#edwardian life

[ghouljams]

no thoughts just simon roughly undoing your corset at the end of the night. idk how he'd be there without it being seen as improper or whatever or maybe hes your husband but i feel like it'd send me into subspace so quick.. kinda similar to shibari? idk.

The times when he's rough with your stays are few and far between, mostly he unlaces the (newly) double stranded thing with blunt nails that slip against the laces. His own knots so carefully tied keeping you held tight in what may as well be his embrace. His signature is already neatly embroidered on your modesty panel, his words neatly penned in bleeding ink professing all the places his lips would touch. Scandalous delivered before he ever made it to your marriage bed, you might add.

Oh no, Simon is very... deliberate with your stays. Possessive, even. His knot is one you can't undo, one that even he sometimes resorts to pulling between his teeth. It's a security you can't go against, a lock whose only key is held by Simon. He won't even let your maid touch your laces. You sit for him and arch into his touch as he threads one line, then another, and another. His fingers skim your chemise, his breath just barely even. You hang your head to feel his teeth graze the top knob of your spine as he pulls you tight, and takes the first swell of your breath between his fingers.

It's a beautiful thing. A second spine borrowed from your husband's hand. How each crossed thread holds its own knot at the center, how each lace ladders itself to climb up the looping of Simon's signature, his name just barely visible under the knots and laces. No, he doesn't tear at your stays. Swear at them maybe. Tell you he won't tie them so tight next time, a lie. But never tear.

Cut? Well, now that's another thing entirely. And you'd be lying if you said the press of his blade along your spine, slowly carving out your trapped breath, didn't make you squeeze your legs around the hand he'd already buried between them.

[inky-duchess]

Etiquette of the Edwardian Era and La Belle Époque: A Day in the Life of a Socialite

This is a new set of posts focusing on the period of time stretching from the late 19th century to the early 20th Century right up to the start of WWI. I'll be going through different aspects of life. This series can be linked to my Great House series as well as my Season post and Debutant post.

The socialite depending on her rank and country of origin, is the heart of the social world within this time period. It is she who hosts grand balls, attends them, hosts dinners where couples fall in love. But what does she get up to on a regular day?

Morning

The morning of the socialite usually began early - if she hadn't attended or hosted a ball the night before. Around 9, the Socialite would be awoken by the arrival of her hot water by her lady's maid. If she was married, she would have the luxury of staying in bed to eat breakfast. After she has eaten, she would ring for her lady's maid to help her dress. If she is not married, she would dress first and head downstairs and have breakfast with her unmarried sisters, her brothers and father. After breakfast, the married socialite would withdraw to her business of the day, such as meeting with the chef to discuss menus for the following days. She might look over paperwork and letters concerning the house, her social circle and for charities she supports. The unmarried Socialite might just jump straight into her charity work.

Midday - Afternoon

Luncheon would be served around 1. After luncheon, the ladies of the house may travel to appointments such as fittings or paying calls to friends. Paying calls means dropping in, leaving one's card at the door and being admitted for a chat or some tea. Unmarried socialites might be attended by a lady's maid. Socialites may attend charity meetings, board meetings at this time. Tea would be served around four. After the tea is finished, the children would be brought down to spend time with their mother. This might be the only time a Socialite mother saw her children.

Evening

On a quiet evening at home, around 8, the butler would signal the start of supper giving the family and any staying guests, 15mins or more to get ready. Lady's maids would already be upstairs at this point, helping their mistress with dressing. When the Socialite head downstairs, linger in the drawing room to chat with the family snf any guests they might have. She would withdraw to the drawing room for coffee and tea with the other ladies while the men stay in the dining room to drink and smoke. When the men have finished, they join the ladies before going up to bed for cards and such.

On evenings, she would be a guest, she would repeat most of the steps above but instead, travel to dinner in her carriage. She would arrive, be announced and then escorted to the salon to greet her hostess and her fellow guests. If unaccompanied, she would be accompanied to dinner by an eligible male guest who is know to her. She wouldn't stay over if she's unmarried but head home afterwards.

On evenings that she's hosting an event (must married), she would repeat all the steps from a quiet night at home but everything would be larger, grander. She would be downstairs early to see to the details, waisting in the drawing room to greet her guests.

Hobbies

Socialites don't work so they will usually spend their day keeping busy. Married Socialites of course have a household and family to run. But all Socialites had an array of hobbies to keep herself occupied. As mentioned before, a socialite would patron charities. These usually involved little to no actual labour, it was more about raising awareness, raising money and occasionally visiting - often censored - the places they were supporting. The socialite would often spend the day shopping, this was the era of the rise of the department store. She would also attend a dressmaker's for fittings and consultations. She might enjoy physical pursuits like tennis, horseback riding or taking the air, all of these will of course be moderate hobbies. Watercolours, music and embroidery were popular hobbies of the time.

