“Her eyebrows from a mouse’s hide, Stuck on with art on either side, Pulls off with care, and first displays ‘em, Then in a play-book smoothly lays ‘em.” So wrote Jonathan Swift, commemorating the 18th century’s false-eyebrow trend in his ode, A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed (1731). (He goes on to describe her [...]
http://www.encyclopediaoftheexquisite.com/?p=516
How I’d love to find a dusty old 19th century pocket nutmeg grinder in some antique shop. After silverware was introduced in England’s taverns and inns in the 17th century, these precious—and deadly—items were quickly removed again. The cost was too dear; either the utensils were stolen or they could be used for violence. A 1695 [...]
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In honor of the vernal equinox this weekend (that is, a day with just as many hours of light as of dark) I baked a batch of hot crossed buns, yeasted, spiced breakfast rolls that the pagans ate in celebration of spring’s arrival, a season tradition which continues in England every Good Friday. “The pagans [...]
http://www.encyclopediaoftheexquisite.com/?p=116
