Children's Book of Accidents, 1834



I have had many email inquiries as to the other accidents on the book I posted on earlier, so here are a couple more timeless lessons......

'Amanda, Tumbling down stairs.....

Little children sometimes get sadly hurt by falling down stairs. They should be cautious whenever they approach any steps. The above cut shows us a poor little innocent, in the act of tumbling down stairs. The distress in which we see her, moves us to pity her state. Children should be very careful when they go near stairs, to hold fast to the balusters, lest they tumble and get sadly hurt.'

and here is another page....... Ohhhh no!!!

'Here we see two thoughtless children in the nursery, playing with candles. One appears to have set the bed-curtains on fire, and the other her hair, and both seem to be in much distress and danger. Learn from this, never to play with fire. O what agony must a scene like this cause their parents, when they discover the sad situation of these unhappy children! Dreadful wounds and frightful scars, and death itself, often follow.'

Once Upon a Time......

In a land not too far away down in Texas... lived a beautiful, Mystical, Heavenly dollye, named Tascha. She was an all original, late 1830's, 22" mache Milliner's Model, with hand carved wooden arms and legs on her pristine kid leather body.

She resided in an 18th century Red Cape with her owners, and lived a privileged life of leisure....dare I say, at a place here in our world, where past met present, and Heaven really did touch the earth.

She held the most coveted spot in her Mistresses' heart, and stood faithfully beside her bedstead. It was a charmed life. An unbelievable life of a fairy tale, when one horrible day, lightning struck her beloved Red Cape, and so much was lost


Tascha was a lucky girl, pulled with so many of her sisters from the fire. Her kid body, soaked from the fire fighter's valiant effort to save her home, was cut away and her arms, legs and head set out to dry. I imagine it was a strange and horrible time for her....but as you can see, her spirit could not be broken. Tascha has been sent here to me for restoration, and having received permission from her owner, I would be honored to share her story here with you all on the blog.

She is such an amazing doll, and we have come to admire each other greatly over our time together. She has many tales to tell, that no amount of smoke or fire could strip from her.

Tascha is nearly finished now, we are having a wonderful time stitching up her new wardrobe. I will be posting bits of our journey together here a little at a time, and you may keep track of her and her progress by clicking on the "Tascha" tab on the sidebar. She will one day be her Grande self once again, to take her place by her Mistresses' bed stead once more.........

Comming to the Mercantile this June 14th



Isnt she just the sweetest!??? See you at the Mercantile!

Blessings of Modern Life

Summer has arrived in its typical fashion again this year...I found myself in the same place as about this same time last year...

.::::enter HUGE frowny face here::::

All the children came home with colds on the last day of school, and by the 1st of June, Pip had a horrible fever~ 104.1, that I couldn't keep down with tylenol & motrin....we were off to the hospital, and found she had pneumonia. Her right upper lobe was solid white on the xray, so into the tent she went, and boy did she hate the first few hours of it. Once I got in with her, she didn't mind it too much.. Along with the oxygen, it also had a mister and pump...felt like Florida in a snowstorm~ but it really worked well to keep her fever down, and open her lungs. She is on her way back to her peppy Pippy self, and I must admit, we definitely would not be in this situation without modern medicine.

Ironically, I am reading a 'Midwife's Tale' by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich...a wonderful study of Martha Ballard's diary she kept between 1785-1812~ she was a midwife living in Hallowell, Maine(one of my favorite places in this earth). All the while reading it, thinking so many lives would have been saved with simple aspirin and antibiotics.....I wonder how our history would have been changed if they had been developed a few centuries earlier? As much as I love the 18th century styles and fashion and simple way of life....I am forever grateful for living in 'today'.
Pip and I got home about 9pm last night~ she still has her IV port in her arm for her antibiotic treatments up at hospital the next few days....but fever is gone and it has lifted her just being back to a familiar place. It was so absolutely wonderful to wake up hearing the birds chirping outside, a gentle breeze blowing the curtains in the bedroom, and look what bloomed while we were away!

