Author: Clint Curtis

Women valued their hair so very much that medicines were peddled expressly catering to the vanity. Victorian-American women cared so much about their long tresses, it seems, that they went so far as to augment thin hair (or replace what had been lost to time, illness, or punishment). Why did Victorians have such long hair? […]

In the Victorian era, divorce was extremely expensive. It entailed to loss of property and wealth. As the property and wealth were accumulated from generations in the family, obtaining a divorce was neither economical nor socially practical. Thus, it was not an acceptable norm in the Victorian era. How did Victorians view divorce? Victorian Marriage […]

Victorian art is a name derived from time-period and encompasses the styles of art that were produced during the Victorian Era, a period identified as the time of Queen Victoria’s reign. What defines Victorian art? Victorian art reflected most of the Christian and Royal ideas of the time. It comprised past and present paintings, a […]

As the Victorian era neared its end, both fanchons and bonnets were still popular styles. Fanchons were flashier, while bonnets were a bit more modest. What are the Victorian hats called? bonnetsAs you probably already know, bonnets were the number one women’s headwear choice in the 1830s because this is when women liked big hair […]

The Victorians had the F-word, the C-word and all that. They were just slightly more restrained about using them. How did they swear in Victorian era? Maybe “Blast!” if you want something mild. Maybe “Christ!” if you don’t mind blasphemy. But “damn” wouldn’t be out of place. Victorians used real, live curse words; it’s just […]

Where did poor Victorians go to school? Poor children sometimes had the opportunity of attending a church school, but these schools had very poor facilities with class sizes of up to 100 children. However, from 1880 the law changed and all children between the ages of 5 to 10 had to go to school. Did […]

“The salutation is the term of politeness used to introduce a letter, as Dear Sir, My Dear Friend, My Honored Father. Business letters generally begin with Sir, Dear Sir, Messrs. or Gentlemen. Never use ‘gents. How do you begin a letter? Formal letters always have a greeting at the beginning of the written content as […]

Just about every Victorian man in Great Britain, and many in the United States, had elaborate facial hair, with even Prince Albert maintaining a neat mustache. Why were beards such a popular male facial hair style in the 19th century, and why are our pop culture icons and political leaders mostly clean-shaven now? Did men […]

Poor people could work in mines, in mills and factories, or in workhouses. Whole families would sometimes have to work so they’d all have enough money to buy food. Children in poor families would have jobs that were best done by people who weren’t very tall. What jobs did boys do in the Victorian era? […]

There are four kinds of coats which the Victorian gentleman must have: a morning coat, a frock coat, a dress coat, and an overcoat. What coats did Victorian men wear? For day wear they wore a frock coat with straight trousers, a short waistcoat and a shirt with a high stiff collar. The single- or […]