Decorating with inspirational phrases, quotes, or single words is fashionable. Vinyl stickers of popular words and phrases are created using cutting machines and pasted on everything. Do-it-yourself ideas for embellishing walls, pillows, plaques, and even laptops with personal mottoes can be found online and in print. Home stores sell decorative items with stock phrases for … Continue reading Decorating with Mottoes: Inspirational Words in 19th Century Homes
Hot trends in home decorating in the late 19th century were parlor organs and hall stands. These objects are rarely seen in 21st century homes. But both symbolize something that modern home buyers on popular television shows declare is a “must have.” Home buyers, then and now, demonstrated their social status with a dedicated “space … Continue reading Hall Stands and Parlor Organs: Status Symbols in the 19th Century Home
How do historians recreate the daily lives of average people in the past? What primary sources exist to tell us how regular people worked, cooked, slept, or played? Historical estate or probate inventories provide many clues to answers these questions. Estate inventories are lists of the belongings of a person made after his or her … Continue reading Estate Inventories: Primary Sources for Daily Life in the Past
Nostalgia – a sentimental longing for the past. Many primary source texts and images suggest the past was a better place. But was it really? The word comes from Greek roots: nostos means to return home, aliga/alegein means pain, to care about, longing. Homesickness is a similar feeling – a longing for home. Historical sources are often nostalgic, … Continue reading Beware of nostalgia in primary sources