolved, with marching bands at public events and the new musicals in theaters. This volume presents the composers, musicians, songwriters, instruments and musical forms that uniquely identify the Gilded Age.
Chapters include: Concerts and Symphony orchestras; Grand Opera; Composers, Critics, and Conservatories; Amateurs and Music at Home; Sacred Music, Black and White; Ragtime, Vaudeville, and the American Musical Stage; Music, Politics, and the Progressive Movement; and Music Industries and Technology.

Writers' Guide series:

Readers will understand all the events- from the seemingly inconsequential to the major- that framed Colonial American life. Includes sections on family life, fashion, earning a living, what colonists ate, climate, geography, trade, and much more.

A superb reference for writers, researchers, students and teachers, this dictionary-style book illuminates everyday life in the 1800s, decade by decade. Readers will find hundreds of otherwise obscure facts about:

* Popular slang--from the range to the underworld

* How to furnish a farmhouse or outfit a barn

* How much it cost for a shot of whiskey or to mail a letter

* Styles of the fashionable--and not so fashionable

* Courtship and marriage rituals

* Popular food and drink--including brand names

* And much, much more!

This exceptional book will be applauded by writers, students, historians and casual readers alike. From soldiers and statesmen to farmers and firing lines, Everyday Life During the Civil War offers an in-depth exploration of this fascinating era. Using dozens of illustrations, timelines and maps, Michael J. Varhola illuminates the details of Northern and Southern economy; town and country living; food and the impact of the war on diet; popular entertainment; clothing; military life; tools and weapons; slang and much more!

Everyday Life in the Wild West shows you firsthand what it was like to tame the praries, fight the battles and build the boomtowns. From the vittles people ate (including boudins and buffalo humps) to what they wore (such as linsey-woolsey, caliso and duck), this book is packed with historical accounts, maps and photographs to give you a complete perspective of this fascinating era.

Profiles the last three decades of the nineteenth century, providing information on education, occupations, frontier life, and amusements and pastimes.

Happy Reading!