ENGLISH HISTORY(royalty, etiquette, coins, Charles II, James II) FOOD (meals, a few recipes, ingredients, meals, tableware) FRENCH HISTORY BIBLIOGRAPHY of late Stuart history
". . . dedicated to recreating English rural life in the South of England during 1642." Much of the information on the website refers to the parish of Rowner, two miles west of Portsmouth."
Mathematicians of the day: Boyle, Newton, Huygen and Collins etc ;
For an ordinary man and his struggles: a brief history. A sample;
Collins( 1624-1683) also held a position as an accountant in the Excise Office from 1668 to 1670. However times were not easy and Collins only received a small fraction of his proper salary from the Council of Plantations. He therefore resigned in September 1672 and was given job in the Farthing Office. The Farthing Office was a part of the Mint and Charles II had introduced, in 1672, the copper half-penny and farthing with the Britannia type.
General introduction to period, linked to UK TV series, broadcast Autumn 2001. Covers period 1603-1702 and contains following main sections: timeline, the basics, words you need to know, godly nation, class & customs, hazards & dangers, movers & shakers, arts, sciences, sex & sleaze, DIY politics, further afield
"The World Turned upside down by Christopher Hill" Another inexpensive book on 17th century and the relig/polit/econ mix and the reactions (from the bottom of the heap) from the court Documents etc. and the poetry and Flyers. Unfortunately History is only written by the succesful,which is like looking at a London photograph and showing you Buckingham Palace and how people live. It talks about all the religious and non, irr- religious groupings and their political asperations. The book is a Penquin ( I am told its Welsh for White head) book. One of the delightful quotes "In essex one of 'the rude vulgar people' threatened to tear ' the gentlemen to pieces'. (p21)
For those that want to look into the variations in 1660's practices and differences : the library of Dr William Bates is housed with that of Dr Daniel Williams along other choice items of literature at Dr Williams's Library, 14 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0AR Dr Williams's Library is the pre-eminent research library of English Protestant nonconformity. Established under the will of Dr Daniel Williams, the library is one of the oldest open to the public still conducted on its original benefaction. It has never received any government funding. Among the confusing but crucial distinctions that baffle many family historians are the denominational differences within religious dissent or nonconformity. Here you will find out about the various different types of nonconformists, as well as discovering where to look for further information that will aid your research. Useful addresses and contact names are included.
John Graunt's OBSERVATIONS ON THE BILLS OF MORTALITY - 1st edition http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Gr… Published in 1662. Same stile as SP. Statistics from SP's world. Interesting to note that the Plague described by SP was not "the Grest Plague" but "the Last Great Plague", having had more big Plagues in the same century.
A number of us have referred to Liza Picard's 'Restoration London', which is a mine of information for our period. Readers may like to know that her 'Elizabethan London', first published in hardback last year, is now available in paperback under the Orion imprint. Although not as relevant to our reading as 'Restoration London', it still provides entertaining and informative reading on the London out of which 'our' London grew.
Average life expectancy at birth for English people in the late 16th/early 17th centuries was just under 40 - 39.7 years. However, this low figure was mostly due to the high rate of infant and child mortality - over 12% of all children born would die within their first year. A man or woman who reached the age of 30 could expect to live to 59. [...] Life expectancy in London was lower than that of England in general, even for the wealthy. Crowding, poor sanitation and increased likelihood of disease all took their toll on the population. "Expectation of life at birth varied greatly from the wealthy to poorer parishes of London. St Peter Cornhill, 1580-1650 had an expectation of life of 34-6 years. Comparatively, the poor parish of St. Mary Somerset, 1606-1653, had a life expectancy at birth of only 21 years."
"... produced by the Centre for Metropolitan History in association with the Royal Historical Society, is a free online bibliography of published material relating to the history of the Greater London area. In it, you will be able to find everything relating to the history of the capital, from counting house to music hall; from the Fire to the Blitz; from Whittington to Livingstone. It should represent a starting point for all enquiries concerning London's development over the centuries or any conceivable aspect of London life, whether from the academic historian, the amateur or the general enquirer."
new : direct access to the acts of Parliament. an example: the post office acts of 1660, a government arm until late 20th C http://www.british-history.ac.uk/… shows the rates too.
