Vintage Books for Research

 

A few weeks ago, my friend and I were window shopping in a quaint little town and decided to go into a store that had displays that caught our eye.

Inside, I found a selection of vintage reproduction books for $5 each!

There were so many I wanted to bring home, but settled on five.

The Boy's Own Book by William Clarke is titled as "A Complete Encyclopedia of All the Diversions, Athletic, Scientific, and Recreative, of Boyhood and Youth."

The book includes instruction on everything from archery, cricket, gymnastics, and swimming to "chemical amusements" that covers things like "combustion and explosion" as well as tricks with cards, puzzles, and details about rabbits and guinea pigs. 

Originally published in 1829, it is a fascinating glimpse into what life might have been like for young boys, and the expectations of their learning back then. 

The Girl's Own Book by Mrs. L. Maria Child was originally published in 1834. It includes games, anagrams, active exercises like swinging and jumping rope, craft ideas, needlework, poems, and information about things like silkworms and bees. 

Comparing the two books, it is glaringly clear the boys got to have way more fun than the girls!

When Mother Lets Us Cook by Constance Johnson is a "book of simple receipts for little folks" originally published in 1908.  The book includes a variety of recipes that covers everything from how to boil eggs and rice, to making custard, baking potatoes, meat loaf, gingerbread, cottage cheese, and has to how to make good tea, a recipe for  rainy-day fudge, and several helpful "rules" like how to tell if an egg is good or bad, things to have in the kitchen, how to simmer, and a rule for milk. 

Little Gardens for Boys and Girls by Myrta Margaret Higgins, released originally in 1910, was written with the purpose of helping children find joy in gardening. The book includes some illustrations as well as photographs, and offers details that cover tools and plans to work in the garden by season, harvest time, cuttings versus seeds, as well as helps and hindrances in a garden.

The American Frugal Housewife by Mrs. Child published in 1833, was dedicated to "those who are not ashamed of economy." The book is all about avoiding waste, making do, and using what you have on hand. Some of the sage words of wisdom include things like, "Lamps will have a less disagreeable smell if you dip your wick-yarn in strong hot vinegar, and dry it." There is an assortment of recipes. One that caught my eye was a Whortleberry Pie. I've never heard of a whortleberry, but the author writes they "make a very good common pie, where there is a large family of children." There is a section entitled "hints to persons of moderate fortune" and another entitled "how to endure poverty." It is certainly an interesting look into the thoughts and homelife of the time. 

I think I'll go see what I can find about whortleberries ...

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.

When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Discover her books on her website or on Amazon.

The Abiding Appeal of Doc Holliday

By Kimberly Grist

Turning the calendar to September is a satisfying experience for me. Because somewhere in the month is the hope of cooler temperatures and my favorite season, autumn. As the days grow cooler, I enjoy attending local fall festivals, especially when they are built around a notorious gambler, gunfighter, and dentist - Doc Holliday.

This past weekend my family and I attended the Doc Holliday Festival in his birthplace of Griffin, Georgia, and enjoyed watching a reenactment of the famous shootout of the OK Corral put on by Aces & Eights.
https://www.facebook.com/acesandeightshistory/

Doc Holliday is known for his participation with Wyatt Earp in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881. The battle itself lasted less than a minute. After 142 years, what do we still find so intriguing? Multiple movies have been made to retell the story of lawman Wyatt Earp. But strangely, the character we love is a sickly dentist, turned gambler and gunman known as Doc.

Dennis Quaid lost 30 lbs to play the physically frail Doc in 1994, Wyatt Earp.

The complexity of his character may be the reason for his lingering appeal. His vibrant personality seeps in contrasts. Doc is a deadly gunslinger and gambler, yet smart, educated, flashy, witty, compassionate, and a loyal friend. Add a bit of vulnerability; he's critically ill but bold, gallant, and let's not forget his Southern charm.

