History and Facts on American Newspaper Production from the Colonial Times Through the 1890s.

New York Times Press Run circa 1942 – Library of Congress Photograph

NEWSPAPER.-Printed sheets published at stated intervals, chiefly for the purpose of conveying intelligence on current events.

The Romans wrote out an account of the most memorable occurrences of the day, which were sent to public officials.  They were entitled Acta Durna, and read substantially like the local column of a country weekly paper of to-day.  Before the invention of printing letters were written regularly by persons in the chief capitals of Europe and dispatched to those who felt an interest in public affairs.  For this the correspondents were paid.  The earliest English journal in print was the Weekly Newes from Italy, Germanie, &c., in 1622, a prior newspaper preserved in the British Museum which contained an account of the Spanish Armada being regarded as a forgery.  The first attempt at reporting Parliament was made in 1641, and the first daily newspaper in England was the Daily Courant, in 1702.  The London Times was founded in 1788.  Continue reading History and Facts on American Newspaper Production from the Colonial Times Through the 1890s.

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Penal Methods of the Middle Ages

CHAPTER I

PENAL METHODS OF THE MIDDLE AGES

Prisons as places of detention are very ancient institutions. As soon as men had learned the way to build, in stone, as in Egypt, or with bricks, as in Mesopotamia, when kings had many-towered fortresses, and the great barons castles on the crags, there would be cells and dungeons in the citadels. But prisons as places for the reception of “ordinary” (as distinct from state or political) criminals for definite terms only evolved in England many centuries afterwards; whilst imprisonment as a punishment in itself, to be endured under rules made expressly punitive and distressful, may be described as essentially modern, and reached its worst phase in the nineteenth century. Continue reading Penal Methods of the Middle Ages

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Son House – Death Letter Blues

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The Rolling Stones – Brown Sugar

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Two Great Ideas for Product Photography

 

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Country House Essays Book Now in Print

Country House Essays, the book is now in print. This is an eclectic collection of both original, and historical essays, poems, books, and articles created for our loyal reader hear at CountryHouseEssays.com.   It is jam packed with reprints of articles from this website.  The cost is $49.95 for this massive 512 page book.  Enjoy!

Publication Date: October 5, 2021
Book Size: 6″ x 9″
Pages: 512
Binding: Perfect Bound

TheBookPatch.com Buy Now style 2 button

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Clarivoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

Theosophical Society, Adyar, Madras, India, 1890

CLAIRVOYANCE

 by C. W. Leadbeater

Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Pub. House

[1899]

CHAPTER IX

 METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT

 

When a men becomes convinced of the reality of the valuable power of clairvoyance, his first question usually is, “How can I develop in my own case this faculty which is said to be latent in everyone?”

Now the fact is that there are many methods by which it may be developed, but only one which be at all safely recommended for general use—that of which we shall speak last of all. Among the less advanced nations of the world the clairvoyant state has been produced in various objectionable ways; among some of the non-Aryan tribes of India, but the use of intoxicating drugs or the inhaling of stupefying fumes; among the dervishes, by whirling in a mad dance of religious fervour until vertigo and insensibility supervene; among the followers of the abominable practice of the Voodoo cult, by frightful sacrifices and loathsome rites of black magic. Methods such as these are happily not in vogue in our race, yet even among us large numbers of dabblers in this ancient art adopt some plan of self-hypnotization, such as gazing at a bright spot or the repetition of some formula until a condition of semi-stupefaction is produced; while yet another school among them would endeavour to arrive at similar results by the use of some of the Indian systems of regulation of the breath. Continue reading Clarivoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

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Westminster Confession of Faith – 1646

CHAPTER I.  Of the Holy Scripture.

