Resources by Era.

mrsmig

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Oh my goodness - those 60s-era Sears Wishbooks take me back! My younger brother and I used to sit on the sofa and page through the holiday edition together, playing a game we called "I Git It." (Basically just taking turns claiming items on the page.) We ignored the clothing, furniture, appliances, sports stuff and other boring sections, and focused most of our attention on the board games, the nongendered toys and especially the food items. Sears used to offer a kind of cake called "The Butter Batter" and we simply craved one. Never got it, though.
 

Alessandra Kelley

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dirtsider

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Two of my favorite YouTube channels, which deal with period cooking:

*The Victorian Way- late 19th Century cooking in a country house (Audley End). Presented in a first person interpreter fashion as if the viewer had stopped down into the kitchen at Audley End House. Time period interpreted is ~1881, the date of the census around the time the house had been restored (after a fire I think). Basically food related with a few comments and such from the head cook's perspective.

*Townsends - mid/late 18th and early 19th century Colonial America/Indiana. Started off as an instructional video series regarding items sold by Jas. Townsends & Sons, such as clothing and cooking and has expanded to various Colonial America history and such. A good number of videos cover cooking period recipes and the history/background on the recipes.
 
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Alessandra Kelley

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Chris P

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Catalogs! Holy smokes, CATALOGS!

Want to know how people filled their houses with stuff, stuff, all kinds of stuff from 1794 to 1961? Check out this treasure trove of catalogs from Old House Guy: https://www.oldhouseguy.com/catalogs/

Edit: Wow! I found (almost) the exact roll top desk I refinished this summer! It sold for $15.50 in the 1899, and I see some features that were missing in my version. Mine came with some parts I didn't know what to do with, and now I wonder if I can figure out where they go. . .
 
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