Overview
This complete guide, first published in 1884, presents over a hundred devices whose aim was to "lighten the labor and 'save steps' for overworked house keepers" both inside and outside the home. Written at a time when a whole range of nonelectrical household mechanisms were first becoming widespread, Household Conveniences offers an amazing picture of everyday home life in the late nineteenth century. Perhaps even more amazing though, is how relevant and useful many of these devices continue to be today. With chapters on the kitchen, the cellar, and the sitting room, among others, the reader is introduced to such procedures as canning fruit and vegetables, easy handwashing of clothes, and the making of soap, as well as to such quirky tools as the foot scraper and the clothesline elevator. A refreshingly old-fashioned alternative guide to our modern era of mass production, Household Conveniences will prove an edifying read for history buffs or those who want to put this knowledge to practical use. (4 1/2 x 7 1/4, 240 pages, illustrations)