Born with a cleft palate on August 14, 1851, John Henry Holliday's mother fed him with an eyedropper and spoon. In what may have been the first time that ether was given to an infant in surgery, he was operated on by his uncle, Dr. John Stiles Holliday, and assisted by Dr. Crawford Long.

Two actors who played Doc Holliday, Stacy Keach and Jason Robards, were also born with the same condition.

Stacy Keach in 1971, Doc.

Jason Robards in 1967, Hour of the Gun

                         

                                                                                                     

He was schooled at home by his mother, who spent years training him to conquer his speech impediment. She also instilled in him Southern etiquette and manners, which would forever be part of his demeanor.


John Henry Holliday, age 10

In 1864, his family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, where his mother suffered from consumption, now known as tuberculosis, and died when he was fifteen. Three months after his mother's death, his father remarried.

Holliday attended Valdosta Institue, where he received a classical education, and in 1870, 19-year-old Holiday left home to attend the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. He graduated five months before his 21st birthday. He returned to Griffin, Georgia, in 1872 to practice dentistry.

 

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=186926

He was soon diagnosed with consumption and 1873, ended his career as a dentist. Some say he didn't want his family to see him deteriorate and die from the disease. Others suggest he went west in the hope the climate would be beneficial to his lungs. Regardless, he took the train to the literal end of the railroad line to Dallas, Texas.

Holliday understood the gravity of his disease and most likely considered himself a walking dead man. He was a realist, but at the same time, he remained hopeful for a cure. Doc found comfort in whiskey and gambling.

 

Texas was full of guns, knives, and violent men, some of whom were suffering from post-traumatic stress from the effects of war. Doc reinvented himself from a southern gentleman dentist to fabricate and develop a reputation as having killed more than a dozen men in various altercations. Researchers have concluded that he actually killed one or two men.

Val Kilmer as Doc alongside Sam Elliott, Kurt Russell & Bill Paxton as Virgil, Wyatt &

Morgan Earp in 1993

Holliday traveled from town to town following the money and gained a reputation as both a gambler and a gunman. In 1877, Doc was involved in an argument, but instead of going for his gun, he used his walking stick. His serious wounds, compounded by worsening tuberculosis, spurred a change of scenery. His next stop was Fort Griffin, where he met Wyatt Earp and ultimately saved his life.

Earp and Holliday became fast friends. Eventually, Doc would join Earp in the wild boomtown of Tombstone, Arizona. Due to recent silver strikes, the town was flooded with merchants and cash and short on law and order. By the end of 1880, Tombstone was embedded with organized rustlers and thieves called the Cowboys.

 Pictured left Doc Holliday with Wyatt Earp and his brothers.

On October 26. 1881. Holliday was deputized by Tombstone City Marshal Virgil Earp. Virgil asked Doc to carry his shotgun under his coat, and the four walked to meet and disarm five members of the Cowboys near the O.K. Corral, which resulted in a 30-second shootout.

The famous line quoted by Doc at the end of the fight was reported in the Tombstone papers. When confronted by one of the Cowboys at point-blank range, "I got you now Doc...., to which Doc retorted, "Blaze away! You're a daisy if you do!"

Val Kilmer played Doc in 1993

Following the Tombstone shootout, Virgil Earp was maimed, and Morgan Earp was murdered. As the recently appointed deputy U.S. marshal, Earp deputized Holliday and others, formed a posse, and pursued and killed the men they believed were responsible.

The local sheriff issued a warrant for the arrest of five of the members of the posse, including Holliday. Wyatt Earp learned of an extradition request for Holliday and arranged with Governor Frederick Pitkin to deny Holliday's extradition.

www.azquotes.com>

Doc died of tuberculosis in his bed at the Hotel Glenwood on November 8, 1887. He was 36.