Vocabulary: Dr. Ros Barber recommends the following site for information on the origins of words, and what was correctly used when. She is a senior lecturer in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Director of Research at the Shakespearean Authorship Trust and is three times winner (2011, 2014, 2018) of the Hoffman Prize for a distinguished work on Christopher Marlowe.
The Historical Thesaurus of English is available from the University of Glasgow. Their thesaurus allows you to find out how language is used through the ages. As an example, you can search “toilet” and find out how to refer to that in 1563, or parts of a person’s body in 1603, etc.
This concise guide to naval history and naval records is essential reading and reference for anyone researching the fascinating story of Britain’s navy and the men and women who served in it. Whether you are interested in the career of an individual seaman, finding out about a medal winner or just want to know more about a particular ship, campaign or operation, this book will point you in the right direction.
Simon Fowler assumes the reader has little prior knowledge of the navy and its history. His book shows you how to trace an officer, petty officer or rating from the 17th century up to the 1960s using records at the National Archives and elsewhere.
The book also covers the specialist and auxiliary services associated with the navy among them the Royal Marines, the Fleet Air Arm, the naval dockyards, the WRNS and the Fleet Auxiliary. In each section he explains which records survive, where they can be found and how they can be used for research. He also recommends resources available online as well as books and memoirs.
This handbook is a valuable research tool for anyone who is keen to find out about the career of an ancestor who served in the Royal Navy or was connected with it.
Katharine Cockin’s handbook provides a fascinating introduction for readers searching for information about ancestors who had clearly defined roles in the world of the theatre and performance as well as those who left only a few tantalizing clues behind.
The wider history of public performance is outlined, from its earliest origins in church rituals and mystery plays through periods of censorship driven by campaigns on moral and religious grounds up to the modern world of stage and screen.
Case studies, which are a special feature of the book, demonstrate how the relevant records and be identified and interpreted, and they prove how much revealing information they contain.
Information on relevant archives, books, museums and websites make this an essential guide for anyone who is keen to explore the subject.
The medical profession had as much influence on the lives of our ancestors as it does on our lives today. It occupied an extraordinary range of individuals - surgeons, doctors, nurses and specialists of all kinds.
Despite burgeoning interest in all aspects of history and ancestry, medicine has rarely been considered from the point of view of a family historian. This is the main purpose of Michelle Higgs’s accessible and authoritative introduction to the subject.
Assuming the reader has little prior knowledge of how or where to look for such information, she traces the development of medical practice and patient care. She describes how attitudes to illnesses and disease have changed over time. In particular, she looks at the parts played in the system by doctors and nurses - at their role, training and places of work and she also looks at the patients and their experience of medicine in their day.
Each section identifies the archives and records that the family historian can turn to, and discusses other potential sources including the Internet.
The book is an invaluable guide to all the information that can give an insight into the experience of an ancestor who worked in medicine or had a medical history.
Manufacturer/Publisher: Pen & Sword Binding: Paperback Author: Michelle Higgs SKU: 9781848842779 https://shop.nationalarchives.gov… Sadly, no hint of the centuries covered.
In this much-expanded second edition of his "My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer" book, genealogist Ian Waller provides a wealth of information to help you discover your ag lab ancestors.
He explains what life was like for this impoverished and now largely forgotten section of society, gives us details of all the skills they needed and describes the country calendar of events, including ploughing, sowing and harvesting.
He also outlines records that tell is more about the lives of farm labourers: quarter sessions, tithe schedules, manorial records, estate records and trade union records.
There are chapters on casual farm labourers, dairy maids, child labour, thatchers, riots, wills, migration records, game keepers and changes in agricultural practice, as well as a useful bibliography and list of Parliamentary Bills that affected the lives of agricultural labourers.
A handy guide to researching your ancestry, the book is also an impressive work of social history that is even more fascinating and comprehensive than the original edition.
