Trade cards were the 18th century’s equivalent to today’s business cards and they provide interesting insight into some of the now obsolete jobs people once held. John Hunt, of Goswell Street in London, for instance, advertised his services as a “Nightman and Rubbish Carter.” What exactly did a nightman do? As the name indicates, […]
The necessary, necessary house, bog, boghouse, boggard, bog-shop, temple, convenience, temple of convenience, little house, house of office, close stool, privy, garderobe—all euphemistic terms for what we would call an outhouse. The privy at Graeme Park is a reconstruction located just off the south side of the house. Given the proximity to the door, the […]
Any assessment of health care in the 18th century, when life expectancy on both sides of the Atlantic averaged about 43 years, must include personnel ranging from educated physicians through barbers and midwives to neighborhood quacks. Diseases were attributed to superstitions, to bad behavior, or inhalation of foul air. Remedies included everything from herbal extracts, […]
On Sunday, March 12 Pennsylvania will be celebrating the 336th anniversary of the granting of the founding charter to William Penn by King Charles II. The original charter was granted on March 4, 1681 in fulfillment of a debt of about 16,000 English pounds (over 2 million of today’s money) which the crown owed to […]