On the same day, the Leadville Daily and Evening Chronicle wrote. "There is scarcely one in the country who had acquired a greater notoriety than Doc Holiday, who enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most fearless men on the frontier and whose devotion to his friends in the climax of the fiercest ordeal was inextinguishable. This, more than any other faculty, secured for him the reverence of a large circle who were prepared on the shortest notice to rally to his relief."

Brushing your teeth in the old days...

 

Ah the toothbrush. We all have one. In fact, I bet a lot of you have more than one. We can’t live without them, unless you don’t care about your teeth, and the toothbrush has been around a long time, thank goodness. Even if they didn’t exactly always resemble what we use today. It was the Egyptians and Babylonians that came up with the first toothbrushes (the Egyptians seemed to come up with a lot of things first) made from frayed twigs of all things. We know this because archeologists found among well preserved items in tombs. They buried you with everything back then, even your trusty toothbrush! 

Then the Chinese came along and made a better toothbrush. They were the ones that came up with the first natural bristle brush. Of course, the “bristles” were made from pig’s hair (ew) and they used either bamboo or bone for the handle.

Fast forward to England around 1780 and we find a guy by the name of William Addis touting his toothbrush made from cattle bone. Though he still stuck with the pig’s hair for bristles (double ew) and hadn’t come up with anything better yet.

In 1844 the first three row bristle brush was designed, thank goodness, and yes, they were still using pig’s hair! It wasn’t until around 1938 that nylon was used for the bristles. We had to wait for it to be invented you know, and that nylon finally got a little softer in the 1950’s.

Today we have electric toothbrushes, battery operated brushes, and all sorts of fun do-dads to take care of our teeth. So long as we don’t still have to brush our teeth with pig’s hair, I’m happy. In the old west, they did. Poor cowboys. But hey, there were taking care of their teeth so what did it matter?

As to toothpaste, well, you guessed it, the Egyptians were the first to use a sort of paste to clean their teeth. That would have been somewhere around 5000 B.C. They used this paste to clean and whiten teeth and to also freshen breath. Fast forward to the 1800s, and we find people using a tooth powder up until the 1850s. Then in 1873, Colgate began mass producing toothpaste in jars. It wasn’t until the 1890s that the company began using tubes, much like we do today.

So, the next time you brush your teeth, think about what they had to use back in the day and give that modern toothbrush of yours a smile!

Until next time,

Kit Morgan

 

CHOOSING MY CHARACTER'S CORSET by Marisa Masterson

 Tight laces. Loosened laces. No laces. Which is best for my heroine?

When I envision a typical nineteenth century lady in an American city, I envision a small waist and tight corset. But the female lead in the novel I am currently writing decides to pursue the rational dress movement, a push to allow females to clothe themselves in a healthy and safe manner. Would she head to the backyard and burn her corset?

Definitely not! As little sense as it might make to us today since women don't commonly wear laces around our waists, the women of the 1800s held tightly to the belief that a corset was a necessity. They were not about to quit wearing them.

The alternative? Women needed to be convinced that both their shape and posture could be enhanced without lacing their corsets tightly. Along came the Jackson Waist.

As a Michigan resident, I found the Jackson Waist interesting. At one time, Jackson--a relatively small town in my state--was the leading producer of corsets in the US. The town had sixteen corset manufacturing companies at one time, but the Jackson Corset Company outsold them all.

This corset did away with whale bone and laces. It advertised steel sown into the front and back to aid with a woman's posture instead. Some corsets merely settled over a women's shape after being slipped down over the head and shoulders. Others had fasteners and even laces that had a limited ability to be tightened. They promoted healthy blood flow and free breathing. 

A woman could have her cake whilel wearing this corset and eat it too. No wonder the product was a huge hit. Definitely what my heroine will be wearing in Clarice's Chance.

Coming November 2023. 

Pre-order now!

Look What Our Authors Published in August!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our authors have worked hard to bring you your next favorite stories. Here is what we published in August!

