Evergreen trees decorated with lights, garland, and ornaments have become a staple in most households that celebrate Christmas, however, these trees haven’t always been a symbol of the upcoming holiday. Since evergreen trees stayed green throughout the cold months, they have long been revered. Ancient Egyptians worshipped the god Ra and believed that Ra grew [...]
It has become the norm that when we travel from state to state we must factor in time zone changes and that there is a Sunday in the spring and in the fall when we change our clocks for Daylight Saving Time, but time has not always been this way. The Concept of Time Before [...]
The start of December brings the season of Fezziwig Balls, like the one The Commonwealth Vintage Dancers hosts each year. The night is filled with 19th century carols, refreshments, and dancing as guests step back in time. Fezziwig Balls are named after Mr. Fezziwig, the employer of A Christmas Carol’s Ebenezer Scrooge when he was [...]
Early Life Susan La Flesche Picotte was the first Native American female physician. She is remembered for breaking racial and gender barriers. Susan was born in 1865 in the Omaha Indian Reservation, daughter to Chief Joseph (called “Iron Eyes”) and Mary Gale (called “One Woman”). Both parents were of mixed race. The chief knew his tribe [...]
This Veteran’s Day, November 11th, 2018, we celebrate 100 years since the end of World War I. When remembering WWI, the contributions made by American women are often overlooked. American women worked in hospitals, the military, and factories to do their part in the war to end all wars, complementing their counterparts in other parts [...]
Two-hundred years ago, in 1818, Mary Shelley first published Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley was the daughter of the feminist author, Mary Wollstonecraft, and the philosopher, William Godwin. At fifteen, she fell in love with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who was married and had two children at the time. [...]
Thank you to all of our wonderful customers who entered the Halloween 2018 Photo Contest. You are the best! And the winner is... The Grand Prize Winner of $250 to spend on our website is #17 Joan M., Auburn, CA. The panel of judges thought her photo best embodied the spirit of Halloween. Runners-up ($50 [...]
Thank you to everyone who entered the contest! The judges chose the winner for each photo. You'll find the winning captions below. Please visit Recollections for history-inspired fashions for women. We design and manufacture in the USA. Our garments come in American sizes XS-XXXXL. Fashions include the late 1700s, 1800s (Victorian, Civil War, Old West), [...]
It’s been 150 years since Louisa May Alcott introduced us to the March family in Little Women and we can’t seem to get enough of the story and the characters who inhabit it. Is it because of the diverse personalities of the March siblings? Our readers have strong opinions on who is their favorite and how the [...]