A Little History of the Purse! After a most successful afternoon of e-shopping for purses and handbags, a history of these necessities, and in some cases, obsessions, seems appropriate. Believe it or not, the real reason for needing a purse early on wasn’t for shopping, but for socializing. As calling on friends in the afternoon […]
The days are definitely getting warmer, the kids are out of school and its’s that time of year eagerly anticipated by many – the summer movie season! This year there’s something for everyone – dinosaurs, toons, high flying top guns and a new era of Downton Abbey – absolute bliss! Our Victorian ancestors were no […]
Determined, intelligent and resourceful, these ladies were a vital part of rapidly developing early San Diego.
Nineteenth century Victorians had some very strange, to our eyes, norms. They included unusual occupations, such as leech collectors, and peculiar and, in many cases poisonous, beauty rituals, including cosmetics containing arsenic, for one. Their style of architecture with its myriad hidden creaky staircases, turrets, secret rooms, underground tunnels and dark corners certainly mirrored our […]
Forty one percent of Americans polled did not know why we celebrate the Fourth of July. Most thought that Americans were celebrating America’s birthday. Close – but not exactly. On June 11, 1776, the Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, and formed a committee to draft a document that would effectively sever the colonies’ ties […]
No era has influenced the way we celebrate Christmas as much as the Victorian era. Before the beginning of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837, Christmas was largely unheard of. One of the most significant cultural shifts within the Victorian period was the introduction of the holiday season, which occurred as a result of the Industrial […]