"To the unrefined or unbred, the visiting card is but a trifling and insignificant bit of paper; but to the cultured disciple of social law, it conveys a subtle and unmistakable intelligence. Its texture, style of engraving, and even the hour of leaving it combine to place the stranger, whose name it bears, in a [...]
Wanting to do a seasonally-appropriate post on popular Victorian summer activities, I decided to take a look at the history of croquet. For a few decades, the game was undeniably the most popular pastime in both England and America. With an absence of socially acceptable mixed-gender activities, young people especially flocked to lawns to take [...]
Spring is here and summer is fast approaching. While 2020 might not include family reunions, street festivals, and out of state vacations, there is still the opportunity to get out safely and enjoy nature. My own COVID-19 schedule includes daily walks in my Denver neighborhood with various exercise routines at a local park. As I [...]
There are starting to be some warm days mixed in here and there with those that are still too chilly to enjoy being outdoors. Spring is upon us and the end of the frigid temperatures is in sight. In Victorian times, the end of winter meant that garden parties and picnics would soon be following, [...]
Many of us know about the women’s suffrage movement, abolition, and temperance societies, but what about the dress reform movement? Many of the most radical and audacious women involved in progressive movements of the Victorian Era could see the way that women were physically prevented from fully participating in society. Such limitations, they argued, took [...]
The Industrial Revolution in the UK and America was the catalyst for change in architecture. By the time Queen Victoria ascended the throne, architects were embracing new materials and technologies that sparked the imagination. Mass production and mass transit (rail) allowed architects to explore a plethora of possibilities. There are many styles of home and [...]