Getting Personally Acquainted With The Bourdaloue

Since having this blog- There are a few things I have realized:

1. I'm not very good at making the time to write posts. 

2. I have all these "great" ideas of things I want to share with you swimming around in my head... but it seems like I never have the time.. or never make the time.. So I decided to Make the time ( even if this is a short post)

3. I wanted this blog to be a space for deeper explanation on the research I am always doing and the workings of my Historical Apothecary lab as well as my Successes and Failures.. but so far it hasn't happened. Hopefully in the future I'll work on actually sharing more. So for staters I'm going to work on small posts....like this one!

WARNING: Information and photos below will get pretty personal- This post is for those that want more in-depth information on how to use their Bourdaloue.. So you have been warned. 

 Getting Personally Acquainted With The Bourdaloue

Above shows various reproduced Bourdaloues from J. Henderson Artifacts. I won't go into detail about the history of them just take type in Bourdaloue and you will get tons of information.     

            

Having a little fun here as I have my Maidservant bring me my bourdaloue-  Notice the "Private Residence" Sign ( available at Spring Valley Lodge)

                                    

A bourdaloue is ( in the most blunt term) a pee pot for women which came about because of a French Jesuit preacher who was pretty long winded at the pulpit and apparently bathroom breaks were not allowed, as a result these were invented. They say women set their pots on the floor and went as needed. I don't know how much I believe the pots sat on the floor and women relieved themselves right there.. I understand times were different then, but from practice, I can tell you that I would personally have an issue if I was expected to set mine on the floor and aim. ( I told you it would get personal) 

After using my bourdaloue for a while, I have learned which methods work best and which don't.... and standing and aiming.. or sitting in a pew and aiming.... wouldn't work without a mess.. unless you are extremely talented. So I'm here to get you started on the path to Bourdaloue happiness. Trust me once you get one and figure it out.. you will say goodbye to port-a-johns for those number 1 runs. 

I probably don't need to say this, but your bourdaloue is reserved for #1's only.  They are actually shaped in a specific way which will help prevent messes and make things super easy.

 Lets Start.

First and foremost it's a good plan to have both a bourdaloue and a chamber pot!

You will need both because you will have to empty out your bourdaloue for the next use.. but collecting urine was important. Historically it was used for a lot of things, like removing stains.  I have heard women still say that there is no stain remover like urine. 

Now that you have your Chamber Pot and Bourdaloue, we need to cover 2 important things that are required for getting the most ease out of your bourdaloue.

     NUMBER 1: NO Bloomers/ or another shorts that some wear under their historical gowns. I know this seems uncomfortable, but when you get use to it.. You don't even notice, besides in the 18th century - women didn't have bloomers or pantalettes. 

NUMBER 2: ARE YOU READY FOR THIS????  NO UNDIES... Yep! no undies. Trust me it makes it a lot easier.. Some will say.. I'll just take them off or pull them down... That sort of defeats the whole purpose of the ease of having a bourdaloue. I tried for a while.. but really when it came down to it.. It was to much of a hassle dealing with them when you have to go. So no undies ( Take one for the team- Go Historical)

Now that we have that out of the way lets get down to business...

So the photos that follow were taken on Halloween and obviously you would lift your skirts! I think you will get the just of it!

 There are 2 methods that work really well. 

 Option 1: I call this the "Handy Hand" - You would lift your skirts with one hand and hold the bourdaloue with your other. This works fine, but it's always nice to wipe when finished, and when you have your hands full you can't do that as well. This is nice because you have control over your bourdaloue and your gowns. Take a look at the painting by Francois Bucher. This woman is obviously wealthy, she has her skirts held up to keep clean and her "rag" next to her. Notice a little squat is necessary. You will need to assume the position below if you are using the "Handy Hand" method.

                                              

                                     Image by Francois Boucher

          Option 1 Above: " The Handy Hand"-remember to have your rag or tp handy. You will need to assume the squat position and hold your pot as close as needed with your one hand and your skirts with the other.

 Above is the first option which works well enough,  a little squatting is necessary in order to make things easier. The one thing I don't like about the HANDY HAND is that all your hands are occupied, so it makes it difficult to wipe quickly. You have to have things a bit more prepped for option 1.  If you have your maidservant helping you.. well then you really shouldn't have any issues and don't really need to worry about things because she will likely take your pot from you allowing a free hand to wipe quick.

         Option 2 is a bit different and requires a different position.

