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minorhoursmagazine · 5 months ago

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Issue 30, containing: Housekeeping Part 2 (Nondiagetic Boogaloo), The Adulteration of Septimus Roe, A Useful Table of Measure, The Green Knight, Another Useful Table of Measure, Letters, The Reading Society, Commonplaces, &c.

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SOME EDITORIAL NOTES

It has, once more, been Some Time. I wish I could say I write this sitting in the kitchen sink, but I must instead settle for saying I write this in a tiny text file and with a clicky keyboard, which is less narratively exciting.

You may note some significant changes to the pages herein and onward, and a rather long housekeeping section to start--I suspect this is because I am changing into something rich and strange.

[A grad student. -Eds.]

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HOUSEKEEPING 2 (NONDIAGETIC BOOGALOO)

As I threatened over a year ago now, I have, at last, adjusted The Minor Hours's masthead to encompass this microzine's new direction; specifically, we are now:

a newsletter of miscellany, art, and alchemy

This is because, as the previous issue suggested, I have dug even deeper into the world of experimental archaeology and the works of Early English writers, and it has, gentle reader, Consumed Me.

However, this is a housekeeping article, and as such, let us dive into a shortened version of the particulars:

1. The Transferal of Materials

I started my archaeological work in locales other than these pages--I realized some months ago that that was a poor misuse of a medium such as this. As such, I will over the coming months be cleaning up and transferring my research and experiment notes from elsewhere to here, fulfilling the promise that my "BBC historical voiceover artist lost on the way to a Renn Faire" mode of speech has previously failed to deliver upon.

You may expect to see the first of these transferals shortly, in an article to be titled "A Pomatum for the Lips; or, Ye Olde Lip Balm". I would have done so in this issue, except I became Distracted and accidentally wrote at length about perfumery, as happens to us all at one time or another.

2. The Addition of The Reading Society

I often come across fascinating databases, digital tools, or other resources that, in a less degenerate age, I might have added as a blogroll or link list. Moreover, I find myself wishing to provide at least a glimmer of academic rigor within this newsletter. Desirous of citing my sources, sharing my links, and inviting others to share theirs, I have created a new section called THE READING SOCIETY, which may appear in addition to, or instead of, COMMONPLACES, as my whimsy takes me.

3. The Updating of Benefits

This harks, somewhat, back to the Transferal of Materials, and to the change to the overall flavor of the magazine. To be brief: When recreating historical recipes for household goods, I end up with an abundance of either (1) hilariously awful failures; or, (2) enough of said historical good to supply a household of 30 for half a year.

I have, at present, few I can share the failures with--and unless I am hiding a surprising amount of brickwork beneath my skirts, I have not yet become a country manorhouse in need of sufficient skin cream for the winter. As such: Enter here our new Patreon tiers, where, monthly, patrons might receive the choice between two or more historically inaccurate goods (or "goods," depending on how well the goddess Alchimia smiled upon me that month). In this way, I can share the journey with interested others and, crucially, free up large corners of my studio and refrigerator from the rising tide of 17th-century selfcare commodities.

And so, in sum, I have updated one tier, retired another, and added a second new tier in addition to the historical merch one--and I have named it "A Terrible but Brave Decision."

See ANNOUNCEMENTS below for further details on what that might entail.

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THE ADULTERATION OF SEPTIMUS ROE

...or rather, Septimus Roe's Salisbury Exhibition Perfume, created for Salisbury, England's 1852 local version of the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.

...or rather, Henry Beasley's 1871 duplicate perfume, Esprit de Bouquet, from The Druggist's General Receipt Book:

...OR RATHER Esprit de Bouquet if it had been formulated in 1779 rather than 1852, and the alcohol base was not a "rectified spirit" but rather, ahem, cognac.

In sum, this adulteration is an eau de toilette I created in the later hours of an unfortunate academic decision known as "an all-nighter", and I have since decided to call it "The Green Knight," as I can certainly no longer call it "Septimus Roe's Esprit de Bouquet" with any amount of honesty. To my great shock, when I tested it, it smelled amazing; to my further, even greater shock, many people who would otherwise avoid perfumes seem to be enamored of it.

Plus, obviously: Good for the destruction of moths.

