Very rare 17th century English doll turns heads to sell for £9500 at North Yorkshire auction.

17th Century Dolls.

https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2018/very-rare-17th-century-english-doll-turns-heads-to-sell-for-9500-at-north-yorkshire-auction/

17C American Women: French Huguenot looks at 1687 Puritan Boston

17C American Women: French Huguenot looks at 1687 Puritan Boston: . A French Protestant Immigrant's Impression of in Boston, 1687 This French Huguenot arrived in Massachusettes with 30 families in th...

New 18th Century Series on ITV.

Madam Lydia (Lesley Manville) (Photo: ITV Pictures)

More information here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-previews/racier-downton-abbey-period-drama-10105310

The cooks and confectioners dictionary; or, The accomplish'd housewifes companion.

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=P38EAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA63&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

More On Sausage.

Giacomo Ceruti  1698 – 1767.

Sausages to Boyl

PERIOD: England, 17th century | SOURCE: The Whole Duty of a Woman: Or a Guide to the Female Sex, 1696 | CLASS: Authentic

DESCRIPTION: Sausages boiled in wine and herbs

Sausages to Boyl.

Put a pint of Claret to a quart of Water, put in some sweet herbs finely shred, a blade or two of Mace, and some Cinamon, let them boyl about a quarter of an hour, then serve them up with beaten Ginger, Cinamon or Mustard and Sugar, in Sawcers.

SAUSAGES.

Take a leg of Pork, Parboil itt, take hogs sowit [suet] and sage, and mix them together very small, put in a good deal of Pepper & Salt as much as you think fitt, stir itt well together, then take Sheeps Gutts and scower them very well with salt and fill them, tye them up in Links and hang them up smoaking till you use them (MS 7998, Wellcome Collection).

Take either mutton, veale or pork (you may cut it from the legg as much as will make a reasonable dish & not deface the legg) then take of any ruff suet as much as your quantity of meat is, then beat it & shread it very small, and putt to it a little sage shread small, & season it with salt, pepper & nutmegg if you please, then take one egg white & all mix them alltogether very well, Rub your hands with a little flower so rowle it up in rowles twice as long as your finger, as thick as pig puddings, frye them with butter or any other liquor, or you may stew them in mutton broath with apples & onions. (MS4054, Wellcome Collection)

Half a pound of lean Veal, Pork, or Beef, Half a pound of Beef Suet, One Score of Oysters just warmed in their own liquor, all to be chopped very fine and mixed together with two Eggs well beaten, a very little Cayenne, Salt and Nutmeg, and one or two Cloves, make them into flat Cakes or Balls, roll them in Crumbs of Bread, and fry them of a pale Brown, add the liquor of the Oysters to the Sausages. N.B. If the Oysters are small it will require two Score. (MS 3082, Wellcome Collection)

Pieter Snyers (1681‑1752)

THE EVOLUTION Of the English Civilian Flintlock pistol 1650 ~ 1830

http://flintlockpistols.net/index_old.htm

Another Candlewood Quote 17th Century.

A 17th Century Candlewood Splint Holder.

http://artantiquesmichigan.com/candlelight-grease-oil-fat-splint-tallow/17th-century-peerman-splint-holder/;

Those same knots the planters split out into small shivers, about the thickness of a finger, or thinner; and those they burn instead of candles, giving a very good light, and they call it candlewood, and it is much used in New England and Virginia, and among the Dutch planters in the villages.

The History of the Royal Society of London, for Improving of Natural Knowledge from its First Rise. Thomas Birch. 1662.

https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=N2FeAAAAcAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PA100

The candle, made of either tallow or bayberry wax, was the standard lighting device at Jamestown. Pine torches were often used out of doors, and rushlights and candlewood were undoubtedly used in the humbler dwellings during the very early years of the settlement. 

The Project Gutenberg EBook of New Discoveries at Jamestown

by John L. Cotter

J. Paul Hudson

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16277/16277-h/16277-h.htm

My thanks to Mr K.P. Carter for the link leading to the first quote above. 

Addition 3/2/2016 Matt Lazur  said...