Manufacturer/Publisher: Society of Genealogists Binding: Paperback Author: Ian H Waller SKU: 9781907199592
The emergence of the Dutch school of painting in the early 17th century is one of the most extraordinary phenomena in the history of the visual arts.
The collection of Dutch 17th-century paintings in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC includes works by well-known masters of the period, including Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Aelbert Cuyp.
Now numbering more than 150 paintings, the collection comprises examples of the portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, marine paintings, still lifes, and biblical and mythological scenes that have made this school of painting one of the most beloved and admired in the history of European art.
Their award-winning online catalog of the Gallery’s collection (first launched in 2014), unites authoritative, peer-reviewed content with the flexibility of online publishing. As works are added to the collection, new entries are added to the catalog. The newest entries include the following: Jan Asselijn, The Tiber River with the Ponte Molle at Sunset, c. 1650 Jan van Goyen, View of Rhenen, 1646 Meindert Hobbema, Wooded Landscape with Figures, c. 1658 Thomas de Keyser, Portrait of a Gentleman Wearing a Fancy Ruff, 1627 Aert van der Neer, Winter in Holland: Skating Scene, 1645 Jan Steen, Ascagnes and Lucelle (The Music Lesson), 1667
They invite you to explore this catalog and delve into the the Gallery’s 17th-century Dutch paintings.
Historical dress, lifestyles, weapons, and time – some resources:
Online:
Fancy Dresses Described, by Ardern Holt. 3rd edition, greatly enlarged. Debenham & Freebody, [n.d., but likely ca. 1882]. The third edition of this originally printed book is available as an e-book as part of the University of Southampton’s Libraries Digital Collections.
The book was written to give advice to 19th-century British society ladies on costume ideas for fancy dress balls. So if you are writing a historical romance where your Victorian characters attend a fancy dress ball, this work will give you ideas.
Holt provides descriptions of colors and types of fabric to be used, and hairdressing suggestions for an alphabetical list of historical characters. Suggestions are also given for appropriate costumes for children, elderly women, sisters wanting to coordinate, and also advice on hosting such a ball. Men’s costumes are not included.
There are 16 color plates and some black-and-white drawings.
Holt says this “does not purport to be an authority in the matter of costume, for, as a rule, the historical dresses worn on such occasions are lamentably incorrect.” It is not a resource for historical costume, but Victorian society’s concept of it. A reference in prefatory material to the book’s illustrations by “Miss Greenaway” might refer to the illustrator Kate Greenaway?
@@@
Books
Eyewear: a Visual History, 1491-Today, by Moss Lipow. Koln: Taschen, 2011. 9783836525657 If you need to research what kind of eyewear your character would wear during his or her era, this book will be valuable. It seems to be as much a book about design as eyewear history. For historians’ needs, the first chapter shows examples of eyeglasses before 1900, starting with bone eye shields carved by Inuits, illustrations from medieval art showing people wearing spectacles, and photographs of early glasses in museums.
The author states: “Every effort has been made to represent the eyewear true to scale,” so the researcher will have a good idea of the size of the eyewear depicted. The English text is repeated in German and French in many chapters, but the illustration captions are in English. ... All specimens are given at least an approximate date. ...
Firearms: an Illustrated History. New York: DK, 2014. 9781465416056 Reader who don’t know much about firearms in their chosen era will find an excellent introduction in this book. It offers worldwide coverage, and provides excellent color photographs of examples of weapons over the centuries
The first section covers up to 1650, with examples like the Mons Meg bombard at Edinburgh castle, harquebuses, and accessories like musket rests. Descriptions explain whether the weapon was a breech- or muzzle-loader, date if known, and dimensions. It covers issues like problems with matchlock guns: the burning match cord gave awat one’s position, and the weapon was difficult to use on horseback.
The more modern sections of the book cover cannons, field artillery, pistols, naval weapons, hunting and police weapons, machine guns, and weapons used by spies.
It also has spreads on how powder cartridges evolved, the history of ammunition in general, and features on noted gun inventors and manufacturers. Also useful for are side by side comparison photos of how matchlock, wheellock, and flintlock firearms worked.
