Our Own Snug Fireside: Images of the New England Home, 1760-1860

Offers a detailed look at home life in New England from colonial times to the eve of the Civil War, clears up misconceptions about the period, and looks at gender roles, household economies, prosperity, poverty, and community ritual

The ideal New England home, as perceived in the late 19th century, was warm, welcoming and comfortable, a hive of hard work and frugality, a stable haven from the rapidly changing world outside. This conventional image had a solid basis in reality, maintains Nylander, who mines diaries, letters, wills, inventories, newspapers, advice books and travel accounts for this delightfully intimate portrayal of New England home life. Director of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Nylander delineates a complex barter economy in which farm produce was a common medium of exchange and people swapped specialized work skills. Contrary to the popular image, however, she shows that change was a household constant, with the coming and going of friends, family, help and travelers. Enlivened by 162 period illustrations, her survey affords a rare glimpse of middle- and upper-class housework, clothing, kitchens, diet, socializing and much else. BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A fact-filled, copiously illustrated, revealing survey of Yankee life and households in an earlier time, complied by Boston- based curator Nylander (Director/Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities). Drawing on an array of original documents and records-- especially on a handful of diaries written by New England women of the period--Nylander offers a substantive view of household life during a time that saw the nation established and its northern regions industrialized. The images the author presents are often those in which female activities or concerns predominate, although the male presence in the home is by no means given short shrift. The family ``unit'' in pre-Civil War America, Nylander explains, included nonnuclear members as well as boarders, hired help, and, frequently, young married couples preparing to create a household of their own--with daily routines consisting not only of meal preparation and house cleaning but also of spinning, sewing, and preparing for a variety of future events, from marriage to parties and other social gatherings. Changes in technology prompted immense shifts in these routines, with, for instance, iron stoves replacing the massive kitchen fireplaces and commercial weaving offering greater variety than the homemade product. But while the agricultural or village aspects of New England living generally dominate this account, the emphasis clearly is on more well-to-do families rather than their more numerous, poorer--and less literate--neighbors. Not comprehensive, then, and at times overly reliant on diary excerpts--but informative, and valuable for its many glimpses of American interiors. (Illustrations--162--throughout) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Soon after the American Revolution, New Englanders began to idealize their rural farms and homesteads as bastions of security in a rapidly changing world. Some reminiscences stretched back to the 17th century, drawing on memories, artifacts, and a sense of history. In particular, four remarkable women cited here kept extensive journals of daily life for more than a half-century. By the Civil War the preservation of the "snug fireside" had become literally a cottage industry. Museum curator Nylander uses this evidence to construct a series of excellent essays describing the customs, traditions, friends, families, and workloads of the "typical" New England household. Chapters on housework, seasons, clothing, food, and holidays document women's work at home. This fine social history of forgotten routines is recommended for most libraries.
- Harry W. Fritz, Univ. of Montana, Missoula
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.