Very interesting post Keith.. Bayberry is called wax myrtle here in south Carolina and the berries in season are full of wax! A whitish patina of wax covers each berry that has a pleasant odor as all as the leaves... Keeps the bugs down when leaves are crushed and applied to body.. The Candle wood here is long leaf pine aged stumps and we use them also for light I.. Great stuff!!

The Fur Trade. Video.

Delicate Balance By Robert Griffing.

Trump, Tromp, Jew's Harp, Jaw Harp or Mouth Harp.

The Jaw Harp is a very old musical instrument going back in time to at least the Dark Ages. Practically every nationality back in time has had the Jaw Harp. It is probably one of the easiest instruments to master & being small & light it is ideal for carrying when trekking & camping for round the camp fire entertainment. Most Living History Traders have the Jaw Harp for sale.

This is the author's copy of the Jaw harp made from bronze.

http://www.jewsharpguild.org/history.html

https://jewsharper.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/penning-the-air3.pdf

Pickling Onions in 18th Century England, & Know Your Onions.

Know Your Onions: https://britishfoodhistory.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/know-your-onions/

More Information At: http://savoringthepast.net/2015/08/01/pickling-onions-in-18th-century-england/

Equipment Update. A New Old Fire Steel.

One would think that with a bloke of my age & all the years I have been a woodsman, that there would not be any improvements to make to my gear. Then along comes something a little better than I have been using, & you realise that there are still improvements to be made.
Well I guess when you think about it, that is exactly as it was in the 18th century.
Another woodsman friend sent me an original fire steel, so I have swapped this original for the reproduction one I have been using for many years, & now carry the reproduction steel as a spare in the bottom of my knapsack. This original steel is about twice the size of my reproduction steel.
Keith.

Flasks, Pocket & Saddle.

Flasks, Pocket & Saddle.

Finding the right type of water bottle for your persona & period seems to be an ongoing quest, or at least it is for me. I have tinned iron military water bottles but they don’t hold much water & I prefer something from an earlier period. Being quite old now, I feel more comfortable with an earlier period water container. I have a costrel, but the sealant inside failed & exposed the leather & fouled the water. I have re-sealed this bottle, but in doing so I overheated the costrel & shrunk it. It did seal, but now I don’t trust it.

Recently someone in one of the Ranger groups asked for advice on what type of water bottle he should get. In my search for more information I used the term “flask”. This surprisingly brought up the name “saddle flask”. Further searching brought up “pocket or saddle flask”.

Now this is a new one on me, so I researched further. Most of the saddle flasks I found were Persian, but I did manage to find some English flasks, & some American flasks.

Early American glass. The first factory in what is now the United States was a glass plant built at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1608. The venture failed within a year because of a famine that took the lives of many colonists. The Jamestown colonists tried glassmaking again in 1621, but an Indian attack in 1622 and the scarcity of workers ended this attempt in 1624. The industry was reestablished in America in 1739, when Caspar Wistar built a glassmaking plant in what is now Salem County, New Jersey. This plant operated until 1780.

http://www.texasglass.com/glass_facts/history_of_Glass.htm

This is purportedly an American saddle flask. From the name I think we can safely assume that this large leather covered water bottle was carried on a riding saddle or in a market wallet tied to the saddle or similar. Then there is the accompanying name of “pocket flask”. I think this is a mistake, because further research indicates that these are two different flasks, & I think these pocket flasks were meant to be carried in a coat pocket.

http://oldsouthjerseyglass.com/antiques?id=11&Category=Bottles-and-Jars;

This green glass saddle flask is also reportedly an American flask.

Large circa 1760 colonial American black glass flask.