  1. Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation; therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his Church; and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.
  2. Under the name of holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the Books of the Old and New Testament, which are these:

Continue reading Westminster Confession of Faith — 1646

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The Geologists and The Mother-lode

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The Relation of Chemistry to the progress of Wine Making, Brewing, and Distilling

Harvey Wiley, Chief Chemist of the Department of Agriculture’s Division of Chemistry (third from the right) with his staff, not long after he joined the division in 1883. Wiley’s scientific expertise and political skills were a key to passage of the 1906 Food and Drugs Act and the creation of the FDA.

WINE MAKING.

Wine making rests also largely upon chemical principles. In grapes we find large quantities of sugar combined with organic acids, of which tartaric acid is the chief, coloring matters, tannic principles, etc. The production of wine of fine flavor consists in securing the fermentation of the sugars of this mixture with appropriate ferments and under carefully controlled conditions of temperature. Only through the most careful chemical control are the most favorable conditions maintained. Consciously or unconsciously, the wine maker is a practical chemist, and under the influence of modern research the scientific principles of wine making are very much more firmly established and more easily practiced than they were before the conditions under which wine is produced were thoroughly understood. Continue reading The Relation of Chemistry to the progress of Wine Making, Brewing, and Distilling

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A Note on Ill-Breeding from a Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem

“Saint John’s Gate, Clerkenwell, the main gateway to the Priory of Saint John of Jerusalem,” black and white photograph by the British photographer Henry Dixon, 1880. The church was founded in the 12th century by Jordan de Briset, a Norman knight. Prior Docwra completed the gatehouse shown in this photograph in 1504. The gateway served as the main entry to the Priory, which was the center of the Order of St John of Jerusalem (the Knights Hospitallers). Courtesy of the British Library, London.

Rules for politeness should be unnecessary.  But although we have no belief in rules, there are certain hints which may be useful.  There is a natural rhythm in life which varies with temperament.  Quietness and gravity and steadiness of feature are signal marks of good breeding.  Approachableness and patience in giving up the whole of one’s attention to those who seek it at the moment, are needed.  Few things are so vulgar as to be everlastingly in a hurry.  Egotism is also a mark of ill-breeding; one should beware of unnecessary apologies, for apology is only egotism in another form.  Serious discussion with disinterested people on one’s personal domestic troubles, and particularly on one’s health, is decidedly bad form; so is carelessness in speech and conversation in any direction. Continue reading A Note on Ill-Breeding from a Knight of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem

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Growing Muscadine Grapes in Tennessee

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee has a long heralded tradition of assisting farmers and growers through it’s Agricultural Extension Service.  The following bulletin entitled Grape Growing in Tennessee discusses the Muscadine variety of grapes among others.  Muscadine grapes are often found growing wild in Tennessee.  On my grandfather’s West Tennessee farm, a stand of ancient tree-sized vines of Muscadine grapes provided several gallons of the fruit each year that were used in making homemade wine, jams, and jellies.  With the skin on the jams and jellies would be of a purple colour.  Removing the skins allowed for beautiful emerald green coloured jams and jellies.

Click here  to read about growing grapes in Tennessee

Click on the blue link below to download a .PDF file copy of Growing Grapes in Tennessee(UT Ag. Ext. Pub. 1475).  File size is 753.3kb:

Download

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Homemade Wine Recipes from the 16th and 17th Centuries

The Lost Art of Wine Making at Home

Some Recipes Popular a Century Ago Revived to Show How Our Forefathers Brewed Their Own Beers, Made Their Own Ciders, Distilled Their Own Liquors.

The manufacture of homemade liquors is all but a lost art. A century ago every farm had its formulas, whether for the brewing of beer, or the making of cider, or wines from the fruits of the locality. But the wines of commerce became so cheap, and the coming of the railway made them so easily obtainable that, except in a few rare cases, the homemade sort fell into desuetude; whether innocuous or not is in dispute. Much water has passed under the bridge since Macculloch, writing in 1816, said, “the price of the sugar is the price of the wine.” Even in those days it was probably true only of certain kinds in certain conditions. Continue reading Homemade Wine Recipes from the 16th and 17th Centuries

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Platform of the American Institute of Banking in 1919

