Botany Beauty: Marianne North

By | November 17th, 2022|Categories: Victorian Era, Women's History|

I love looking at vintage botanical illustrations and have wanted to cover the history of the art form for a long time. I started to dig in over the last month and was pleased to discover that an Englishwoman was one of the more influential leaders of the Victorian movement to explore and document natural [...]

Letter seals: a history

By | November 13th, 2022|Categories: History of the home, Regency Era, Victorian Era|

There is something so satisfying about depictions of 19th-century letter exchanges. The paper appears thick and high quality, the letting is in cursive writing which is so rare these days, and of course, the wax seals they are often closed with. Communicating this way must have made each correspondence somewhat significant, more so than the [...]

Heloise's 1962 Housekeeping Tips

By | November 6th, 2022|Categories: History of the home, Women's History|Tags: , |

I really enjoy vintage etiquette and household manuals. The latest in my collection is a 1962 edition of Heloise’s Housekeeping Hints. I have been enjoying poking through it over the last couple of weeks, being both educated on some helpful tips and humored at some of the outdated inclusions. For instance, have you ever tried [...]

The mysterious world of poison rings

By | October 29th, 2022|Categories: Accessories, Victorian Era|Tags: |

Tis the season to be spooky! I have always considered poison rings to be a dark and mysterious item from the past though have never been able to learn much about them. Well, I know now that they have fairly ancient roots that extend to the present day, something that we don’t see very often [...]

Halloween Greetings!

By | October 27th, 2022|Categories: Halloween, Holidays|Tags: |

Happy Halloween dear customers and readers! We know that many of you are up to a lot of fun over the next few days and we hope it will be spookily delightful. To thank you for being a part of our community this weekend and to get you in the spirit of things I have [...]

These Victorian-era paintings of autumn leaves will make you love the season even more

By | October 23rd, 2022|Categories: 19th Century Literature, Victorian Era|

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne It is a great autumn season here in Denver. Luckily we haven’t had snow yet, and the leaves are getting brighter by the day. I know [...]

The history of corduroy

By | October 20th, 2022|Categories: 1950s Fashions, Fashion, Textiles|Tags: , |

Fall is here, the perfect time for corduroy clothes of all types. It’s warm, durable, and oh-so-cozy, just what one wants for the transition from summer to the colder months. Just thinking about corduroy clothing makes me picture walking through my neighborhood park and enjoying the bright-colored leaves that Denver is blessed with right now. [...]

A short history of witches’ hats

By | October 11th, 2022|Categories: Halloween, Women's History|Tags: , |

A witch has been one of the most popular Halloween costumes for women since the beginning of the 20th century. In fact, it might be one of the most enduring trends, still ranking as the top pick in 2021. It is long-lasting in most senses, with little variation to the recipe: sleek, black dress and [...]

Sarah Mognoni: Celebrating the connection between women and horses

By | October 6th, 2022|Categories: Customer's Fashions, Recollections|Tags: , , , , |

So many of our customers are involved in such interesting pursuits! It has been a joy to connect with many over the years to learn about their passions and how Recollections shows up. This week I had the chance to speak with Sarah Mognoni, an equestrian who is passionate about the connection between women and [...]