@@@
Weapons: a Pictorial History, written and illustrated by Edwin Tunis. Cleveland, Ohio: World Publishing Company, 1954. This book, older than the others, fits the theme as a source novelists can consult about historical weapons. Tunis’ illustrations are black-and-white drawings, but they are clear and educational.
Tunis concentrates on Western weapons, starting with prehistoric stones and slings, through the hydrogen bomb.
He covers issues like castle features that aid or act as weapons, trebuchets, stance of a longbowman, pole arms, helmets, and other accessories. Because of its publication date, the book doesn’t go beyond the mid-20th century. This is one of several books Tunis wrote for children and young adults, and so provides a good introduction.
@@@
The Story of Time, by Kristen Lippincott, with Umberto Eco, E.H. Gombrich and others. London: Merrell Holberton in association with National Maritime Museum, 1999. This book was written to accompany an exhibition held at the Queen’s House in Greenwich in 2000. It looks at how the concept of time has been measured over the centuries ... There are essays on concepts of time in various countries and cultures, early means of time measurement in Europe, how time is depicted in art, etc.
Probably the most useful part of the book to historical novelists will be the many illustrations of early clocks and watches. Photos are accompanied by extensive descriptions giving context to the objects.
Writers wondering what kind of timepiece should be put into the hands or onto the fireplace mantle of their characters can find valuable ideas here.
38 Annotations
First Reading
David Gurliacci • Link
1638-1660
"British Civil Wars, Commonwealth and Protectorate"
http://www.skyhook.co.uk/civwar/i…
This site has a timeline, biographical articles, military history and a search engine. Thank-you for this site, David Plant!
David Quidnunc • Link
Macaulay's History of England (1848)
BEFORE THE RESTORATION: Up to early 1660
http://www.strecorsoc.org/macaula…
Up to early 1660
CHARLES II: circa 1660-1661http://www.strecorsoc.or…
CIRCA 1660-1661
CHARLES II: Circa 1661 to end of Diary
http://www.strecorsoc.org/macaula…
CHARLES II: Into the years beyond Diary http://www.strecorsoc.org/macaula…
David Quidnunc • Link
L'Age d'Or's History of France & England
1660-1715
http://www.kipar.org/history.html
ENGLISH HISTORY(royalty, etiquette, coins, Charles II, James II)
FOOD (meals, a few recipes, ingredients, meals, tableware)
FRENCH HISTORY
BIBLIOGRAPHY of late Stuart history
David Quidnunc • Link
Living History Village of Little Woodham
1642
". . . dedicated to recreating English rural life in the South of England during 1642." Much of the information on the website refers to the parish of Rowner, two miles west of Portsmouth."
INDEX PAGE (contents at bottom):
http://www.portsdown.demon.co.uk/…
Includes pictures, information on demographics, prices, military, lace-making, court proceedings, the parish register.
David Quidnunc • Link
English Civil War -- a BBC website
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/…
"Choosing sides in the English Civil War, by Dr. Mark Stoyle (March 2001)"
Sections: The personality of Charles I, The road to war, Class divisions, Ideological divisions, The final choice, Go further.
michael f vincent • Link
Mathematicians of the day: Boyle, Newton, Huygen and Collins etc ;
For an ordinary man and his struggles:
a brief history.
A sample;
Collins( 1624-1683) also held a position as an accountant in the Excise Office from 1668 to 1670. However times were not easy and Collins only received a small fraction of his proper salary from the Council of Plantations. He therefore resigned in September 1672 and was given job in the Farthing Office. The Farthing Office was a part of the Mint and Charles II had introduced, in 1672, the copper half-penny and farthing with the Britannia type.