Peonies are my favorite flower in the whole world, my Mom planted this one for me a few years ago, and it has never so much as even peeked up thru the ground...not a sliver of an inch! But this year, it and 5 others have decided it was time to grow, and grow they did!

I am admittedly so far behind in everything, not just my emails and online doings~ if I owe you an invoice or an email ~ Ill be getting to all those later this evening when when I get things a bit more under control. May we all, and you all, have a Blessed & Happy summer this year!

Comming June 15th...

A special dollye of undisputed refined elegance....

She will pay us company from the year 1740....

A most dignified and delicate creature, we hear she is already en route from her country estate to grace us with her presence

Diamond K Folk Art 'Dollye Couture'....

I love making dollys, but I don't know which I like best, making the doll, or her clothes! I revel in the weensiest little details, and so many times they get lost in the big picture. I have several types of dollys that I make, but my 'Grande Dames' are the most special of them all. These dollys are a bit larger, have their own trunk or box, and come with removable wardrobes...some even with interchangeable wigs. Most all the clothing on my Grande Dames are reproductions of early garments, completely hand stitched with the utmost skill and care.

This photo shows the inside of a reproduction pannier hoop~ you can see the ties inside it that shape the wooden cane hoops, just like the original one. This one is property of Ladye Georgianna Juniper....
I would describe my Grande Dames as my 'dollye couture', as they are the best of the best that I make. Every now and then, on very special occasions, these dollys and their owners could be invited to take part in special soiree's and events....dolly's do love to party....and who could resist a chance to have new clothes made!

This is the quilt pattern I drafted for Ladye G's quilted silk petticoat. The design as you see it is exactly taken from a 3rd quarter 18th century quilted petticoat, but because of the scale I am working, I did not quilt the zig zag in the center of the large swags.

It took me 42 hours of hand quilting to quilt this coat~ I used a precious baby pink silk taffy over a flannel lining for a smidge of loft


Spending so many hours on her coat, I didn't want to cover it all over with a dress or robe, so Ladye G is getting a jacket to match~ a reproduction c1720-40. This is the first sleeve being pinned in.


I love to work with silk, but it does ravel, so all the seam allowances that are showing get overcast.

This is her basic jacket's bodice completed. The front flaps are faced, and awaiting to be joined with the skirting
I fit the pleats to her waist before fitting them to the jacket, to be sure they layed correctly

Here is the back view of her new jacket. The hem of the skirting will have some wonderful trim, and the front will be laced over a stomacher....but that is left for us tomorrow.....

Hazards of Summer never change...

It is officially summer vacation here, the children out of school 2 weeks late due to the construction on their new school slowing things up a bit. They are all so excited, and we will be setting up the big pool this week, so , like every summer, I was giving Josh the lecture of what he can, and cannot do. As his eyes started to glaze over, a little book I have here at the Museum came to my mind. Seems things never change, and it is reassuring in a way, that the cycles of life and our habits stay basically the same over time. Hundreds of years could pass between generations, and yet, at the same time each summer, we both share common occurrences and rituals.

The little book I have, shown above, is a wondrous little children's book printed in 1834. Referred to as 'Chap books', they were published specifically for children. This is at a time when childhood as we all know it, was coming into itself~ no longer small adults, children were allowed to play and grow, physically, mentally and spiritually, before they actually reached 'adulthood'.

"Book of Accidents", as it is called, is a tiny 24 page book filled with stories aimed to instruct and teach a child what not to do. Each page is a different subject, or accident, and is complete with its own very graphic engraving of the consequences.

Pg. 19 reads:

"Boy Drowning."

A number of poor boys are drowned every year, from not being sensible of the danger of water. They go into ponds and rivers without knowing the depth, and by venturing too far, they sink to rise no more.

Boys should never bathe but in baths made for the purpose; or if they go into deep waters, never to bathe without being attended by those who can help them when necessary."