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A USEFUL TABLE OF MEASURE

i pound = xij ounces (else: xvj)

i ounce = viij drams

i dram = iij scruples

i scruple = xx grains

i grain = i minim = i drop (SOMETIMES)

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THE GREEN KNIGHT

The Editors have informed me that it is unfair to go through the entire rundown of the history of The Green Knight without actually describing the final scent.

Gentle reader, I am not a wearer of perfumes. The words to describe what I had created did not come easily to me. It was in late February that I created The Green Knight; it was in late March that I did the research to ensure I wouldn't accidentally poison anyone with it; and it was in early April that I finally drafted its description. But I went upon a long and random Journey to do so, with research that included but was not limited to the International Fragrance Association "Annex" Excel spreadsheet for natural complex substances; the robust DIY forum of Basenotes.net; several wheels and pyramids of scent families from different decades of acceptable language; the definitions of the five different types of fragrance formulation; and, in the absence of my own pet chem lab, a nonzero number of articles from chemistry journals and hard-spirit connoisseurs cobbled together to determine the relative chemical composition of Hennessey cognac for the purposes of perfumery.

I further spent several days testing the scent in the bottle, the scent when immediately applied, and the scent over several hours as it gently dried away, taking notes as I did so--and so, with confidence, I feel I can share the following short description:

The Green Knight is an eau de toilette that lasts approximately 6 hours on the skin, with a bright, invigorating opening that settles quickly into a refreshing, balanced scent that matures over the hours.

...and this considerably longer one:

The Green Knight is a very rich, warm, aromatic scent; a wine mulled with fruit and spices and set before the wood fire in a professor's winter-bound library, warm and ready for a gathering of Medievalists to read Arthurian verse aloud before toasting to the new year. It opens to the bright, sweet-spice of cinnamon and clove, with bergamot playing a cooler green, like ivy, twining underneath. The woody notes then begin to show, though still with spices at its base, like a forest cunningly depicted on a tapestry hung in a castle's great hall and imbued with the flavors of a hundred feasts. The Green Knight finally settles into well-worn leather and spice, an open saddlebag that has carried decades' worth of Silk Road gifts and sweet subtleties for a lord's banquet. The end, when it comes, returns the wearer to a faint abiding spicy-sweet clove, like the memory of a well-played evening.

And to conclude, in short terms once again... I have now become a wearer of perfume.

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ANOTHER USEFUL TABLE OF MEASURE

ɱ = minim

M = handful

P = a little handful

Mβ = half a handful

β = half

ſs = half

ss = half

q.s. = as much as will suffice

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LETTERS

From Curious Onlookers, to the Editors, "A Clarification Please":

If we may be so bold--what is the relative chemical composition of Hennessey brandy?

******

From the Editors, to the Curious Onlookers, "An Answer":

For the purposes of perfumery:

* benzaldehyde

* eugenol

* linalool

--in amounts that are probably insufficient to poison.

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COMMONPLACES

From @gallusrostromegalus (link):

I got to hold a 500,000 year old hand axe at the museum today. It’s right-handed I am right-handed There are grooves for the thumb and knuckle to grip that fit my hand perfectly I have calluses there from holding my stylus and pencils and the gardening tools. There are sharper and blunter parts of the edge, for different types of cutting, as well as a point for piercing. I know exactly how to use this to butcher a carcass. A homo erectus made it Some ancestor of mine, three species ago, made a tool that fits my hand perfectly, and that I still know how to use. Who were you A man? A woman? Did you even use those words? Did you craft alone or were you with friends? Did you sing while you worked? Did you find this stone yourself, or did you trade for it? Was it a gift? Did you make it for yourself, or someone else, or does the distinction of personal property not really apply here? Who were you? What would you think today, seeing your descendant hold your tool and sob because it fits her hands as well?

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THE READING SOCIETY

The Unicode Block for Alchemical Symbols

Note that several symbols for measurement are not included, a tragedy that this issue has attempted to rectify.

Text Creation Partnership's Alchemical Symbol Inventory, "Some Symbols in Books of Alchemy"

More thorough than the unicode block, but not as universally useable. However, an important resource for my true beloved--

University of Michigan's Early English Books Online Collections

This was for a very long time a true relic site in terms of design, but the EEBO was also an amazing resource for full-text, transcribed, searchable books published between 1475 and 1700-ish. Unfortunately, it has within the last month or two suddenly become updated to be both more attractive and less immediately useful. However, I believe it is still open for the casual viewer, particularly if you approach from the Advanced Search--though if any Gentle Readers should discover otherwise, please inform me so that I might fully decry the further enshittification of all that is good and pure in the world.

