Victorian Verity
Donna Ross
Looks at
Life, Love and Laughter
in the Nineteenth Century
Come
Frolic on the Fringe of FEAR!
Follow
the Red Horseman link to learn about a delightfully deft and daffy discourse
on The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. And what a deal! During these days
when everyone is looking for a bargain, Mrs. McBustle throws in a fifth horseman
for free. You don't even need a money-saving
coupon!
Trivia
Test
A Civil War shinplaster was something to:
A. Cure
one's aching leg.
The
Victorian View of Female Brainpower
"It is injudicious of ladies to attempt arguing with gentlemen on political
or financial topics. All the information that a woman can possibly acquire or
remember on the subject is so small that the discussion will not elevate them
in the opinion of the masculine mind."
--Eliza Leslie The Behavior Book, 1859.
Fascinating
Fact
George Eastman established his Dry Plate Co. in 1881 to mass produce cameras.
In 1888 he premiered a camera preloaded with 100 exposures at the price of $25.00.
In those days a school teacher might earn $400.00 a year.
VICTORIAN
DATE WITH DISASTER
1849 wreaked havoc on St. Louis. Not only did the steamer White Cloud set fire
to the docks and burn nine city blocks, over four thousand people died in the
city's worst Cholera epidemic. During one week in July, 651 died within the
city limits. The primary cause was the disease-festering open cesspool and slaughterhouse
dump known as Chouteau's Pond.
St.
Louis based public speaker and speech consultant, Donna Ross, presents three
ladies of the 19th Century. Donna recreates the life and times of Marguerite
McNair, first First Lady of the state of Missouri and of mid-century celebrity
Jessie Benton Fremont for a painless lesson in history. Donna's light and satiric
gilded age matron, Mrs. McBustle, will regale you with songs and games.
WIT
AND WISDOM FROM OSCAR WILDE
THE PURE AND SIMPLE TRUTH
ABOUT THE TRUTH IS
THE TRUTH IS RARELY PURE, AND NEVER SIMPLE.
Trivia
Answer
What
is a shinplaster?
B. Spend
Confederate
States printed
vast numbers of bills
including fractions like
the shinplaster (worth
three cents.)
Imagine the joke when
inflation reached 90%
B. Spend
C. Eat because it's a cut of pork
D. Rub on the scalp to prevent baldness
(Answer at the end of this page.)
Want to read a feature story about me in the Times?
Feb.5, 2010.
"From Jack the Ripper to James Gordon Bennett, Jr."
If the link doesn't work, copy and paste the following into your browser.
http://www.timesnewspapers.com/Articles-Features-c-2010-02-04-168604.113118-sub-From-Jack-The-Ripper-To-James-Gordon-Bennett-Jr.html
If you'd like to slake your curiosity about the Gilded Age of the Victorian Era, I invite you to visit my alter ego at Fedoraamis.com.
In Jack the Ripper in St. Louis, Fedora whisks you to the good old days when reformers like Carrie Nation smashed whisky bottles and beer barrels, yet there were no regulations on drugs.
Let Jemmy McBustle take you back to 1897 St. Louis.