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~…
Derek • Link
Time Traveller's Guide to Stuart England
http://www.channel4.com/history/m…
General introduction to period, linked to UK TV series, broadcast Autumn 2001. Covers period 1603-1702 and contains following main sections:
timeline, the basics, words you need to know, godly nation, class & customs, hazards & dangers, movers & shakers, arts, sciences, sex & sleaze, DIY politics, further afield
vincent • Link
history on line
http://www.ihrinfo.ac.uk/sitemap.…
a list of 17 th century data
http://ihr.sas.ac.uk/ihr/Resource…
vincent • Link
"The World Turned upside down by Christopher Hill" Another inexpensive book on 17th century and the relig/polit/econ mix and the reactions (from the bottom of the heap) from the court Documents etc. and the poetry and Flyers. Unfortunately History is only written by the succesful,which is like looking at a London photograph and showing you Buckingham Palace and how people live. It talks about all the religious and non, irr- religious groupings and their political asperations.
The book is a Penquin ( I am told its Welsh for White head) book.
One of the delightful quotes "In essex one of 'the rude vulgar people' threatened to tear ' the gentlemen to pieces'. (p21)
dirk • Link
History of London
Good general overview:
http://www.britannia.com/history/…
dirk • Link
Some more historical background info:
History of London and its people.
A whole range of articles on different subjects:
http://www.storyoflondon.com/modu…
From the above, an article on Samuel Peppys:
http://www.storyoflondon.com/modu…
vincent • Link
A must for from Dirk_Pepys
Emilio • Link
Only a small and misleading part of Pepys's shorthand
See later post for 23 Mar 2004:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1…
Vicente • Link
The world turned upside down and other points of view leading up to Sams view . Leads
http://www.strecorsoc.org/docs/hi…
vicente • Link
For those that want to look into the variations in 1660's practices and differences :
the library of Dr William Bates is housed with that of Dr Daniel Williams along other choice items of literature at Dr Williams's Library, 14 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0AR
Dr Williams's Library is the pre-eminent research library of English Protestant nonconformity.
Established under the will of Dr Daniel Williams, the library is one of the oldest open to the public still conducted on its original benefaction. It has never received any government funding.
Among the confusing but crucial distinctions that baffle many family historians are the denominational differences within religious dissent or nonconformity. Here you will find out about the various different types of nonconformists, as well as discovering where to look for further information that will aid your research. Useful addresses and contact names are included.
http://www.dwlib.co.uk/dwlib/coll…
vicente • Link
For the daily workings of the House of Lords at this time period :
goto for example the leterr declaration of the king
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…
choose the date of choice.
for others:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…
Ruben • Link
John Graunt's OBSERVATIONS ON THE BILLS OF MORTALITY - 1st edition
http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Gr…
Published in 1662. Same stile as SP.
Statistics from SP's world.
Interesting to note that the Plague described by SP was not "the Grest Plague" but "the Last Great Plague", having had more big Plagues in the same century.
Mary • Link
Liza Picard's books.
A number of us have referred to Liza Picard's 'Restoration London', which is a mine of information for our period. Readers may like to know that her 'Elizabethan London', first published in hardback last year, is now available in paperback under the Orion imprint. Although not as relevant to our reading as 'Restoration London', it still provides entertaining and informative reading on the London out of which 'our' London grew.
vicenzo • Link
life and death mortality: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Gr…
thanks
dirk • Link
Treaties
The full text of most 17th c. treaties between britain and other countries.
http://visualiseur.bnf.fr/Visuali…
(downloadable as PDF)
dirk • Link
Life Expectancy
Average life expectancy at birth for English people in the late 16th/early 17th centuries was just under 40 - 39.7 years. However, this low figure was mostly due to the high rate of infant and child mortality - over 12% of all children born would die within their first year. A man or woman who reached the age of 30 could expect to live to 59. [...] Life expectancy in London was lower than that of England in general, even for the wealthy. Crowding, poor sanitation and increased likelihood of disease all took their toll on the population. "Expectation of life at birth varied greatly from the wealthy to poorer parishes of London. St Peter Cornhill, 1580-1650 had an expectation of life of 34-6 years. Comparatively, the poor parish of St. Mary Somerset, 1606-1653, had a life expectancy at birth of only 21 years."
http://www.plimoth.org/learn/hist…
david ross mcirvine • Link
*Les flibustiers de l'Amérique (1648-1688)*--Raynald LaPrise's site of Privateers in the Americas (in french)
http://www.geocities.com/trebutor…
and his biographical dictionary of them
http://www.oricom.ca/yarl/03p.html
(includes a number of people from the Pepys diary)
david ross mcirvine • Link
Some of Jim Bender's sites on matters naval from Pepys's time:
http://anglo-dutch-wars.blogspot.…
(about the Anglo-Dutch wars)
and his site on military and naval history, focused on warship design and history
http://www.kentishknock.com
with a nice bibliography for our period here:
http://www.kentishknock.com/warli…
Pedro • Link
National Archives.