 

Ruby: The Switchboard Sisterhood, Book 18

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

Actress Ruby Moreau yearns to be in the silent movies, but Hollywood is so far away. On the eve of her wedding, she rebels against her Seattle society parents’ urging her to marry the boring son of Father’s business partner. Seeing an ad for a film shot entirely in Alaska, she boards a ship for Anchorage to seek an audition. Upon arrival, she learns the moving picture studio is not currently filming, but the Spruce Telephone Company is always hiring. She becomes a switchboard operator…telling herself this is just temporary until her parents cool down and let her run her own life.

Stevedore Ivan Dragunov works any job he can find on the docks. But his real passion is playing in the Anchorage Baseball League on the weekends. An encounter with an emotive passenger coming off a ship forces him closer to a woman than he’s been since his fiancée sailed back to Russia. When he keeps running into her around town, he becomes intrigued. But what do an actress who wants to see her name in lights and a man devoted to putting his team on the scoreboard have in common?

Release date: August 15, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6284CJ2

Winnie: Sweet Historical Western Romance (The Snows of Clear Creek Book 4)  

By Kit Morgan

A bookworm from Clear Creek
The most eligible bachelor in New York
And one tiny miracle…

Winnie Snow was excited to travel to New York with her brother Wellington, his new wife, and her parents. What adventures they were going to have! She couldn’t wait to show Sheriff Turner and his family the city! One adventure she didn’t expect was Ashton Bartlett. She’d tagged along with Wellington and Ashton whenever she got the chance when they were younger. But he was different now, and she wondered how the man she’d been sweet on since she was twelve could change so much. This wasn’t the kind-hearted, considerate man she used to know. This was an arrogant snob. Could she find the old Ashton and pit him against the new? And if she did, which would win? Worse, there were moments when the old Ashton surfaced, and she remembered all the reasons she was sweet on him years ago, and…oh dear! Still was! Would she ever see the old Ashton again?
 

But when Ashton decides to make a trip to Clear Creek, Winnie begins to wonder what his motives are. Does he truly want to see where she and her family live? Or is he going just so he can prove to the residents in Clear Creek that they’re all beneath him? Find out in this sweet historical western romance as only Kit Morgan can deliver!

Release Date: August 21, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGCMXTXM

 

Cowboys and Brides: A Sweet and Clean Historical Western Romance Collection

Includes Kit Morgan & Shanna Hatfield

Happily ever after under the Western sky . . .

Enjoy six sweet historical Western romance stories filled with courageous women and men who never fail to save the day. Set against windswept plains and soaring mountain peaks, romance and adventure wait for you in this collection.

Bestselling authors Cat Cahill, Kate Condie, Shanna Hatfield, Kit Morgan, Christine Sterling, and Penny Zeller have put their some of their most popular books into this collection. If you love mail order brides, wounded heroes, second chance romance, enemies to lovers, and stories where he falls first, this collection is for you!

Release date: August 29, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGW78D7B  

Not all of our authors make their books available on pre-order. However, for those who do, those advance sales go a long way toward boosting their sales rankings. 

Here are future releases:

 

Pre-order September:

 

A Woodcarver for Willa (Mail Order Papa series)

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

For the past six months, Willa Grantham has worked hard to maintain the livery stable that thrived under her late husband’s care. Although she’s not looking for a second love, she’s exhausted and lonely and knows life has more to offer. Her sister, Larina, is in the same situation, so the widows place a dual ad in three Eastern newspapers for a husband and hope for the best.
 

Woodcarver Davet Sauville refuses to endure another cold, damp winter that endangers his asthmatic son’s health. His late wife knew how to minister to the attacks, but Davet feels inadequate. Although unorthodox, he responds to an ad for a mail-order groom because of the widow’s mountainous location. Will a second-chance love spark when these two lonely people find themselves under the same roof?

