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| Laundry Day |
What does it mean to have a 19th century
lifestyle? To me to have or live a 19th century lifestyle is more
than just dressing up in 19th century clothing. In my efforts to
explore Victorian period America I attempt to experiment with different decades
of the period, the different lifestyles of the people throughout America.
I became fascinated with the pioneering lifestyle of the
early American when I was just a boy.I loved the heroics and rugged manliness of characters like Danial Boone, Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill, and the old west personalities of Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, and Bat Masterson. These were men's men who were not afraid to throw down and defend what they believed in. This was my idea of 19th century America.
The heroic tales of the above mentioned men only scratches the surface of the19th century. Countless other Americans toiled away in factories, on plantations, small farms, or in the many other mundane professions and labours of the day. An example of this is laundry; someone had to do it. In a city if you were well off you might be able to have you clothing washed by a laundress, but if you lived rurally or poor you would have to do it yourself. I spent a summer washing all of my clothing by hand in a washtub with a washboard (above). It was hard work, but it felt quite rewarding.
In an effort to explore all 19th century avenues available to me I have taken on many roles. In my daily life I find myself at a desk in suit and tie laboring away at my duties. There are other times I spend farming on a small piece of land, or in a field tent cooking on the open fire. My goal is to make my best attempt at emulating the lives all the everyday people who forges their way in America in the 19th century. Although I still prefer the rugged lives of those hearty pioneers who traveled west to make new lives for themselves and their families I will make special attempts to explore other avenues of the Victorian era.
R.P. Black
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