Chinese Paper-Hangings

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Last month I wrote a general article about paper-hangings in the Regency. That was the first in a series of articles I have planned on various aspects of paper-hangings. In this article, I am going to focus on one of the more expensive and fanciful genres of paper-hangings, those imported from China, and the imitations of those papers made in Europe.

The Prince Regent was very fond of Chinese papers, and used them lavishly in his residences. And, of course, only the very best, and therefore the most expensive, papers would do for him. It was one of the reasons he was so heavily in debt for all of his various building and decorating projects. Following the Prince’s lead, Chinese papers began to appear in a number of great houses across England, and retained a certain popularity even into the Regency.

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The English Print Room Phenomenon

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

In recent weeks I have written about both paper-hangings and the private display of art during the Regency. Those divergent topics intersected during the second half of the eighteenth century and through the decade of the Regency to produce a unique phenomenon which occurred in the decoration of rooms in many private houses. However, this phenomenon was restricted primarily to England, though there were some instances of it in Ireland and America at about the same time.

The phenomenon of the English Print Room …

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Marriage at Gretna Green   by Jane Lark

Ah, June, a popular month for weddings. And during the Regency, quite a number of those weddings took place at the small village of Gretna Green, the first hamlet over the English border in Scotland. Last year, Jane Lark, whose most recent Regency is The Scandalous Love of a Duke, spent some time in modern-day Gretna Green. Today, she shares with us what she learned about the famous, or infamous, Scottish capital of clandestine wedding.

What really happened in Gretna Green …

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Regency Diamonds — A Banked Fire

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Most people today are familiar with modern diamonds which have been cut with great precision, giving them the mathematically exact facet size and number which allows them to reflect and refract light for optimum brilliance or fire. These precise cutting techniques were first discovered and introduced into the diamond industry in the early twentieth century. Yet I have read any number of Regency novels in which the heroine or some other character has acquired a diamond which by description is clearly a diamond of a modern cut, a diamond which could not possibly have existed during the Regency. In fact, all of the diamonds which were available during the Regency would appear rather dull when compared to diamonds cut after the early 1920s.

And now, how the diamond intensified its sparkle across the centuries …

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Registration for Mini Conference & Soiree

Just a reminder that registration is open for the Beau Monde’s mini conference!

Quick details: The conference will be held Wednesday, July 23rd in San Antonio (kicking off the national RWA conference!). Registration includes breakfast, lunch (featuring our keynote speaker Vicky Dreiling) and delicious treats at the soiree, plus access to six Regency-themed workshops!

For more information (and to register) check out the link here: http://thebeaumonde.com/resources/annual-conference. Early Bird prices available until June 15, 2014. Full conference fees include breakfast, lunch and soiree (available separately).

We hope to see you there!

Fashionable Medicine   by Regina Scott

Regina Scott, whose latest print book is The Husband Campaign, shares with us some fads in medicine which held sway during the Regency. As she points out, the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same. Regina’s article makes an interesting follow-up to Angelyn Schmid’s article on Sir Henry Halford, a fashionable Regency doctor, posted last week.

After reading this article, do you think you prefer medical fads from the Regency or those from modern times?

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Physician to the Regency   by Angelyn Schmid

In today’s article, Regency author, Angelyn Schmid, provides some details about Sir Henry Halford. A physician to the ton during the Regency, Halford was a real-life historical character who made an appearance in one of Georgette Heyer’s most delightful novels, Cotillion.

As you read Angelyn’s article, consider whether or not you would like to have Sir Henry Halford as your doctor.

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The Tantalus Did Not Tantalize!

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Certainly not during the years of the English Regency. And yet, in the past couple of years, I have read perhaps a dozen novels set during the Regency in which characters select a decanter containing their alcoholic beverage of choice from a tantalus. And never once did any of these characters use a key to liberate their preferred libation from this devious device.

So, what is a tantalus, and when did it make its debut on the stage of English domestic furnishings?

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Prescription for Sagging Middles   by Cheryl Bolen

Award-winning Regency romance author, Cheryl Bolen, whose romance novel, A Lady By Chance, is part of the Scandalous Brides boxed set, offers some valuable writing tips. In today’s article, Cheryl shares some secrets from a prolific author on how to avoid those sagging middle sections which can bog down a great story.

Perhaps some of these tips will be just the thing you need to help you liven up the middle part of your book when your enthusiasm for the story begins to flag.

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The Dandy Chargers — 2014 Riding Season

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Thanks to a dedicated group of aficionados known as the Dandy Chargers, the velocipede, which Georgette Heyer fans know as the pedestrian curricle, is not a thing of the past. Each year, the Dandy Chargers don Regency dress and ride their historically accurate "dandy-horses" at various historic estates and other venues in Great Britain. Thus, those who would like to see these vehicles in action as they might have appeared during the Regency have an opportunity to do so at one of the Dandy Chargers’ appearances this year.

