research tips

Where to find Knowledge

Instantaneous Chocolate

I love old advertisements. It’s inevitable that when I’m researching one thing, I go off on tangents because I’ve discovered something else. This time it’s: INSTANTANEOUS CHOCOLATE – THE GREATEST INVENTION OF THE AGE. Yes, I’d support instant cocoa as one of the wonders of the modern age, especially the…

Roman Intaglios

Aren’t these gorgeous? They are ancient Roman intaglios — tiny gemstones for rings or other jewelry. A person hand carved these figures into the stone. No laser. No sophisticated magnifying device. See how tiny? I love these. The craftsmanship amazes me. You can see many of these intaglios at the…

Roman Dice Tower

“You can just see the dice tower on the table, it has a little set of stairs for the dice to roll down.” – @RomanCaerleon, http://twitpic.com/7rxa04 This device prevented cheating by providing a uniform way by which the dice were thrown.

First Massachusetts Coffee License

Look! It’s a piece of coffee history, one of my favorite kinds of history. And the honor of possessing the first coffee & chocolate license in Massachusetts – possibly in the colonies – goes to a woman:  Dorothy Jones in 1670. Yay for enterprising colonial women who know the value…

Abducting Heiresses

Abduction is a popular storytelling device when it comes to historical romance, which isn’t surprising since you can trace its place in romance literature right back to the Abduction of Persephone. When you’re talking historical romance set in England or Wales, abductors – and elopers, for that matter – are…

Haarlem Oil – Health Insurance in a Jar

Today in Salem History: On April 24, 1792, Abraham Solis advertised “Haerlaemer Oil” with “Dutch explanations of its use” in the Salem Gazette. This was probably Haarlem Oil, a diuretic made in Holland since 1672 and still in demand in the early 20th century. So popular was this remedy, practically…

The Trial of Margaret Douglass

From American State Trials: “A Southern lady (Margaret Douglass) living with a daughter in Norfolk, Virginia sixty-six years ago (1853) and being greatly interested in the religious and moral instruction of colored children and finding that the Sunday school where they were allowed to attend was not sufficient, invited them…

A Girl’s Two Paths

Here is another interesting historical document. Again with a feminist theme. Or anti-feminist. Also anti-romance. Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to read Sappho. Who actually wrote poems, not a novel. Unless they mean this…. They probably meant this.  (It was first published in 1888.) Yet again, romance will…

Woman To Woman

This is an interesting historical document – it’s using Sisterhood to forward the abolitionist cause.  Not surprising in the North, since abolition was taken up by many churches and church work was one of the few acceptable public spheres in which women could participate. And, of course, Uncle Tom’s Cabin…

  • Search

  • Archives

  • Categories