 Option 2:  I call this "The Standing Squeeze". This option uses your thigh muscles to hold the pot firmly allowing no spilling, also allowing you to stand straight and have your hands free.

  ( Pictured below)

I like this option because it is so simple. You don't have to worry about your garments getting in the way of things because your pot is securely tucked up where no messes can happen. Plus this leaves your hands free to get your tp and prep the chamberpot ( if necessary). 

Inorder to achieve the Standing Squeeze, you would lift your skirts just enough to get your pot under and have your thighs secure it. Remember it's specifically shaped to fit tightly in that area. You can then let down your skirts and stand as normal. Once finished you will hold the pot with your thighs until you can securely pull it out and empty it with one hand and wipe with the other. 
 

Option 2 Above: " The Standing Squeeze"

If I was asked which I prefer. I have to honestly say, I use the Standing Squeeze a lot because I find it easier than holding up all my skirting, plus when it's chilly, it keeps you warmer as well. Just remember when you are finished to empty the contents of the bourdaloue into your chamber pot.

That pretty much covers it! You are on your way to mastering the Bourdaloue!

I know that not many of us have reproduced Bourdaloues yet, but it's something to think about. It is ergonomically made to fit up tight so there is no spilling and you can easily go while standing- you don't need to squat. It sure beats taking walks to the port-a-johns all the time to pee. Below is a better look- you can see how they are designed for our lady parts. 

A look inside a Bourdaloue

If you would like to get your hands on one- check in with  J. Henderson Artifacts. They are the ones who make them and they do an amazing job. I also know this can be considered a touchy subject, but lets face it- It's LIFE-. It's how women historically were able to relieve themselves in an easy and functional way even with all their petticoat layers.

 I love mine and you will too!

Once you give it a try- you will wonder why you lived so long without one!!! 

Post 2 of 3: Scare Tactics, Small Pox, and the Revolution Towards Natural Beauty

          

              Gilles Edme Petit after François Boucher
             "Woman at her toilette" Musée du Louvre

...Mouches were first used to cover up marks left by Small Pox...

               
                 
       
                         

In this post we will look at specific propaganda used to educate about cosmetics laced with chemicals, and how the inoculation of small pox helped change the ideal beauty standard.

A companion to yae-ough : gaping is catching.
England 1800 walpole@yale.edu.

In mid 18^th century Europe, the medical community started terrifying their readers with grotesque pictures and drawings in order to scare them away from chemically laced cosmetics.  Examples of their “mass education tactics” included drawings of women missing teeth with bright red rouge, like the one pictured above. The missing teeth were a result of the mercury found in rouges.[1]  Remember for choosing and making rouges, lead oxide and cinnabar were to be avoided. Their replacements were natural plants like sandalwood, saffron, and alkanet.  Other "scare tactic" examples included  rotting, crumbling teeth, or abundant discharges of saliva. Drawing like this showed the results of using these cosmetics, including death ( pictured in the previous blog). Healthy teeth were important because they were an expression of over all beauty and sexuality in the 18^th century. This could be one reason we see so many recipes for taking care of the teeth in gums.

Small Pox & Beauty

"In hopes of clearing up a face scarred by pox" 

A face that did not have any scars or marks on was very important to the beauty and sexuality of the 18th century. Many women adopted the wearing of paint as a means to cover up scars and other marks of diseases, especially those left by Small Pox. Chemicals, like lead, are able to get into the blood stream with any type of open sore. Essentially, women who were using lead laced paint to cover up their pox marks [2]

Small Pox

weren’t really doing their body any favors. This is why the vaccination for small pox had such an affect on the artifice for cosmetics. Not everyone accepted the idea of the vaccination.  One method to educate the public, was putting out information on the inoculation. 

Sir Robert Blackmore’s dissertation
 on “the modern practice
 of inoculation”, 1723.
© The Wellcome Library, London

By the late 18th century incidents of small pox in France had declined with the new vaccination, but there were still huge issues in trying to get the lower class to take advantage of the inoculations.

In order to do this, some Dr’s harassed the fathers of lower class families until they agreed to inoculate their family.  Doctors’ believed that if they could prevent the small pox, they could change the types of cosmetics that were worn and desired by women.  One Doctor was known to say to the fathers of a lower class families, “ Why does the Parisian obstinately wish to see the nose and cheeks of his daughters eaten and scarred… when they could conserve the polish…which would make them the most charming creatures of Europe?” [3] In the American colonies, the practice of smallpox inoculation was much less common because they passed laws that prohibited and regulated it, for fear that it may do more harm than good. 