Resolution adapted at the New Orleans Convention of the American Institute of Banking, October 9, 1919:

“Ours is an educational association organized for the benefit of the banking fraternity of the country and within our membership may be found on an equal basis both employees and employers; and in full appreciation of the opportunities which our country and its established institutions afford, and especially in appreciation of the fact that the profession of banking affords to its diligent and loyal members especial opportunities for promotion to official and managerial positions, and that as a result of the establishment and maintenance of the merit system in most banks a large number of Institute members have through individual application achieved marked professional success, we at all times and under all circumstances stand for the merit system and for the paying of salaries according to the value of the service rendered.

“We believe in the equitable cooperation of employees and employers and are opposed to all attempts to limit individual initiative and curtail production, and, insofar as our profession is concerned, are unalterably opposed to any plan purporting to promote the material welfare of our members, individually or collectively, on any other basis that that of efficiency, loyalty and unadulterated Americanism.”

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Parting Words to Kate from The Sloop of War, Jamestown

Sloop of War Jamestown – Photo from book The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series 1, Vol. 3.

Several years ago, I purchased a small memory book entitled Album of Love from the mid 1800s.

Much like scrap books of today, these books were used to keep memorabilia such as autographs, photos, newspaper clippings, and sometime drawings and water colors. They were elaborately designed and published using fine rag paper and often contained beautiful engravings.  In this particular book which belonged to one Mrs. Kitty Lenox of Trenton, New Jersey living in Philadelphia at the time, we find beautiful poems written by friends wishing her well upon a departure. I will share some of these beautiful words with you below. She apparently went by the name Kate. The date in the cover of the book is Sept. 1870, however most of the writings are from 1861 and 1862 during the Civil War. The book also contains several romantic engravings.

Perhaps the most significant poem in the book is one written by a sailor serving in the US Navy who was departing the port of Philadelphia on the Sloop of War, Jamestown, which in October of 1861 was re-commissioned to defend the Atlantic Coast from Confederate privateers.

Parting Words to Kate

Farewell! The (word is hard to make out) trxxxxx ocean calleth me;
The  white-sailed vesel awhile my home must be!
Duty far across the ever-rolling main
Has called me — called me not in vain

I go to other lands; yet think ye not,
My own dear friend, you shall never be forgot!
Oh, “twas no easy task to bid my soul
Its memory of sorrow to control!

Farewell! farewell! and Should I no more
Return to my own, my loved, my native shore,
Oh, “in a better country” in the land
Where dwell God’s pure redeemed one, may I stand!

Farewell! the patient hand that hold me here,
Think you I shall not find it everywhere?
Yes, yes, this trust Shall every fear dispel—
God will protect me ever!. Kate — Fare ye Well!

AB Maloney, U S Navy

U.S. Sloop of War Jamestown Sept. 20th, 1862

 

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Electroplating 101

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New Orleans Street Bands

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ZZ Top at Gruene Hall

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Historic authenticity of the Spanish SAN FELIPE of 1690

Model of San Felipe

Reprinted from FineModelShips.com with the kind permission of Dr. Michael Czytko

The SAN FELIPE is one of the most favoured ships among the ship model builders. The model is elegant, very beautifully designed, and makes a decorative piece of art to be displayed at home or in the office.

Doubts on San Felipe’s historic authenticity I have heard voiced or seen many times, mainly in forums on ship history and ship modelling. There was the contribution of Toni Alvarez Silva of April 1999 in some forum, who went three times to the Museo Naval in Madrid. He could not get any information there whether the San Felipe existed or not. He also contacted Mantua and Artesania Latina and asked them about their model kits of the San Felipe, without getting convincing responses. Continue reading Historic authenticity of the Spanish SAN FELIPE of 1690

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The Late Rev. H.M. Scarth

H. M. Scarth, Rector of Wrington

By the death of Mr. Scarth on the 5th of April, at Tangier, where he had gone for his health’s sake, the familiar form of an old and much valued Member of the Institute has passed away.  Harry Mengden Scarth was bron at Staindrop in Durham, on 11th May, 1814. In due time he entered at Christ’s College, Cambridge, and took his B.A. degree in 1837.  Continue reading The Late Rev. H.M. Scarth

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Quotations

No strong man, in good health, can be neglected, if he be true to himself. For the benefit of the young, I wish we had a correct account of the number of persons who fail to success, in a thousand who resolutely strive to do well. I do not think it exceeds on per cent.