Release date: September 4, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CDNFM9VT

 

A Journey for Lily: The Reluctant Wagon Train Bride - Book 1

By P. Creeden

When Lily Browne’s father loses his job at the bank, he decides to make the journey out west, to claim land for cheap in Oregon. And when Lily hears of the need for school teachers out there, she decides that she must go too. There’s only one problem. Even though Lily is barely nineteen, the wagon master demands that she cannot accompany the train without being wed. But she can’t be a school teacher if she’s married…

Wayne Cody became a felon by accident when he was fifteen. After serving his time, he was released to find out that he has no family, and no more than five dollars to his name. He doesn’t know much about anything other than guns, horses, and cattle, so he attempts to get hired by a wagon train to help several families make it to Oregon to claim land. If he can somehow earn enough money, he can claim land for himself, too. Then, Mr. Browne makes him an offer he can’t refuse.

Release date: September 5, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCSPYKJ3

 

A Watchman for Willow (Mail Order Papa series)

By Zina Abbott

Ever since her husband was killed in a logging accident, Willow Morrow has been struggling to take care of her two-year-old daughter, Ila Mae, and survive. Left with limited funds and no family or friendship ties to the area, the lumber owner brought her to Sonora, California, the largest nearby city, and dumped her off with her husband’s final paycheck and two weeks extra wages. She feels fortunate to have found a job washing dishes at a local diner, plus delivering meals to inmates at the Tuolumne County jail.

Milton Pierson, a low-level clerk for the Sonora city council, is tasked with advertising for a city night watchman. Aware of Widow Morrow’s plight, he decides to add an inducement to the job offer.

Jesse Randolph never liked working as a longshoreman, and San Francisco has grown too crowded for his tastes. With the financial panic that started in 1882 going into its third year, he learns his job has been terminated. He runs across an advertisement for a widow with a young daughter looking for a husband. The job of night watchman for a small foothill city is included. Not only must he find a way to get his own widowed mother away from the coastal air that aggravates her breathing problems, she has been after him to marry. What does he have to lose by at least looking into the situation?

Release date: September 18, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6CR934Q

 

October Pre-orders:

A Blacksmith for Birdie (Mail Order Papa series)

by Kimberly Grist

A blacksmith in need of a miracle, an innkeeper requiring rescue, and an arranged marriage that can give them both what they need. As iron sharpens iron, can they hammer out a partnership—forging an unexpected result of the romantic kind?

A widowed blacksmith, Joseph Evans, is hardened and weighed down by the needs of his unusual family. If only he could find a housekeeper. But they’re in short supply, and Joseph needs one with the patience of Job. “I don’t want a wife. What I need is a miracle.”

The years have taken their toll on innkeeper Birdie Murphy, but she can still dream of her happily ever after—a companion in life, devoted, kind, hardworking, and childless. But time is not on her side. Desperate, she seeks the help of a matchmaker. What Birdie needs is a mail-order husband, an advocate to help save her family, home, and business. “I am neither dainty nor pretty. Is it possible to find a man willing to overlook the fact?”

A satisfied grin spreads across the matchmaker’s face as she considered the surveys. Such a perfect pairing doesn’t occur often. After all, what we think we want and what we need are two different things.

Release date: October 23, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C59M8B65

 

Vinegar Pie by Varinia: Old Timey Holiday Kitchen, Book 25

By Zina Abbott

For years, Varinia yearned for Arnie to one day look her direction. When her parents invite him and his widower father to join them for Christmas dinner, she decides to bake him one of her favorite pies—lemon meringue. Only, after coming home from joining her mother in taking gift baskets to several homes in the area, she discovers the lemons she purchased are missing. With no time to shop for more before Christmas Eve supper, she must decide on a different dessert.

Arnie Dickens worked hard to establish himself as a farrier and part-time help in his father’s livery. After Varinia Jewell catches his eye at the town’s harvest dance, he begins to seek her out. In spite of her quiet ways and her younger sister, Betsy, usually by her side, he finds he enjoys their visits. When the Jewell family invites him and his father to join them for Christmas dinner, he knows it is time to arrange a few quiet minutes alone with Varinia. Only, Christmas dinner ends up being anything but quiet.

