• Enormous farm animals: the history behind an "absolute unit."
• Williams & Sowerby, silk mercers of Oxford Street who produced tissue de verre, or "glass cloth. More about tissue de verre here.
• Ectoplasm and Helen Duncan, the last British woman tried for witchcraft - in 1944.
• "I have heard some of the Democratic rejoicing": Abigail Adams' last letter to husband John, 1801.
• Image: Know Your Pugs, from Strand Magazine, 1892.
• An 1820s shooting coat, worn for hare-coursing.
• Dozens of costume history books to read on line via The Getty.
• The challenges of war to a woman: Baroness Frederika von Riedesel describes the second Battle of Saratoga,
1777.
• Image: Gorgeous diamond and emerald parure designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria.
• A 12thc relic meets 21stc technology.
• Frances Gabe and her amazing self-cleaning house.
• In the 1870s, a radical journalist and a photographer documented London street life with these images.
• Late 19thc silk Chinese woman's surcoat features flying cranes against mountains and clouds.
• Image: Unusual Georgian mourning brooch c1780 with hairwork tomb, weeping willow, and urn.
• Every Marine carries the flag: a brief history of the US Marine Corps flag.
• Little ladies: Victorian fashion dolls and the feminine ideal.
• The twenty-five most famous residents of New York City's cemeteries.
Hungry for more? Follow us on Twitter @2nerdyhistgirls for fresh updates daily.
Above: At Breakfast by Laurits Andersen Ring. Private collection.
One of us -- 
3 comments:
Unfortunately, the article on Helen Duncan is somewhat misleading, and not very carefully worded. The Witchcraft Act of 1735 did not create prosecutions for witchcraft. Rather, it declared actual witchcraft nonexistent, and prosecuted persons who purported to engage in it. It was the end of historical witch trials.
While the author states, at the end, that Duncan went to trial for "fraudulent witchcraft"--correct--the general thrust of the article seems to imply that the law was invoked against Duncan for what she did, rather than what she pretended to do.
And now that I have that off my mind, thank you for posting this collection, which I look forward to, week after week! :D
The paper on silk mercers was excellent. I am always grateful for original sources of information.
Post a Comment