I think a good argument could be made here,  as a result of the inoculation for small pox, women were less likely to have scared faces, resulting in more confidence in their looks and requiring less white paint. This would lead to a new cosmetic movement in the later 18^th century, using less makeup, more waters, and natural ingredients for cosmetics with an overall focusing on natural beauty.  We are sort of in the same movement today. Do you use natural cosmetics & toilette waters?

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[1] Le Camus, Abdeker, ou l’art de conserver la beaute’ I:203-4

[2] Martin, Morag Selling Beauty 2009

[3] Mercier, Tableau de Paris, ch.342, I:927

Part 1 of 3 Lets talk Lead: Dispelling The Historical Myth, 18th Century Dr's, & Finding It In Today’s Cosmetics

Part 1 of 3

These few posts will focus on 18th century education and awareness of lead and other chemicals as well as the beginning of beauty books.  I have a lot of information, so I decided to split it up into 3 separate blog posts. Lets start with our modern over the counter lipstick and work out way backwards.

Did you know that today many of the brands of lipsticks you purchase still have lead in them?

       Think again about your lipstick!

In 2013 a study was done where they asked girls to hand over their lipsticks and glosses. They found unhealthy traces of: aluminum, cadmium, chromium, and manganese. Here is the unsettling part: Lead, was detected in 75% of the samples [1]The FDA responded to a number of inquiries into the lead saying, "FDA's studies have found no lead levels that would pose safety concerns when lipstick is used as intended." [2]

The problem with this is that it's intended to only be worn on the lips, not accidentally ingested- which is so often the case. In 18^th century Europe Dr's. were already working towards an all natural cosmetic revolution because they knew the dangers of lead and other harmful chemicals in cosmetics.

There were many treaties on health published during the early to mid 16^th-17^th centuries. Current medical knowledge considered cosmetics as medicines to be used on the skin and face.[3] During this time, a majority of these works overlooked the dangers of chemicals. Therefore, many recipes previous to the 18^th century contained poisonous chemicals like lead and mercury. Thanks to these early works, the myth of lead has stayed with us. It is an 18th century myth that all cosmetics were harmful and it needs to be debunked- and here is why!

 By the late 17^th and early 18^th century, it is documented that medical manuals were already starting to correct mistakes of their earlier writings.  Therefore, the issues with lead and other chemicals were well known by the medical community and they were already working to educate and resolve the mistakes of past centuries. The question soon became: How can we educate the masses?

 (Mrs. Catherine Macaulay) sits at her dressing table dipping a brush into a jar of rouge.

 "Speedy and effectual preparation for the next world"
1777 London. walpole@yale.edu.

In the early to mid 18^th century, Doctors had begun the ardent task of educating their patients on cleanliness, how to prevent illness, and most importantly the consequences of using chemically laced cosmetics ( pictured above). They started making lists of what ingredients were acceptable and what were not. For example, rouge recipes from plants like sandalwood, saffron, and alkanet were acceptable, but lead oxide, and cinnabar were to be avoided. [4] The push was towards rouges made with vegetable and animal substances. This new scientific data lead to a movement focused on natural beauty and non-harmful ingredients. In order to spread this movement and educate the public, many doctors decided on scare tactics first, and then, secondly they devised to publish beauty books and oversee women at their toilettes to instruct and educate them on proper looks, product use, and application. By writing these recipe books, they were able to dictate to women what was fashionable, what cosmetics one must make and wear or must not wear, and how they should be applied. This idea of Dr's controlling what was beautiful by writing beauty manuals stayed popular until the 20th century. By this time the books were massive volumes with photos dedicated to every aspect of medicinal and beauty care for the whole family.

"1913 Domestic Medical Practice" Vinegar & Elder Leaf

 Bandages For The Eyes and Chin"

1913 Domestic Medical Practice. This

Includes many sections on women's

beauty. 

 Probably the most notable method of fighting against chemically laced cosmetics and working towards the goal of Natural and Safe beauty products was finding a way to prevent Small Pox. Doctors’ believed that if they could prevent small pox, they could change the types of cosmetics that were worn and desired by women. In the next post we will look at specific propaganda used to educate about lead, cosmetics laced with chemicals, and how the inoculation of small pox helped change the ideal beauty standard.

So the next time you hear someone talk about the lead in the 18^th century educate them and explain that the lipstick they are wearing, if bought at a store… probably contain lead.