A wealth of historical references and how to access
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.u…
Michael Robinson • Link
Bibliography, London's Past Online,
"... produced by the Centre for Metropolitan History in association with the Royal Historical Society, is a free online bibliography of published material relating to the history of the Greater London area. In it, you will be able to find everything relating to the history of the capital, from counting house to music hall; from the Fire to the Blitz; from Whittington to Livingstone. It should represent a starting point for all enquiries concerning London's development over the centuries or any conceivable aspect of London life, whether from the academic historian, the amateur or the general enquirer."
http://www.history.ac.uk/cmh/lpol/
cgs • Link
new : direct access to the acts of Parliament.
an example: the post office acts of 1660, a government arm until late 20th C
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/…
shows the rates too.
cum salis grano • Link
from JWB
Mahan, “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History” p126 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13…
great source for e reading of books of the period
http://www.gutenberg.org/
Michael Robinson • Link
Going for Baroque - The Iconography of the Ornamental Map
http://www.hcl.harvard.edu/librar…
Second Reading
Terry Foreman • Link
Routh, Enid M G (1912). Tangier, England's Lost Atlantic Outpost, 1661-1684. London: John Murray. https://archive.org/details/tangi…
San Diego Sarah • Link
Vocabulary:
Dr. Ros Barber recommends the following site for information on the origins of words, and what was correctly used when.
She is a senior lecturer in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Director of Research at the Shakespearean Authorship Trust and is three times winner (2011, 2014, 2018) of the Hoffman Prize for a distinguished work on Christopher Marlowe.
The Historical Thesaurus of English is available from the University of Glasgow. Their thesaurus allows you to find out how language is used through the ages. As an example, you can search “toilet” and find out how to refer to that in 1563, or parts of a person’s body in 1603, etc.
Explore at https://ht.ac.uk/
Third Reading
San Diego Sarah • Link
Fashion -- articles -- pictures -- museums -- poke around, there's lots here:
https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu…
San Diego Sarah • Link
Available from the National Archives:
This concise guide to naval history and naval records is essential reading and reference for anyone researching the fascinating story of Britain’s navy and the men and women who served in it. Whether you are interested in the career of an individual seaman, finding out about a medal winner or just want to know more about a particular ship, campaign or operation, this book will point you in the right direction.
Simon Fowler assumes the reader has little prior knowledge of the navy and its history. His book shows you how to trace an officer, petty officer or rating from the 17th century up to the 1960s using records at the National Archives and elsewhere.
The book also covers the specialist and auxiliary services associated with the navy among them the Royal Marines, the Fleet Air Arm, the naval dockyards, the WRNS and the Fleet Auxiliary. In each section he explains which records survive, where they can be found and how they can be used for research. He also recommends resources available online as well as books and memoirs.
This handbook is a valuable research tool for anyone who is keen to find out about the career of an ancestor who served in the Royal Navy or was connected with it.
Manufacturer/Publisher: Pen & Sword
Binding: Paperback
Author: Simon Fowler
SKU: 9781848846258
https://shop.nationalarchives.gov…
San Diego Sarah • Link
Available from the National Archives:
Katharine Cockin’s handbook provides a fascinating introduction for readers searching for information about ancestors who had clearly defined roles in the world of the theatre and performance as well as those who left only a few tantalizing clues behind.
The wider history of public performance is outlined, from its earliest origins in church rituals and mystery plays through periods of censorship driven by campaigns on moral and religious grounds up to the modern world of stage and screen.
Case studies, which are a special feature of the book, demonstrate how the relevant records and be identified and interpreted, and they prove how much revealing information they contain.
