In the Twelfth Month of Blogging...highlights from the past year

"Portrait of a Gentleman" by Nicolas de Largillierre.(early 1700's)

Looking back over my blog posts of 2014, I have pulled out some of my favorite discoveries, one for each month, and listed them below for your edification and enjoyment. Maybe one of these will help you win on Jeopardy someday!

Jan 8- Regarding 18^th century wigs: “The powder was made of starch and was such a messy affair some wealthier homes had rooms set aside for the process (‘Powder Rooms!’)”

Feb 19- Regarding 18^th century love and marriage: “One of the more prevalent means was ‘handfasting’ or ‘spousal’ in which the young couple, with or without witnesses, simply held hands and promised love and loyalty, declaring themselves married. These personal ceremonies were held anywhere the couple chose and in Colonial America were often performed over an anvil in a blacksmith’s shop, symbolizing the strength of their bond.”

Portrait of an Unknown Lady of South Carolina, 1708-1709,
 by Henrietta Johnston

March 12- Regarding John Lawson’s early 18^th century description of the ladies of Carolina: “ ‘As for those Women, that do not expose themselves to the Weather, they are often very fair, and generally as well featurd, as you will see any where, and have very brisk charming Eyes, which sets them off to Advantage.’ ”

April 23-  Regarding the real life “Robinson Crusoe” for which Daniel Defoe based his famous character: “As a landing boat rowed ashore, a wild-looking man clothed in goatskin, waving a white flag and yelling in excited English, came running to the shoreline. This solitary man, Alexander Selkirk, had been living alone for the previous four and half years with only the company of wild goats, rats and feral cats, the legacy left by early Spanish colonization attempts.” 

May 7- Regarding the curse Rev.George Whitefield laid upon Bath, North Carolina: “At one point, Whitefield gave up and upon leaving the town for the last time proclaimed: ‘There’s a place in the Bible that says if a place won’t listen to The Word, you shake the dust of the town off your feet, and the town

Bath, NC (KLWood, 2014)

shall be cursed. I have put a curse on this town for a hundred years.’ ”

June 4- Regarding the female pirate, Anne Bonny: “On November 18, 1720, the day Calico Jack was to be hanged from the gallows, it is reported Anne Bonny was allowed to see him one last time. Her words? ‘I’m sorry to see you here, but if you had fought like a man you need not have hanged like a dog.’ "

July 2- Regarding 18^th century sea bathing machines: “The machine was basically a dressing room on wheels that was pulled into the ocean by a horse. Although there were variations, most followed this basic routine: individuals entered the beached machines, fully dressed, by climbing a set of steps and disappearing into the privacy of the wooden box.” 

Captain Lord George Graham in his Cabin, 1745, by William Hogarth

Aug 27- Regarding common expressions with nautical origins: “Pipe down - A signal on the bosun's pipe to signal the end of the day, requiring lights (and smoking pipes) to be extinguished and silence from the crew

Sept 24- Regarding the secret code of flowers:

“Camellia: My destiny is in your hands 

Carnation (Pink): I’ll never forget you

Carnation (Yellow): Disdain

Dahlia (Red): Dignity and elegance

Daisy: Innocence”

Edenton's 1767 Courthouse (photo by K.L. Wood)

Oct 22- Regarding Edenton townspeople’s grisly view of justice: “Disappointed at not being able to bring the man to justice, they took his corpse to the old Courthouse, sat it up for ‘trial,’ accused and sentenced him to ‘death,’ and then carried his body back to Beverly Hall where they strung him up in a tall tree in the backyard.”

Nov 5- Regarding 18^th century chocolate: “Although drinking chocolate had been the

delicious norm for centuries, did you know that, other than chocolate used to flavor baked goods, there was no form of solid “eating” chocolate prior to 1830?”

Dec 3-Regarding the years when England cancelled Christmas: “Anything smacking of

revelry was denounced and soldiers were even ordered to roam the streets sniffing out any illegal substances, ie: mincemeat pies and Christmas puddings.”

The Examination and Tryal of Father Christmas,1686, Josiah King

It’s been a fascinating year, filled with wonderful discoveries from our past. I hope your New Year is filled with joy and all that makes for a fulfilling life for you and yours.

Have a good couple weeks, dear Reader. Thanks for stopping by...Y'all come back next year now! 

Kate

18th Century Sea Bathing Machines... Machines? Really?

Mermaids at Brighton, 1829, by William Heath

‘Tis summer and many a hot and bothered person longs to take a plunge into the invigorating chill of ocean waves. How about our 18^th century relations? Did they do likewise? It seems our ancestors were more inclined to take to the sea for medicinal purposes rather than recreational ones. A

Dr. Russell's book

Advertisement for Bathing Machines at Margate, England, 1791

book published in 1752, A Dissertation on the Use of Seawater in the Diseases of the Glands by Dr. Richard Russell, trumpeted the benefits of dipping into the salt water and greatly increased the popularity of the practice. So for their health’s sake, men and women, alike, braved the seas (albeit separately.)

Enter the Bathing Machine, an invention which showed up on beaches in the first half of the 1700s; a contrivance with which people could take a dip into the sea without risking their modest virtue. The machine was basically a dressing room on wheels that was pulled into the ocean by a horse. Although there were variations, most followed this basic routine: individuals entered the beached machines, fully dressed, by climbing a set of steps and disappearing into the privacy of the wooden box. There was usually a window set high in the machine to let in light but not allow prying eyes to view the bather. Once inside, bathers would remove

their street clothes and don their bathing togs (although bathing in the nude was often the norm, at least for men, until 1862,) then signal their guide to take them out to sea. 

Once in place, the horse was unhitched and led ashore to pull out another machine or retrieve a bather ready to come back to dry land. An attendant, of the same sex as the bather, was at the ready to assist the bather as necessary to descend the steps leading down from the end of the machine facing out to sea. Since many 
bathers could not swim the attendant, also known as a “Dipper,” would either help keep

Dipper, Martha Gunn, 1790, Artist unknown

them afloat or actually push them under the water and lift them back up again, three plunges being the norm for health benefits. Dippers were usually very sturdy folk. A portrait of Brighton Beach's most famous Dipper, Martha Gunn, speaks to that asset. In 1750, an English Quaker glove and breeches maker by the name of Benjamin Beale invented a canvas hood, covering the seaward steps, that could be lowered and completely conceal the bathers until they were under the protection of the water’s surface. Some even remained beneath the hood during the entire bathing experience thus avoiding any chance of being seen.

Bathing Machine with Benjamin Beal's Modesty Hood, artist unknown

When the bathing session was over, bathers would climb back into their machines and signal (sometimes by raising flags) their desire to return to the beach. Once back inside the privacy of their bathing machines, they would dry off and dress back into their street wear. Returned to the beach, bathers would descend the steps in the clothes in which they arrived. Mission accomplished, reputations intact, thank you very much.

Have a good week, dear Reader. Thanks for stopping by...Y'all come back now! (Don't forget the water wings and sunscreen!)

Kate