[theygotlost]

inspired (rather loosely) by illustrators aubrey beardsley and john austen

[wonder-worker]

Thinking about Elizabeth Woodville as a gothic heroine is making me go insane. She entered the story by overturning existing social structures, provoking both ire and fascination. She married into a dynasty doomed to eat itself alive. She was repeatedly associated with the supernatural, both in terms of love and death. Her life was shaped entirely by uncanny repetitions - two marriages, two widowhoods, two depositions, two flights to sanctuary, two ultimate reclamations, all paralleling and ricocheting off each other. Her plight after 1483 exposed the true rot at the heart of the monarchy - the trappings of royalty pulled away to reveal nothing, a never-ending cycle of betrayal and war, the price of power being the (literal) blood of children. She lived past the end of her family name, she lived past the end of her myth. She ended her life in a deeply anomalous position, half-in and half-out of royal society. She was both a haunting tragedy and the ultimate survivor who was finally free.

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

~ Charles Courtney Curran, Among the Laurel Blossoms (1914)

via meisterdrucke.us

[lomotunes2008]

Ok folks! Here's a list of every Kerr Stuart narrow gauge engine I could find!

It was a struggle (most of these had basically zero info on them other than very, very basic stuff) but I tried my best! I've also included photos of each just for fun ^_^

Tattoo:

1284 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

1288 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

2395 - Current location: Apedale Valley Railway

4047 - Current location: Talyllyn Railway

Winston 17 - Current location: Corris Railway

Unknown - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

Skylark:

742 - Current location: Red Cliffs Railway

813/814/1360* - Current location: Mauritius

1281 - Current location: Pernambuco, Brazil

4389 - Current location: Alagoas, Brazil

Sirdar:

652 - Current location: Walvis Bay Station, Namibia

685 - Current location: Beaconsfield Heritage Centre

1158 - Current location: Amerton Railway

Wren:

1015 - Current location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

1194 - Current location: Santa Catarina, Brazil

2387 - Current location: Pattaya, Thailand

2388 - Current location: Falkland Islands

2392 - Current location: Falkland Islands

3114 - Current location: Vale of Rheidol Railway

3128 - Current location: Statfold Barn

4031 - Current location: Sandstone Steam Railway

4250 - Current location: Amerton Railway

4256 - Current location: Leighton Buzzard Railway

4260 - Current location: Leighton Buzzard Railway

Hunslet 3905 - Current location: Unknown

Hunslet 3906 - Current location: Kew Bridge

Brazil:

886 - Current location: Sittingbourne Railway

926 - Current location: Sittingbourne Railway

1049 - Current location: Great Whipsnade Railway

1179 - Current location: Santa Catarina, Brazil

1314 - Current location: Carribbean Islands

3024 - Current location: Cavan & Leitrim Railway

3025 - Current location: Private

4219 - Current location: Sittingbourne Railway

Hunslet 1842 - Current location: Statfold Barn

Hunslet 3756 - Current location: Statfold Barn

Hunslet 3902 - Current location: Stratford Barn

Darwin:

4063 - Current location: Sandstone Steam Railway

Joffre:

2405 - Current location: West Lancashire Railway

2442 - Current location: Richmond Light Railway

2451 - Current location: L&B Railway

3010 - Current location: Statfold Barn Railway

3014 - Current location: Apedale Railway

Unknown - Current location: A. Schweitzer Hospital

Haig:

3117 - Current location: Teifi Valley Railway

4183 - Current location: Western Springs Railway

4185 - Current location: Western Springs Railway

Huxley:

2383 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

4141 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

4393 - Current location: Nam Tu Mine Railway

Matary:

4034 - Current location: Great Whipsnade Railway

4193 - Current location: Alagoas, Brazil

4404 - Current location: Welshpool Railway

Unknown class:

98 - Current location: Pernambuco, Brazil

668 - Current location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

847 - Current location: Chennai, India

848 - Current location: Puri, India

928 - Current location: Sao Paulo, Brazil

1244 - Current location: Alagoas, Brazil

2417 - Current location: Pernambuco, Brazil

4077 - Current location: Antofagasta, Chile

4315 - Current location: Vizinagaram, India

4316 - Current location: Visakhapatnam, India

4408 - Current location: Visakhapatnam, India

Unknown - Current location: Oruro, Bolivia

*Unsure of works number. Numbers listed are speculative and may not be accurate.

Hope someone finds this useful :)

[mayapapaya33]

Oh no! Edwin had to find out about World War II at some point. Poor boy. He died in the middle of World War I! (not that it was called that at the time). He spent 70 years in Hell not knowing if or how The Great War ended, then had to find out it DID end but that Humanity didn't learn it's lesson and there was ANOTHER one. One that he would have lived through and possibly would have had to serve in had he survived into adulthood. That HAD to be a dreadful conversation.

[mote-historie]

Xavier Gosé, Le Monde, High Life, Cover Illustration for Les Annales, Noel 1913.

