Water-closets ~ Flush Toilets

While doing some research on indoor plumbing I stumbled across the term "watercloset". This struck me as odd because I know that term refers to "the room with a toilet". So, I redirected my energies in that direction.

As it turns out, the beginnings of what we know as the flush toilet was invented in 1585 by Sir John Harrington and installed for his grandmother Queen Elizabeth I at Richmond Palace. He published a work called A New Discourse of a Stale Subject, Called the Metamorphosis of Ajax. The main feature was a a flush valve to let water out of the tank, and a wash-down design to empty the bowl.

In 1775 the S-trap was invented by Alexander Cumming. It used standing water to seal the drain, preventing foul air from the sewer from coming into the chamber. His design had a sliding valve in the bowl outlet above the trap.

Joseph Bramah improved the design by replacing the usual slide valve with a hinged flap that sealed the bottom of the bowl. In 1778 he obtained a patent for a float valve system for the flush tank.

In 1829 architect Isaiah Rogers, designed the Tremont Hotel in Boston with eight water closets on the ground floor. In 1834 he built the Astor House in New York City.

In the 1840s, George Jennings had a business manufacturing water closets, salt-glaze drainage, sanitary pipes and sanitaryware at Parkstone Pottery. During The Great Exhibition in 1851, he installed his Monkey Closets in the Retiring Rooms of The Crystal Palace and charged a penny to use it. This started the term "to spend a penny" meaning to use the pay toilet. He continued to make improvements to the design. By the 1860s English building codes suggested that new homes be built with water closets.

Published in The Young Housekeeper, 1852
"In every respectable family house there will generally be two or three water-closets, and it is expected that the housemaid should understand the proper method of keeping them always sweet and clean, and fit for use;- this is easily done with a little attention: all that is requisite is to know the time the water comes into the cistern, and while it is coming in, to lift up the handle of the water-closet and let the water rush away; then put the handle down, let the basin fill again with water, and, raising up the handle, let it off again with a rush; and so continue to do for full five minutes at least, once every day,- and families should never allow printed or stiff paper to be used, or it will stop and spoil the best water-closets; only thin whitey-brown, or curl paper is proper.
If a water-closet should get clogged, either from using still printed paper, or from want of using plenty of water, or from any other cause, it is best to ask your mistress to let you desire the plumber to bring his plunger, with which he will easily set it free, at the expence of a shilling, if he is an honest man; for not onetime in if hundred does it require any thing else to be done to it, if plenty of water is used; for which purpose it is good to take off the ball-cock in the cistern, and let all the waste water, after the cistern is full, run off through the waste pipe; which will tend to keep the drains clean, and also prevent the water freezing in winter weather."

In 1857 William Campbell and James T. Henry received an American patent for a plunger closet. It resembled the twin-basin water closets.

In 1859, Nicolay August Andresen, a banker in Norway insured 3 water closets in his town house.

In the 1859 the Alfred Vidal Davis family of Natchez, Miss., had indoor hot-and-cold running water and an indoor toilet. This home later became the Dunleith Inn. The shower and flush toilet system was sold by a company in New Orleans called Price & Coulon.

From Godey's Magazine, 1859

An alternate term for water closet was "wash down closet". Before the tern water closet was use the toilet was sometimes referred to as the earth closet or toilet chair. I actually like toilet chairs and they really went by many names depending on the when and where. Other names for this piece of furniture are close stool, necessary stool, night stool, convenience, and night commode.

Straw Plaited Hats

I have been obsessed with straw hats. I want one, I want one for each of the children .... and most importantly..... I want them all to be accurate. I started with research, of course, and found that the craft straw hats found today are not what I'm looking for but I picked one up at a yard sale for 10 cents anyway. I wanted to see just how they are put together today and if it was even possible to hand sew on straw. In my imagination I could envision the straw disintegrating with each stitch. You can imagine my delight when the sewing was very easy and the straw held up very well.

In my research I found that the pattern of the modern plaiting is correct but where we use whole straw, they used split straw. The split straw plait is much narrower.... as small as 5mm wide.

Here is a book reference from 1860 about period straw plaiting:



The first neat item mentioned in that reference is a straw splitter made of metal in the early 1800s. You can still pick them up on-line:



As is my custom, I will use this post as a repository for future research on this topic

Stones Cut "en Cabochon"

Stones cut en cabochon for the purpose of setting in mid 19th century jewelry are as follows:

Agate
Violet Quartz or Amethyst
Beryl or Aquamarine
Carnelian
Chrysoprase
Emerald
Carbuncles (Garnets)
Jade
Lapis Lazuli
Malachite
Labrador Felspar or Blue Moonstone
Moonstone
Chalcedony or Black Onyx
Opal
Oriental Sapphire
Star Sapphire in red or blue
Oriental Calaite or Turquoise

Lapidary Work in Turning and Mechanical Manipulation, by C. Holtzapffel 1850

This is in depth material on lapidary work in the early Victorian era. A "must read" manual.

