My novel Magdala begins in 1893. A general plot line came easy, but the historical foundation proved to be a challenge. I found myself needing to know something about woodstoves, men’s clothing, ladies’ underwear, baby clothes, oil lamps, and buggies.
I decided to search for a vintage Sears Roebuck & Co. catalog. I figured all I’d find would be a ragged book in a plastic bag available on e-bay or Etsy. To my surprise I found a republished copy of the 1897 Sears catalog on Amazon, brand new with page after page of merchandise pictured and priced.
There were pages and pages of wood stoves with one touted as having “all modern improvements.” The one “modern improvement” which any cook in the 21st century or 20th for that matter would have wanted were dials that could raise and lower the temperature under a pot. Of course that only works if the heat source is electricity or gas. Wood stoves do not have THAT modern improvement.
By studying the pictures and reading descriptions I learned that what a cook must do on a wood stove is move the pots around the cook top. Some sections of the stove were not directly over the burning wood compartment. I also learned that there was a reservoir for heating water!
And the stoves themselves were works of art. In the true Victorian Era fashion more curlicues the better. On the legs, on the stove front. Not painted on but etched into the metal. Fabulously decorated. When cold this work horse became an elegant piece of furniture in your kitchen.
Now on to the ladies’ summer union suits and “The Imperial Hair Regenerator.” Anything you might want, right there at your fingertips!