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[1] Mercier, Tableau de Paris, ch.342, I:927

[2] FDA.GOV

[3] See de Renou. Oeuvres pharmaceutiques, 80

[4] Buc’hoz, Toilette de flore 198; Jaubert, Dictionnaire raisonne universel des arts et métiers, 3:362-63

Book Cover - Historical Fiction Novel

I mentioned on the fan page that I was asked to be on the cover of a new book- the first in the series- coming out soon!

This is the first cover I have accepted and I am really excited! I love the idea of a fictional series and historical mystery novel that deals with everyday life circumstances, class, family, and COSMETICS!

Steph Cain- has skillfully created an enticing historical novel with a female heroine. What I really appreciate is that Steph has made a considerable effort to make the novel as historically accurate as possible. She does point out, on her blog, that she is not an expert, and welcomes discussions amongst those with an interest in 18^th century colonial America. So please feel free to start a discussion after getting acquainted with the characters on her blog.

Follow her blog here:  Verity Chronicles

The series is titled: 'Murder and other Alements’

It is set in the colony of New York in 1763.

Meet Verity Partridge

A unique girl with a unique name that came from an upper middle class family and married for love against her families wishes. Her late husband owned and ran a successful brewery, which she took over after his death.

“She could already hear what he ( her father) was going to say. …She wondered if he might be right….It was high time for her to come to her senses! She must immediately sell her late husband’s brewery and move home where she belonged. She had heard it before.  Entirely too many times.”

 Verity desires to preserve the family business until her eldest son would be able to take the brewery over. Like many women of the time, She discovers that she possesses a genuine gift for business. Will she be cunning enough to make that happen?

Verity, like many widowed colonial women kept her husbands business running while still running her family. She reminds me a lot of a woman named Mary Alexander (1693-1760) who also lived in Colonial New York – a bit before Verity. I like to think… paving the way for her.

Mary Alexander

In 1711, she married Samuel Prevoost an importer who died around 1720. Together they had 3 children and ran a mercantile business specializing in “haberdashery”. We know she helped run the business because we have records of her purchasing stock for their store. She, like Verity possessed a genuine gift for business.  After her 1^st husband died she continued to run the shop and remarried James Alexander, an attorney & politician. They had 7 more kids – only 5 lived to adult hood.  This amazing woman continued to run her first husbands store- which was located on Broad Street in NY City. Mary Alexander became one of the leading merchants in New York City. She died in 1760.

Mary Alexander (1693-1760)

British-America Laws 

In the18^th century British-America laws were in place that did not allow married women to own property. They could not sue or even sign contracts and yet, many women ran and managed their own businesses, using their name and/or the name of their husband. This was very common in Verity’s situation as she was widowed. Naturally she had the option of taking over her husbands business after he passed, but some of the older generation - like her father- thought it improper.

Mix all this daily life into an awesome mystery case and you have something that resembles- Miss Marple. Which I Love!

Verity has to go visit her father in a strange emergency situation and comes to find out his housekeeper has mysteriously run away. Verity finds some really strange clues around her father’s large estate. Therein is where the mystery lies. Could it be Murder???

In my opinion, this novel also has a hint of the 1740 novel titled- Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded.  Which is why I found Steph Cain’s novel so intriguing. I am thrilled to be providing the cover. It’s a wonderfully good mystery told with whit and humor!

Follow her on her blog: Verity Chronicles and I’ll keep you abreast of updated information as well. The book will be published on Amazon. I Can’t Wait.

Sources:

http://veritychronicles.com

Blog of the NY historical Society Library

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The Art of Replicating Historical Recipes

1772 Orange Flower Cold Cream- Toilet De Flora

              The Art of Replicating Historical Recipes

Having a historical recipe doesn’t mean we can just copy it - like we would to make chocolate chip cookies! YUM!

I thought I’d take this first blog post to list some important aspects I have learned over the years of reading and replicating these recipes.

Things that can’t be over looked:

1     -  Making sure that if there are translations they are  translated correctly?

2     - Good to Remember -Just because the ingredients are listed one right after another doesn’t mean that is the order in which they are added.

3     - Do the ingredients have another name? Many of our names for things today were different in years past.

4    - What is the description of the listed ingredients? Sometimes I need to do a lot of researching to even begin to figure out what a specific ingredient is. Let’s start with something easy…. Lets say I am reproducing an 18^th century recipe that calls for spermaceti. 
Here are some questions I ask myself.