An Antidote against Melancholy. Or, A Treasury of 53 Rare Secrets & Arts Discovered by an Expert Artist, RICHARD AMYAS (1659)

Richard Amyas's book of medical recipes, magic tricks, and con-artist pranks is one of the amazing works I found by trawling the EEBO for my new apothecarical hobby, and all I can say is that Your Honor, I love him.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

As promised earlier, here is the new rundown of the available Patreon tiers, including some Surprising Things.

Free: As always, there is a free edition of The Minor Hours that shall remain so. There is even, on a delay, a duplicate of it that appears on Tumblr at minorhoursmagazine.tumblr.com, if you wish to avoid having all this delivered to your inbox.

Support the newsletter ($1): This is essentially a tip-jar level--and we thank you for it kindly.

UPDATED: Original fiction, public thanks, and! a sticker ($2): The first of the changes! Very rarely, I will post original fiction for the happy few on this level, never to see the light of day except for those special few who have chosen to support us in this manner--but it is sufficiently rarely that it seems uncouth to not include further benefit. As such, all those at this level or above will be contacted and asked if they would like to have their names added to a public appreciation page (and if so, what name they would like it to be), and also those who have been at this level up until now (and those in future who stay for at least 3 months) can now receive a sticker of our masthead, suitable for a variety of fashionable and waterbottle purposes.

NEW: Historically Inaccurate Goods ($10): As I descend into the madness that is attempting to recreate household goods from the European Scientific Revolution (that is, between the early-ish 1500s to the early-ish 1700s), I end up accumulating a surprising amount of both quite excellent stuff and disastrously awful mistakes. While the successes will (eventually) be available through The Historically Inaccurate Shop, to get early access to the successes--or to the goods in process, or to the goods that may be an abomination unto God--this tier will allow you to:

support the microzine;

get access to otherwise-forever-secret short stories;

be thanked by whatever name you choose in a very nice little section of the zine and related sites for as long as you're a supporter;

and every month receive a special link that allows you to choose one of at least two different historically inaccurate household goods you'd like to receive.

What might appear? Whatever I am making that month, plus some reliable standbys for those who wish to experience a thing but may have missed it appearing earlier. For international folk who may have difficulty receiving some of the more, shall we say, questionable items, special accommodations will be made to provide a similar experience.

This month, and until June 30, those who enter upon this tier will receive a choice between:

A pomatum for the lips (in either sweet almond or coconut oil varieties);

A half-scruple tester of The Green Knight eau de toilette; or

A copy of The Apothecary's Pocket Companion: Regarding How to Read and Translate Recipes, volume 1 of an octavo-sized minizine series intended to help others on their journey to becoming just as unreasonably enthusiastic as I am about this entire venture

and finally...

NEW: A Terrible but Brave Decision ($30): The very worst of ideas. For $30, you will get all of the above, AND receive monthly weird bits of art, magic, files, photos, handwriting, interesting rocks, and any other glittery thing that I might decide to send out. I will become as the wild corvid that knows where you live and will sometimes bring you shiny things or, alternately, peck the eyes out of your enemies.

What will this look like? I have no idea. Neither do you. Herein lies the adventure.

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If you would like to write a letter to be produced/answered in the magazine, please email me at [email protected] with the subject line:

Letter to the Magazine: [subject of letter as you would like to see it printed]

If you wish the letter to be anonymous or under a nom de plume, please state so in the body of the email; similarly, if you’d rather not be printed at all, please also state so in the body of the email. It will otherwise be assumed that mail sent to that address is intended for print.

Alternately, commenting on the Patreon post will get you a similar result, with much less fuss.

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As always, you can find me at my regular website, katherinecrighton.com, or sometimes via bluesky, at katherinecrighton.bsky.social.

To support the magazine and get it delivered directly to your inbox, join the Patreon.

-Until next time, be safe.

#experimental archaeology #the minor hours and small thoughts magazine #katherine crighton #june 12 2024

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