Morera. Museu d'Art Modern i Contemporani, Carrer Major, 31, 25007 Lleida, Spain

[chaoticdesertdweller]

"Lizzie Nichols and Perkins"

📸 Lora Webb Nichols

Encampment, Wyoming, 1913

[local-limebug]

personally, i am not a truther of the very popular headcanon in the dbda fandom of edwin's parents being neglectful or abusive. of course, if you like that headcanon, that's cool too because it isn't contradicted by canon at all but as a tragedy enjoyer myself, i just feel like you guys are taking the flavour out of it.

st. hilarion's is a school for military kids. therefore, we know edwin's father (or male guardian) was likely military, and in 1916, almost definitely at war. and we know from one of the writers (i think? correct me if i'm wrong) that edwin's mother never hugged him, but that was because of edwardian etiquette, not because she didn't love him. his parents just acted like edwardian parents did.

we know so little about edwin's past and his life before hell, and there are so many possibilities as to why a presumably upper middle class boy's disappearance may be labeled an "act of god" whilst still having a family that loved him, starting with the fact that 5-6 other boys disappeared with him. in my opinion, although his death was very much a hate crime, it makes no sense for the "act of god" stuff to also be homophobia if every other kid in the dorm also disappeared.

like my first and most obvious idea is that he was mourned by his parents but since no one could find anything as to why all these boys just disappeared, all their clothes and belongings still in the dorm, that could have been labeled an "act of god" as a sort of consolation to the parents. that wherever the boys are now, it's a better place. in the deeply christian society back then, it would almost have been a comfort to the parents.

the second idea is that edwin's father died in the war around the same time that he did (or possibly before), and it's possible that edwin's mother simply didn't have the social standing or emotional strength to be able to do much about that. imagine losing your husband and son at once, being left a woman in edwardian england without any immediate male relative.

my other ideas are a bit out there, but maybe edwin's parents weren't even in the picture. like, we truly know nothing about his life, guys. this is why i mentioned "male guardian" in the second paragraph. if his parents were dead, and he was maybe being raised by a male relative in the military, then either one could fit. maybe the guardian died. maybe the guardian didn't care to look too hard for edwin.

even if you headcanon edwin with siblings like i do, these still make sense for the most part. maybe his father died and mother fell ill, or mother died before the war and father during it. sisters wouldn't have had much social standing anyway, and older brothers could have had the war or other siblings or their own families to deal with. younger brothers couldn't do shit, kids were ignored entirely back then. and again, terrible as the "act of god" stuff was, it was likely a hollow comfort for those left behind because they had no answers at all. what could they possibly do to solve edwin's case?

and god, aren't all of those options just so much worse than edwin simply not being liked by his parents? knowing that he once had a home, and a family that loved him, and now he doesn't? that they grieved him but were powerless to find him or rescue him and were likely haunted by his disappearance for the rest of their lives? and he can never go back to them to see them one last time or to say goodbye because by the time he escaped hell, they're all gone?

[titaniumions]

which design do you prefer more?

[alivegirldetectiveagency]

edwin being captivated by the neon lights in the butcher shop is so funny to me because neon lights had JUST been invented/started being used commercially in his life time.

[autumncottageattic]

 The Country Diary of Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden❤️

[isfjmel-phleg]

Some of the takes in the notes on that T S G-related post are wild. I am going to have some Things To Say this spring.

[fairykukla]

Edwardian Fashion Show

Here are the three outfits, modeled by Goodreau BJDs.

The Evening Gown. It came with earrings, a necklace, a handbag, spats, and a fascinator. There was also a piece of double stick foam to attach the fascinator, but I used a straight pin.

Roxy looks fantastic in this. It fits her body perfectly. The details are splendid! The handbag has a working clasp, and the fascinator has beading on it!

The Day Dress. It came with a necklace and earrings, a handbag, spats and a picture hat. Functional handbag clasp, lovely details on the hat, though I will want to gently steam it to fluff up the tulle.

The Tea Dress.

No handbag or hat, but it's a two-piece gown and robe set. Cameo earrings and white spast complete the ensemble.

In honor of my friend A who would be chuffed to wear this dress, I put it on Towana.

(please excuse the shitty lighting in my dining room.)

I still want to know what company made this set. (Hey@dollblr can you help a fellow collector out?) Each dress was on a hanger, in a separate plastic bag, with the identification of each style printed in a chancery font on a sticker. The accessories were in their own bag, tucked in with each dress. It sure looks like a porcelain doll wardrobe, but they fit my slim MSDs exactly. I haven't pierced my dolls ears, but these sets certainly tempt me.

I still can't believe I found these in pristine condition at a thrift store for under $4.

[edwardian-girl-next-door]

"Life's very difficult and full of surprises. At all events, I've got as far as that. To be humble and kind, to go straight ahead, to love people rather than pity them, to remember the submerged -- well, one can't do all those things at once, worse luck, because they're all so contradictory. It's then that proportion comes in -- to live by proportion. Don't begin with proportion. Only prigs do that."

~ E. M. Forster, Howard's End (1910)