-  What is it?

-   Is it available on today’s market? If not what do I replace it with?

-   Is it safe?

-  What was its purpose historically?

-  What is its composition scientifically?

All these questions have to be asked, researched, and figured out before I can proceed. I do this for each “ingredient” listed.
so..lets say I'm researching spermaceti - 

 Spermaceti

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/559400/spermaceti

 “Spermaceti, a wax, liquid at body temperature, obtained from the head of a sperm whale 

(Above) Spermaceti- Solid Form

(Above) Spermaceti- Liquid Form

Spermaceti was used chiefly in ointments, cosmetic creams, fine wax candles, pomades, and textile finishing; later it was used for industrial lubricants. The substance was named in the mistaken belief that it was the coagulated semen of the whale… The spermaceti was separated from the oil by chilling in a process whalers called wintering; it congealed as a white crystalline, waxy solid. Chemically, pure spermaceti consists principally of cetyl palmitate and other esters of fatty acids with fatty alcohols and melts at about 44 °C (111 °F).

whaling in the 18th century, drawing from Cook expedition

So now we know a bit about spermaceti.  Did you know it is illegal now? Sperm whales are listed under the Endangered Species Act since 1970. In fact not to long ago, a man found a whole hoard of Spermaceti oil in the basement of the school where he worked. He started selling it on Ebay for 40.00 per oz. Needless to say he was caught and fined $2,000.00.

I obviously have to cross THAT off my “available” list. Next question: What can I use as a substitute?

When I have to change something out, I try and stay as close to the same chemical compound as I can. A good substitute for whale oil is Jojoba esters (solid form) or Jojoba Oil ( liquid form) - which is more common. It carries much of the same chemical composition and some even say it has additional superior traits to that of sperm oil.  Bonus for us!!

Jojoba Oil

So while I am able to keep much of the historical recipes genuine and not have to substitute out or replace anything, there are some cases in which I do and spermaceti is the most common. I always try as hard as I can to have the substituted ingredient be available from the same historical dates as the recipe - sometimes it works and other times it doesn't. So far I have been pretty successful at it.

                         More Questions that we need to ask.

5.     What’s missing?

 Historical recipes are funny. They were written in code most of the time so that not just anyone could reproduce them. This is even true for the Victorian books that have (at home) recipes. 

Recipe Books In My Personal Collection

The authors assumed that you had the “missing” knowledge needed in order to make the recipe work. If you didn’t have that knowledge - good luck. While some recipes are pretty straight forward, most aren’t. It is a good thing I hate instructions-  because there are rarely if ever any "how-tos" or guidelines. You just need to know and have the necessary knowledge.

6.   Measurements…. Conversions… OH MY

As we all know measurements and their descriptive names have changed throughout history. It seems pretty straightforward but let me tell you from experience, not all measurements are commonly known and/or may be misleading from how we think today. I could go on and on about this. But I’ll stop here.

READY!?!

Our recipe is in English, and we now know what we are substituting. We have figured out any and all historical names with the “new” updated ingredient names and what each ingredient does ( what it heals, what the cautions are… etc)- now we are ready to work on the measurements. After we get those figured out. We will compute everything to see if any ingredients or methods of preparation were left out of the recipe in order to “make things work properly”. Lots of recipes have many steps to complete or prepare ahead of time. For example if you are making a tincture- it can take months before that specific portion of the recipe is finished- just for one ingredient.  Next, we will gather all our ingredients, our notes, and see if we calculated things correctly the first time. If it doesn’t turn out.. it’s back to the “DRAWING BOARD” as they say..

This was a 1772 Pomatum for the face that I was working on. First try I failed and had to go back and recalculate everything. 2nd time I had everything figured out!

What does this all boil down too?

It comes down to knowledge and research… and more research… and a lot of math…and conversions (that is probably the one thing I dislike the most) and yet I am completely fascinated by the amount of knowledge and the know-how our ancestors had. I love “cracking” the historical recipe “codes” and searching down ingredients and when all of those things come together perfectly – I reproduce historical apothecary and cosmetic recipes. So I hope you will enjoy this blog and follow along as I share my adventures in the historical apothecary and cosmetic world!!

I try to be as meticulous and detail oriented in everything I do from research to the final stages in order to make sure all my products are accurate representations of history.  I also have some great videos on Youtube to help assist you with your new historical products. You can also check out my awesome Etsy shop.

www.litttlebits.etsy.com.