Lapidary Work 1854

This lapidary table is very interesting:

and a rim rises about two inches above the top to catch the waste emery and water thrown off by the mill. In the left hand compartment are a hole and a collar through which passes the vertical spindle of the driving wheel a the lower conical end fitting in a rail of the frame. The driving wheel is about eighteen inches in diameter and works just below the under surface of the bench top it is worked by a horizontal handle c.

In the right hand compartment the spindle d carries the mill which is about eight or nine inches diameter and revolves about an inch above the surface of the bench but it may be adjusted by means of a flange and screwed nut to a greater or less distance according as the edge or side of the mill is required to be used.

In the figure the lower centre is a square wooden rod passing through a mortise in a transverse rail of the frame and kept to the desired height by a side wedge. By this contrivance lap spindles of various lengths may be accommodated. The top end of the spindle also works in a wooden centre screwed into a hole near the end of a horizontal iron and e which slides upon a perpendicular bar and is retained at the proper height by the binding screw g. The pulley is about four inches in diameter and is fixed on the spindle just below the bench top.

A little to the right and in advance of the lap is an iron support h called a gim peg or germ peg about eight inches high and in the form of a crank it is secured below the bench by a wing nut so as to allow the peg to be moved round to different distances from the lap as may be required. Its use is to support the arm of the workman in grinding the edges of small stones and also to serve as a guide for the vertical angle in cutting facets for which purpose a wooden socket shown in the figure is slipped over the upper part of the rod and held in its place by a wedge. Holes or notches arranged round the sides of the socket serve to determine the inclination of the stick upon which the stones to be cut are cemented.

A Popular Treatise On Gems 1859

Marbled Paper

I have become very interested in marbled paper and it's uses in Mid-Century home life. It is well known that this style of paper was extensively used in the book binding industry.... but what else was it used for? Here are the references that I have found so far:

"The old fashioned marbled paper, still extensively used by bookbinders, is made in a remarkable way. A viscid kind of paint-liquid is prepared, on the surface of which different colours are intermingled; and the sheet of paper is dexterously laid on this surface, from which it draws up a film of the intermingled colours." From Paper: Its Applications and Its Novelties 1853

In A catalogue of Pictures, Busts, Bronzes etc at Hendersyde Park 1859. There are listed references to marbled paper boxes. They are small, circular or oblong boxes with shell cameos.

Papillote Curls Video

Here is a really interesting video about curling hair with paper and heat.

 

Minerals and Their Uses

Trades - The Painter

THE PAINTER

Will Putty comes last in the House-building Trade,

 And beautifies all that the others have made;

 He stops up the cracks, and cleans off each splinter,

 Preserving the wood from rough weather in winter.

 With diamond cut glass then he fits in each pane,

 Puts pipes, spouts, and gutters to carry off rain;

 Scrapes the rust off of iron-work, knockers and railings,

 And hides with his brush, the other men's failings.

 Lays on the water, the cisterns he fixes,

 For graining the front, then the colour he mixes,

 With a nice coat of varnish its finished at last,

 Then his tools he packs up and makes the door fast.

From March's Penny Library 1860 

Wool Plaid

Le Follet 1863 "Woolen plaids, both for dresses and cloaks, may decidedly be considered la mode this season."

Ladies' Work Dress of Plaid (wool) Cloth or (wool) Flannel
Godey's 1859

Plaid Flannel:

Frank Leslie's Lady's Magazine, 1865
"Dress of a little girl of four or five, of black and white plaid flannel, with a hooded circular of the same. Garibaldi of crimson merino. The dress and circular are bordered with a quilling of crimson merino." 

Biennial Report By Tennessee. Dept. of Agriculture, 1856
"Plaid Flannel for ladies' wear. - 1 Entry. - Premium $10, to Mrs. W. Hampton, of Sumner."

The Farmer's Magazine, 1858
"For the best Specimen of 12 yards of Welsh Fancy Plaid Flannel, adapted for Ladies Dresses.. 51., David Lewis, Pandy Machen.." 

The Pauper, The Thief, and The Convict, 1865 (Male voice narrator)
".. I can be looking for nothing in the world but a garment of hairy pilot cloth lined with plaid flannel, as an appropriate costume for the time of year,.."

From Annals of Nottinghamshire, 1852 (Not really what we are going for but still very interesting)
"I desire that Edmund Bulbie be employed as undertaker, that he make me a good plain coffin, without any ornaments; that I be dressed in a flannel shirt, better than two yards long, a flannel cap, a slip of flannel round my neck, and in that state put into the coffin; and then to have two yards of plaid flannel thrown over me, without shroud snipt or cut."