— Ebenezer Eliot

The True and Correct History of DJ Vinyl Scratching

New York is well known for hotdogs, the Empire State Building, the Ponzi Scheme, and the Brooklyn Bridge among its many claims to fame. However, contrary to popular belief, DJ vinyl scratching is not one of them. Caveat; Most New Yorkers in fact believe the phenomena originated there.

In the [...] Read more →

Artistic Endeavour in the Absence of Country Gentlemen

The Garden at Somersby Rectory by W.E.F. Britten

When one thinks of the English countryside or rural France replete with rambling country house estates and fairly tale chateaus sitting alongside grand chapels and country church spires, one might imagine a realm of manners, neighborly love, and country gentlemen. However, history informs us [...] Read more →

The Treasure of Abbot Thomas – from Ghost Stories of M.R. James

I

Verum usque in præsentem diem multa garriunt inter se Canonici de abscondito quodam istius Abbatis Thomæ thesauro, quem sæpe, quanquam adhuc incassum, quæsiverunt Steinfeldenses. Ipsum enim Thomam adhuc florida in ætate existentem ingentem auri massam circa monasterium defodisse perhibent; de quo multoties interrogatus ubi esset, cum risu respondere solitus erat: “Job, [...] Read more →

The Age of Chivalry

CHAPTER 1 – Introduction

KING ARTHUR AND HIS KNIGHTS

On the decline of the Roman power, about five centuries after Christ, the countries of Northern Europe were left almost destitute of a national government. Numerous chiefs, more or less powerful, held local sway, as far as each [...] Read more →

The History of Witchcraft in England – The Beginnings

The Beginnings of English Witchcraft

It has been said by a thoughtful writer that the subject of witchcraft has hardly received that place which it deserves in the history of opinions. There has been, of course, a reason for this neglect—the fact that the belief in witchcraft is no longer [...] Read more →

Penal Methods of the Middle Ages

CHAPTER I

PENAL METHODS OF THE MIDDLE AGES

Prisons as places of detention are very ancient institutions. As soon as men had learned the way to build, in stone, as in Egypt, or with bricks, as in Mesopotamia, when kings had many-towered fortresses, and the great barons castles [...] Read more →

Country House Essays Book Now in Print

Country House Essays, the book is now in print. This is an eclectic collection of both original, and historical essays, poems, books, and articles created for our loyal reader hear at CountryHouseEssays.com. It is jam packed with reprints of articles from this website. The cost is $49.95 for this massive [...] Read more →

Clarivoyance by C.W. Leadbeater

Theosophical Society, Adyar, Madras, India, 1890

CLAIRVOYANCE

by C. W. Leadbeater

Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Pub. House

[1899]

CHAPTER IX

METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT

When a men becomes convinced of the reality of the valuable [...] Read more →

Westminster Confession of Faith – 1646

CHAPTER I. Of the Holy Scripture.

Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary [...] Read more →

Growing Muscadine Grapes in Tennessee

The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee has a long heralded tradition of assisting farmers and growers through it’s Agricultural Extension Service. The following bulletin entitled Grape Growing in Tennessee discusses the Muscadine variety of grapes among others. Muscadine grapes are often found growing wild in Tennessee. On my grandfather’s West Tennessee [...] Read more →

Platform of the American Institute of Banking in 1919

Resolution adapted at the New Orleans Convention of the American Institute of Banking, October 9, 1919:

“Ours is an educational association organized for the benefit of the banking fraternity of the country and within our membership may be found on an equal basis both employees and employers; and in full appreciation [...] Read more →

Parting Words to Kate from The Sloop of War, Jamestown

Sloop of War Jamestown – Photo from book The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Series 1, Vol. 3.