Information on relevant archives, books, museums and websites make this an essential guide for anyone who is keen to explore the subject.
SKU: 9781526732057
https://shop.nationalarchives.gov…
San Diego Sarah • Link
Available from the National Archives:
The medical profession had as much influence on the lives of our ancestors as it does on our lives today. It occupied an extraordinary range of individuals - surgeons, doctors, nurses and specialists of all kinds.
Despite burgeoning interest in all aspects of history and ancestry, medicine has rarely been considered from the point of view of a family historian. This is the main purpose of Michelle Higgs’s accessible and authoritative introduction to the subject.
Assuming the reader has little prior knowledge of how or where to look for such information, she traces the development of medical practice and patient care. She describes how attitudes to illnesses and disease have changed over time. In particular, she looks at the parts played in the system by doctors and nurses - at their role, training and places of work and she also looks at the patients and their experience of medicine in their day.
Each section identifies the archives and records that the family historian can turn to, and discusses other potential sources including the Internet.
The book is an invaluable guide to all the information that can give an insight into the experience of an ancestor who worked in medicine or had a medical history.
Manufacturer/Publisher: Pen & Sword
Binding: Paperback
Author: Michelle Higgs
SKU: 9781848842779
https://shop.nationalarchives.gov…
Sadly, no hint of the centuries covered.
San Diego Sarah • Link
Available from the National Archives:
In this much-expanded second edition of his "My Ancestor was an Agricultural Labourer" book, genealogist Ian Waller provides a wealth of information to help you discover your ag lab ancestors.
He explains what life was like for this impoverished and now largely forgotten section of society, gives us details of all the skills they needed and describes the country calendar of events, including ploughing, sowing and harvesting.
He also outlines records that tell is more about the lives of farm labourers: quarter sessions, tithe schedules, manorial records, estate records and trade union records.
There are chapters on casual farm labourers, dairy maids, child labour, thatchers, riots, wills, migration records, game keepers and changes in agricultural practice, as well as a useful bibliography and list of Parliamentary Bills that affected the lives of agricultural labourers.
A handy guide to researching your ancestry, the book is also an impressive work of social history that is even more fascinating and comprehensive than the original edition.
Manufacturer/Publisher: Society of Genealogists
Binding: Paperback
Author: Ian H Waller
SKU: 9781907199592
https://shop.nationalarchives.gov…
San Diego Sarah • Link
The emergence of the Dutch school of painting in the early 17th century is one of the most extraordinary phenomena in the history of the visual arts.
The collection of Dutch 17th-century paintings in the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC includes works by well-known masters of the period, including Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Frans Hals, and Aelbert Cuyp.
Now numbering more than 150 paintings, the collection comprises examples of the portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, marine paintings, still lifes, and biblical and mythological scenes that have made this school of painting one of the most beloved and admired in the history of European art.
Their award-winning online catalog of the Gallery’s collection (first launched in 2014), unites authoritative, peer-reviewed content with the flexibility of online publishing.
As works are added to the collection, new entries are added to the catalog. The newest entries include the following:
Jan Asselijn, The Tiber River with the Ponte Molle at Sunset, c. 1650
Jan van Goyen, View of Rhenen, 1646
Meindert Hobbema, Wooded Landscape with Figures, c. 1658
Thomas de Keyser, Portrait of a Gentleman Wearing a Fancy Ruff, 1627
Aert van der Neer, Winter in Holland: Skating Scene, 1645
Jan Steen, Ascagnes and Lucelle (The Music Lesson), 1667
They invite you to explore this catalog and delve into the the Gallery’s 17th-century Dutch paintings.
Subjects:
Landscapes
https://www.nga.gov/collection-se…
Genre Paintings – e.g. ice skating
https://www.nga.gov/collection-se…
Historical https://www.nga.gov/collection-se…
Still Life
https://www.nga.gov/collection-se…
Portraits
https://www.nga.gov/collection-se…
San Diego Sarah • Link
Historical dress, lifestyles, weapons, and time – some resources:
Online:
Fancy Dresses Described, by Ardern Holt. 3rd edition, greatly enlarged. Debenham & Freebody, [n.d., but likely ca. 1882].
