I’m revising Modern Girls, and in the course of making changes, I’m doing a lot of research. So far I’ve looked at an early 1900s NYC streetcar map, researched Socialist speakers in the 1930s, and am trying to draw that fine distinction between a café and a club on the East Side. Of course, sometimes in my research, I get off track. Okay, often in my research, I get off track. And I find some truly random things. Such as these gems from an 1866 book of recipes and household tips:
Ah, to think I’ve been running my household all wrong! Now to go play with rats and puts some lobster eggs on my cheeks.
by Croly, J. C. (Jane Cunningham), 1829-1901
Published 1866
“Bad cooking is a crime…. A woman convicted of it ought to be arrainged (typo!) for manslaughter”. Not even a smiley face!
The part on page 3 about “matrimonial swindle” and actings as a mistress for room and board is fabulous.