The 2014 schedule of the Dandy Chargers fourteenth riding season …

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Pianoforte vs. Harpsichord

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

It is during the years of the Regency that the popularity of these two musical instruments intersect, one rising, the other waning. In fact, many of the more affluent homes during this period had both keyboard instruments. But though they are somewhat similar in appearance, they are very different in terms of their construction, their "touch" when being played, and the quality and volume of the sounds which they can produce.

A number of musical instrument makers produced both types of instruments during these years. Many notable composers composed music for both instruments, including Bach, Mozart, Handel, Haydn, Beethoven, and Scarlatti. Yet, by the time the Regency was over, the pianoforte had won out over the harpsichord. The victory was so complete that vast numbers of harpsichords were destroyed all over Europe. In the Paris Conservatory, for example, they were smashed and used as firewood.

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Coal:   Heat Source or Gemstone?

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Both, actually.

Coal is just rock, after all. But a most interesting sedimentary rock, which is not only highly flamable, but it can be fairly easily carved and takes a high polish. However, by the Regency, coal was much more likely to be burned than worn. A concise chronicle of coal culminating in the Regency …

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It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Clock

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

Well, by now, it might be. But there were no grandfather clocks anywhere during the Regency because the song by which they acquired their name had yet to be written. However, by the beginning of the Regency, nearly every affluent household, and some more prosperous middle-class households, were in possession of a very expensive, free-standing clock in a tall wooden case resembling a coffin.

This symbol of prosperity would begin to loose its status even before the debut of the song which changed its name. By the beginning of the reign of William IV, brother of the erstwhile Prince Regent, the Industrial Revolution had set its sights on that most complicated device, the clock. From about 1830, most clocks were no longer made by hand, they were made by machine. Other technological factors had also come into play which reduced the consequence of these once purposeful clocks.

The development and importance of the long-case clock during the Regency and how its name was changed …

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City of Laughter:   Sex and Satire in Eighteenth-Century London   A Review By Cheryl Bolen

Cheryl Bolen, award-winning Regency romance author, today reviews an important historical reference with which most Regency authors and aficionados will want to be aware. As Cheryl point out, this book is most definitely not for children, but it is a treasure trove of previously unpublished images and information. She has added this book to her own Regency research library, and many other Regency devotees may very well want to do the same.

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Puzzle Jugs in the Regency

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

A diverting drinking vessel which could be found in village inns and public houses for centuries had a resurgence in popularity in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. These vessels had been made throughout England and northern Europe since at least the fifteenth century. Most commonly called puzzle jugs, they were also sometimes called teasing pitchers or wager jugs. It was a challenge to determine how to drink the liquor which they contained and wagers were often placed on the outcome of the attempt.

By the time of the Regency, puzzle jugs were being made not only for use in inns and taverns, but also for home use. Many gentlemen enjoyed entertaining their male visitors with drinking games using their own puzzle jugs.

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The Ha-Ha Revisited   By Angelyn Schmid

Today, Angelyn Schmid shares with us her research into that fiendishly clever barrier which was often found within the grounds of English country estates, the ha-ha. By use of a ha-ha, the view from the manor house would be over an unbroken rolling green sward, but any cattle, sheep, or other animals which were grazing on the other side of the ha-ha would be unable to approach any nearer the house. Angelyn’s article will give you other important details with regard to a ha-ha, should you wish to incorporate one into an upcoming story.

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Educating Your Daughters — A Guide to English Boarding Schools in 1814   By Susanna Ives

In today’s article, Susanna Ives, most recently author of Wicked Little Secrets, gives us some insights into the education of young women two centuries ago. Compare the usual course of study which was typically provided to these young ladies to the education of young gentlemen which was shared with us earlier this month by Cheryl Bolen.

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How to Learn What Regency Gentlemen Knew   By Cheryl Bolen

Would you like to get inside the head of a Regency romance hero? Would you like to better understand his upbringing, education and what society would expect from him as a gentleman? In today’s article, award-winning Regency romance author, Cheryl Bolen, tells us about an instruction manual, written in the form of letters from a peer to his son, which explains what a young gentleman about town needs to know to succeed in life.

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Anastasius — The Novel Which Made Byron Weep!

A cross-post from The Regency Redingote:

With jealousy!   Because he did not write it.

Initially published anonymously in the last year of the Regency, this racy novel telling the tales of a young Greek’s adventurous travels through the Levant was a runaway best seller and remained in print for thirty years. Yet few today even know of its existence. It was originally attributed to Lord Byron, but in the second edition, published the following year, the shy yet cultured man who wrote it admitted his authorship. And practically no one believed him.

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Regency Debt and Prisons   By Ann Lethbridge

In today’s article, Ann Lethbridge, author of Falling for the Highland Rogue, completes her two-part series on Regency prisons, in particular, the two other debtors prisons located in London. After reading today’s article, you may consider imprisonment in the Fleet prison rather a treat when compared to these other prisons.

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