The third edition of this originally printed book is available as an e-book as part of the University of Southampton’s Libraries Digital Collections.
The book was written to give advice to 19th-century British society ladies on costume ideas for fancy dress balls. So if you are writing a historical romance where your Victorian characters attend a fancy dress ball, this work will give you ideas.
Holt provides descriptions of colors and types of fabric to be used, and hairdressing suggestions for an alphabetical list of historical characters. Suggestions are also given for appropriate costumes for children, elderly women, sisters wanting to coordinate, and also advice on hosting such a ball. Men’s costumes are not included.
There are 16 color plates and some black-and-white drawings.
Holt says this “does not purport to be an authority in the matter of costume, for, as a rule, the historical dresses worn on such occasions are lamentably incorrect.”
It is not a resource for historical costume, but Victorian society’s concept of it.
A reference in prefatory material to the book’s illustrations by “Miss Greenaway” might refer to the illustrator Kate Greenaway?
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Books
Eyewear: a Visual History, 1491-Today, by Moss Lipow. Koln: Taschen, 2011. 9783836525657
If you need to research what kind of eyewear your character would wear during his or her era, this book will be valuable. It seems to be as much a book about design as eyewear history.
For historians’ needs, the first chapter shows examples of eyeglasses before 1900, starting with bone eye shields carved by Inuits, illustrations from medieval art showing people wearing spectacles, and photographs of early glasses in museums.
The author states: “Every effort has been made to represent the eyewear true to scale,” so the researcher will have a good idea of the size of the eyewear depicted.
The English text is repeated in German and French in many chapters, but the illustration captions are in English. ...
All specimens are given at least an approximate date. ...
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONCLUSION:
Firearms: an Illustrated History. New York: DK, 2014. 9781465416056
Reader who don’t know much about firearms in their chosen era will find an excellent introduction in this book. It offers worldwide coverage, and provides excellent color photographs of examples of weapons over the centuries
The first section covers up to 1650, with examples like the Mons Meg bombard at Edinburgh castle, harquebuses, and accessories like musket rests. Descriptions explain whether the weapon was a breech- or muzzle-loader, date if known, and dimensions.
It covers issues like problems with matchlock guns: the burning match cord gave awat one’s position, and the weapon was difficult to use on horseback.
The more modern sections of the book cover cannons, field artillery, pistols, naval weapons, hunting and police weapons, machine guns, and weapons used by spies.
It also has spreads on how powder cartridges evolved, the history of ammunition in general, and features on noted gun inventors and manufacturers.
Also useful for are side by side comparison photos of how matchlock, wheellock, and flintlock firearms worked.
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Weapons: a Pictorial History, written and illustrated by Edwin Tunis. Cleveland, Ohio: World Publishing Company, 1954.
This book, older than the others, fits the theme as a source novelists can consult about historical weapons. Tunis’ illustrations are black-and-white drawings, but they are clear and educational.
Tunis concentrates on Western weapons, starting with prehistoric stones and slings, through the hydrogen bomb.
He covers issues like castle features that aid or act as weapons, trebuchets, stance of a longbowman, pole arms, helmets, and other accessories.
Because of its publication date, the book doesn’t go beyond the mid-20th century.
This is one of several books Tunis wrote for children and young adults, and so provides a good introduction.
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The Story of Time, by Kristen Lippincott, with Umberto Eco, E.H. Gombrich and others. London: Merrell Holberton in association with National Maritime Museum, 1999.
This book was written to accompany an exhibition held at the Queen’s House in Greenwich in 2000.
It looks at how the concept of time has been measured over the centuries ... There are essays on concepts of time in various countries and cultures, early means of time measurement in Europe, how time is depicted in art, etc.
Probably the most useful part of the book to historical novelists will be the many illustrations of early clocks and watches. Photos are accompanied by extensive descriptions giving context to the objects.
Writers wondering what kind of timepiece should be put into the hands or onto the fireplace mantle of their characters can find valuable ideas here.
https://historicalnovelsociety.or…