Trades - The Carpenter

THE CARPENTER

The joiner comes in when the bricklayer leaves,

 Pulls off his jacket - tucks up his sleeves -

 Draws out his plans - sharpens each tool -

Then measures his work with his little joint rule,

 To see how much stuff each portion will take,

 A window - a cupboard - or staircase to make:

 Then mortices neatly the framing of doors,

 And planes up the stuff for panels and floors:

 Till at last he comes down to the kitchen below,

 Where a dresser he fixes, and shelves in a row;

 With a bench underneath for the saucepans to lay,

 Then lets in the painter, and toddles away.

From March's Penny Library 1860 

Trades - The Bricklayer

THE BRICKLAYER

The ground is marked out - the foundation laid -

 The piers are run up - the openings made -

The arches are turned - the flooring joists fix'd -

The chimneys are planned - the mortar all mix'd -

Now a high scaffold built, as they raise up the wall -

The labourers skulk - the bricklayers call

"Paddy, more mortar - Paddy more bricks

We have used them all up and are quite in a fix,"

 "Coming! coming!" says Paddy "if a moment you'll step,

 This ladder's a very long way to the top."

 Then shoots down his load, and scratching his nob,

 Says "A few courses more will finish the job."

From March's Penny Library 1860 

Trades - The Mason

THE MASON

The rough-hewn stone is chisel'd round,

 And firmly fixed on solid ground;

 A hase just fit to place King Lud's son,

 Our George the fourth, or Ex king Hudson:

 Or tawdry house where members play

And fool the nation's cash away,

 Where not a gallery, stair, or room

 Is what it should be - ask Lord Brougham.

 Where, what's within, the outside tells

By sundry lots of caps and bells;

 Where, ere the inside's fit for hearing,

 The outside Nobs will want repairing.

From March's Penny Library 1860 

Harvest Baskets

Part of Currier and Ive's Preparing For Market

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"In our markets we always hear round baskets with slats at the sides uniformly well spoken of."  From The Horticulturist and journal of rural art and rural taste, Volume 24 1869

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

small berry basket

"The baskets are made of thin veneering and are represented by fig 1. They are hexagonal and three and a half inches deep and four and a half inches in diameter. Three pieces, each nearly two inches wide, and eight and a half inches long, cross at the bottom, are slightly split at the side, and are secured at the top by narrow strips passing around on each side the upright piece,s and fastened by small nails." From  The Cultivator & country gentleman, Volumes 33-34 1869

 

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Trades - The Engineer

THE ENGINEER

Come along Master Gray, let's be off for the day,

 The steam it is up, and is puffing away;

 Our cares we can lighten at Windsor or Brighton,

 Ihe distance is great, and there's little to pay.

 So rapid the pace, no horse in a race

 Could equal the speed of our train;

 How frightfully fast the other trains past.

 I wish we were safe out again.

 Thus on railways we fly (or at least very nigh),

 Few birds on the wing can go faster;

 With a staunch Engineer there is nothing to fear

 Except now and then a disaster.

From March's Penny Library 1860 

Trades - The Baker

THE BAKER

 With basket at back, no labour he grudges,

 But whistles and sings, while onward he trudges

 Through hail, rain, or snow, or sultry hot weather;

 His pride is "To keep his connection together."

 To the mistress a bow - a smile to the maid -

 Doughy knows pretty well how to manage his trade;

 Extols the girl's beauty while a loaf she is taking,

 Then tells her what care he will take of her baking;

 Asks her to buy a few biscuits, or cakes,

 Proclaiming what beautiful french bread he bakes;

 Thus Doughy goes on with a good word to all,

 His face it is welcome where 'ere he may call.

 From March's Penny Library 1860

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Here is a great video that I have found with instructions for making a bread oven:

 

Trades - The Cooper

THE COOPER

The Cooper retails foot baths, pails,

 Barrels, hogsheads, butts, and firkins;

 Tubs for mashing, cooling, washing,

 Bathing, pickling meat or gherkins:

 He also shaves and bends his staves,

 The monstrous spirit vat to build;

 Then iron bound and hoop'd all round

 With fine OLD TOM 'tis fill'd

 This done, he tries the vessel's size

 And then in figures bold;

 Declares it will if you it fill,

 Five hundred gallons hold.

From March's Penny Library 

Trades - The Basket-Maker

The Basket-Maker

With supple wands and nimble hands

I labour at my trade;

 Some round, some square, I make my ware,

 And better can't be made.

My osiers dry I firmly tie

For market, fruit, or clothes;

 "Who'll buy! who'll buy! come ladies try

 And purchase one of Joe's?"

If once you deal, I'm sure you'll feel

You ve not been doing wrong,

 Though small my gains, I take great pains

 To make them neat and strong.

 

From March's Penny Library 1860 

Trades - The Black-Smith

THE BLACK SMITH

 The bellows roar, the fire burris,

 The Smiths their hammers raise in turns;

 The Iron then begins to show

A different shape at every blow.

 Useful in every form it takes,

 Horses shoes, ploughs, spades, or rakes;

 In short, for use we are truely told

 That Iron far surpasses gold

From March's Penny Library 1860