Rex Gordon

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Rex Gordon has posted four annotations/comments since 8 December 2024.

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Third Reading

About Tuesday 14 January 1661/62

Rex Gordon  •  Link

Vellum photo albums, usually bound in leather, remained common straight into the 20th century. You can find many antique ones offered for sale online. By the way, these picture/photograph albums are the reason we still call a collection of songs by a musical artist an “album.” Early records were played at 78 rpm; the discs were large and had one song per side. So a collection of twelve songs required six large 78 rpm discs, and they were stored in exactly the kind of albums as photos - and Sam’s pictures. It was a record “album.”

About Sunday 8 December 1661

Rex Gordon  •  Link

For people confused about what “taking physic” meant, in modern terms it means taking a laxative. So the cold weather had something to do with Elizabeth’s reluctance to share a room with Sam if he took physic. Perhaps those who speculated that it would be too cold to open the windows and freshen the air are onto something.