#vintage advice

~The Housekeeper’s Book : Comprising Advice on the Conduct of Household Affairs in General, Frances H. Green, 1837

~The Operative’s Friend, and Defence, or, Hints to Young Ladies who are Dependent on their own Exertions, Rev. James Porter; 1850

History Geek’s note: This book of advice was written specifically for the women working in the factories of New England (USA).  Living in a boarding house, or a dormitory owned by the factory, was considered highly suspect and potentially dangerous for these young women, and there was serious discussion about whether this sort of living made them “unfit” to be future wives and mothers.

Rev. Porter wrote this book specifically for factory workers to “defend their business and character against a popular prejudice, which has long existed, and which does great injustice to their interests.”

questionableadvice:

~The Character of The Gentleman, by Francis Lieber, 1864

questionableadvice:

~Etiquette, Jr., by Mary Elizabeth Clark and Margery Closey Quigley, 1965

~The Illustrated Book of Manners: a Manual of Good Behavior and Polite Accomplishments; Robert De Valcourt, 1866

~From Kitchen to Garret, by Virginia Terhune Van de Water, 1912

~ The Illustrated Book of Manners: a Manual of Good Behavior and Polite Accomplishments; Robert De Valcourt, 1866

~Etiquette for Gentlemen; or, Short Rules and Reflections for Conduct in Society, by A Gentleman, 1847

~Stop! A Handy Monitor and Pocket Conscience, Nathan D. Urner 1884

~Kansas State Board of Health, between 1900-1920
viaKansas Memory

~Stop! A Handy Monitor and Pocket Conscience, Nathan D. Urner, 1884

There you go, folks. All the important bits about being a good spouse, brought to you by George  W. Crane (Ph.D., M.D.) in the 1930s. Dr. Crane went on to help found the Scientific Marriage Foundation which “attempted to match people up via an IBM sorting machine beginning in 1957.”

yesterdaysprint:

The Illustrated Book of Manners: A Manual of Good Behavior and Polite Accomplishments, 1866