Release Date: October 24, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9PH4BZY

 

November Pre-Orders: 

 

Joy’s Christmas Escape: The Marshal’s Mail Order Bride Book 1

By P. Creeden  

Joy Stewart has never been lucky. Her father died before she was born. Her mother left her in the care of her grandmother so that she could get remarried and move far away. So when her grandmother falls ill, her debtors come to call. And one of them has his eyes set on Joy to be his bride as payment for his debt. That bad luck just seems to be compounding on Joy, but her grandmother has a plan in the works…

Marshal Jack Bolling has found himself in want of a nanny. With the death of his sister and her husband in a tragic accident, he has now come into possession of his twin niece and nephew of five years old. For over a month he’s had no luck in locating an appropriate nanny for them—at least not on his salary and what a marshal can afford. But then his good friend, Pastor Lamb has the idea that perhaps Jack should be looking for a wife instead? The thought of that sends chills down Jack’s spine, but when he ends up putting the twins’ lives in danger due to his job, he wonders what choice he has.

Publication Date: November 1, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CDCCFCJT

 

Butter Pound Cake by Berdina: Old Timey Holiday Kitchen Book 26

By Linda Carroll-Bradd

Bakery manager Berdina Hulbard has big plans to expand the Riverside Bakery’s services to the growing Astoria community. She has visions of creating stylish wedding cakes and elegant petit fours, similar to what she produced at her previous job. During a marathon baking session, she’s interrupted by a blue-eyed brute of a man screaming “Fire” who douses the fire in the brick oven, sending ash over her inventory.

Seeing black smoke billowing from a chimney, volunteer fireman Peder Stefansson bolts into the bakery to put out the fire. Peder is temporary squad captain and wants to prove he’s ready to take on the job permanently. When safety is restored, he discovers ruined baked goods, an irate baker, and an escaped canary. He likes the spirit of this spunky beauty with sparks in her brown eyes. What can he do to tame this chaos into cuddles?

Release Date: November 7, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CC58MNWH

 

Clarice's Chance: (The Suffrage Spinsters Book 25)

by Marisa Masterson

She rejected him once. Will Clarice grab her chance at happiness when it comes her way?

Obedient. Rigid. Those words had described her once. Clarice saw how that way of life stifled her niece, Sylvia. When the young woman left her father's home, she went with her.
She now spent her days aiding her dear friend in the campaign for the rights of women. While others found that satsifying, Clarice wanted something more. When she saw him again, she knew exactly who and what she needed.

Zedekiah had made something of himself. In fact, he could hold his chin up when he returned to his hometown a rich man. He intended to show Clarice what she had given up by refusing to runaway with him fifteen years before.

Does such a thing as a second chance at love really exist when hurt and ambition stands in its way?

Release date: November 13, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6TZ3S43

 

Lefse by Linnea: Old Timey Holiday Kitchen Book 27

By Jo-Ann Roberts

 He made a promise to a dying friend.
She vowed to never love again.

"You've become a recluse."

Linnea Nyland heard the concern in her sister's voice. Still filled with grief and missing her husband almost two years after his unexpected passing, she didn't have the inclination to disagree with the statement. Though she dearly missed working her magic in the family bakery, she liked her life on the farm just the way it was...solitary.

Especially after Deputy Finn McBride came calling with his ridiculous proposal of marriage!

In a moment of panic, Finn made a heart pledge to Erik Nyland to care of Linnea, to marry her. He'd bungled his first attempt, and he's not sure his heart can endure the vow he made knowing he'd been in love with her from the day he came to Holly Springs.

Giving it one last try, he challenges her to a holiday baking competition. If he wins, she must agree to let him court...if she wins, he'll leave her alone...forever.

Release Date: November 21, 2023

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C8VKMDFJ