Wistarburgh Saddle Flask 18th Century.

http://oldsouthjerseyglass.com/antiques?id=11&Category=Bottles-and-Jars;

Rich, dark green American chestnut with hemp wicker. 4” tall and 2 3/8” at the widest point. Recovered during 1961 demolition of historic building in downtown Philadelphia. Found inside a wall. This one I assume is a pocket flask.

http://www.peachridgeglass.com/2012/07/those-miniature-globs-and-pocket-flasks/;

Pocket flask. American 1765-74.

https://ancientglass.wordpress.com/museums-glass-collections-and-exhibitions/glass-collections-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art/;

Midwestern flask 1815-40.

https://ancientglass.wordpress.com/museums-glass-collections-and-exhibitions/glass-collections-the-philadelphia-museum-of-art/;

This image shows an English leather costrel on the left, & a leather saddle flask on the right.

http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/an-english-leather-bottle-and-a-5815336-details.aspx;

More Information: http://historical-american-glass.com/hilltown-glass-works-bucks-county-pennsylvania-1751-1766.html

http://historical-american-glass.com/glass-house-whimseys-1750-to-1880.html

http://historical-american-glass.com/wistarburgh-glass.html

17th & 18th Century Copper Mugs & Tankards.

My thanks to Ward Oles for asking for this information.

Beer Street 1751 England.

Late 18th Century. English.

The Ink Seller Mid 18th Century. French.

Jan Josef Horemans the Elder 1694-1759 Flemish.

Tavern Scene by Flemish artist David Teniers c. 1658

Johan Joseph Zoffany (1733 - 1810) (German, active in Britain (from 1760)

England 1762.

Copper Georgian Tankard.

http://www.onlinegalleries.com/art-and-antiques/detail/antique-copper-tankard-georgian/175170;

Information on pewter tankards: https://ritaroberts.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/a-short-history-of-pewter-tankards/

A Look At Some 18th Century Artifacts.

Primary documentation can't be beat, this is what every living historian looks for. But what I like most in some of the following images, is the proof that people used to make their own things from recycled materials. This does not give us licence to make just anything because it is made from period materials, but it does allow us to make the items that we know were self-made.

A white-tailed-deer antler with saw marks from the north cellar, evidence the Spragues were working antler.

http://www.ahs-inc.biz/Sprague/foodways.html;

A Barlow type folding jackknife and whetstone. Barlow jackknives had large iron bolsters (the iron behind the blade) which gave them more durability.

http://www.ahs-inc.biz/Sprague/foodways.html;

Several artifacts made from scrap brass: a small saw, a repaired kettle rim, and a small hasp for a small box.

Cufflinks were often decorated. Most have geometric designs or floral themes. The cufflink on the bottom right has a cornucopia engraved on it, likely symbolic of men’s roles as growers of food. On the top left is a brass aglet for lacing clothing and a possible “hook” part to a “hook-and-eye” fastener.

http://www.ahs-inc.biz/Sprague/personal.html;

A lead net weight, a lead line sinker and two fishhooks.

http://www.ahs-inc.biz/Sprague/foodways.html;

European flint strike-a-lights and ballast cobble debris. The largest reddish piece is a strike-a-light made from Pennsylvania jasper.

Slag, a fragment of a nail header, scrap iron, nails blanks and various types of nails, including T-head, L-head, rose-head, headless and shoeing nails.

17th-century gunflints, found at Le Vieux Fort, Placentia. 

Photo courtesy of Amanda Crompton.

http://www.arts.mun.ca/nahop/image_pages/Gunflints.html;

Gunflints, lead shot, musket balls, a lead gunflint wrap, a fragment of a brass side plate with dragon motif and the finial to a bayonet scabbard.

http://www.ahs-inc.biz/Sprague/foodways.html;

A claw hammer head, side and top view.

A variety of items made from scrap iron, including a sieve, a funnel, and two knife blades made into strapping to reinforce something.

Personal items including a George II Oldhead halfpenny (1740-1754), George I “Irish Wood” halfpenny dated 1723, a William III halfpenny dated 1699, and a small piece of a silver coin. There are a plain brass ring, iron mouth harp, and pieces of a bone comb and a copper-alloy comb. These combs have two sizes of teeth: the larger for grooming, the smaller to remove nits and lice from the hair. In the bottom left is a small brass plate with the letters “IB” stamped into it.

http://www.ahs-inc.biz/Sprague/personal.html;

Scissors, a needle, glass beads, straight pins and thimbles.

http://www.ahs-inc.biz/Daniels/crafts.html;