Several years ago, I purchased a small memory book entitled Album of Love from the mid 1800s.

Much like scrap books of today, these books were used to keep [...] Read more →

Historic authenticity of the Spanish SAN FELIPE of 1690

Model of San Felipe

Reprinted from FineModelShips.com with the kind permission of Dr. Michael Czytko

The SAN FELIPE is one of the most favoured ships among the ship model builders. The model is elegant, very beautifully designed, and makes a decorative piece of art to be displayed at home or in [...] Read more →

The Late Rev. H.M. Scarth

H. M. Scarth, Rector of Wrington

By the death of Mr. Scarth on the 5th of April, at Tangier, where he had gone for his health’s sake, the familiar form of an old and much valued Member of the Institute has passed away. Harry Mengden Scarth was bron at Staindrop in Durham, [...] Read more →

Classic Restoration of a Spring Tied Upholstered Chair

This video by AT Restoration is the best hands on video I have run across on the basics of classic upholstery. Watch a master at work. Simply amazing.

Tools:

Round needles: https://amzn.to/2S9IhrP Double pointed hand needle: https://amzn.to/3bDmWPp Hand tools: https://amzn.to/2Rytirc Staple gun (for beginner): https://amzn.to/2JZs3x1 Compressor for pneumatic [...] Read more →

A History of the Use of Arsenicals in Man

The arsenicals (compounds which contain the heavy metal element arsenic, As) have a long history of use in man – with both benevolent and malevolent intent. The name ‘arsenic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘arsenikon’ which means ‘potent'”. As early as 2000 BC, arsenic trioxide, obtained from smelting copper, was used [...] Read more →

Books Condemned to be Burnt

BOOKS CONDEMNED TO BE BURNT.

By

JAMES ANSON FARRER,

LONDON

ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW

1892

———-

WHEN did books first come to be burnt in England by the common hangman, and what was [...] Read more →

U.S. Plant Variety Protection Act – Full Text

UNITED STATES PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION ACT

TITLE I – PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION OFFICE Chapter Section 1. Organization and Publications . 1 2. Legal Provisions as to the Plant Variety Protection Office . 21 3. Plant Variety Protection Fees . 31

CHAPTER 1.-ORGANIZATION AND PUBLICATIONS Section 1. Establishment.2 There is [...] Read more →

The Master of Hounds

Photo Caption: The Marquis of Zetland, KC, PC – otherwise known as Lawrence Dundas Son of: John Charles Dundas and: Margaret Matilda Talbot born: Friday 16 August 1844 died: Monday 11 March 1929 at Aske Hall Occupation: M.P. for Richmond Viceroy of Ireland Vice Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Lord – in – Waiting [...] Read more →

Here’s Many a Year to You

” Here’s many a year to you ! Sportsmen who’ve ridden life straight. Here’s all good cheer to you ! Luck to you early and late.

Here’s to the best of you ! You with the blood and the nerve. Here’s to the rest of you ! What of a weak moment’s swerve ? [...] Read more →

The Hunt Saboteur

The Hunt Saboteur is a national disgrace barking out loud, black mask on her face get those dogs off, get them off she did yell until a swift kick from me mare her voice it did quell and sent the Hunt Saboteur scurrying up vale to the full cry of hounds drowning out her [...] Read more →

The Billesden Coplow Run

Smith, Charles Loraine; The Billesdon Coplow Run, Leicestershire

*note – Billesdon and Billesden have both been used to name the hunt.

BILLESDEN COPLOW POEM

[From “Reminiscences of the late Thomas Assheton Smith, Esq”]

The run celebrated in the following verses took place on the 24th of February, 1800, [...] Read more →