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Biscuits from the Archives- Historical recipe testing: Gingerbread from the De Budé fonds

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From the collection of the Royal Archives © Elizabeth II A recent term essay for one of my classes brought me into contact with the archived papers of General Jacob de Budé, the Swiss-born aide-de-camp (among other things) to King George III of Britain during the late 18th century. I had never heard about him before, but upon further research he appears to have had his share of importance in the court; it is likely that he was a figure of some note within the private Royal intelligence network during the 1770's and 80's. [1] He furthermore appears several times in the archive itself in other collections, and, more famously, features in the memoirs of Fanny Burney- although what she has to say about him is not always particularly flattering. [2]  Although the actual papers are housed in the Windsor archives of the Royal Trust collection in England, much of the de Bude fonds has *thankfully * been digitised and is available to access freely on the Georgian Pape...
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Experiments in framing and woodgraining

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For some reason I decided I wanted to try building a frame out of wood this past fall. Not just any frame, but a cool one. It may have started because I needed frames for some non-standard sized engravings, but the project quickly evolved into a beast of its own. The woodgraining idea came early on, and it's something which remains absolutely fascinating to me. For those who don't know, woodgraining is a way of painting to create the illusion of a fancy wooden veneer. Woodgraining techniques were traditionally used on cheaper woods, to make them look more luxurious; the style came in and out of fashion at various points during the 18th and 19th centuries in interiors and furniture. By the 20th century, woodgraining began appearing on metal surfaces as well, and became particularly popular on cars... if anyone has ever seen those older cars with the faux wood veneer on the side, that is an example of woodgraining! I first encountered woodgraining as a child on the ...
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Post 1: Being the post in which I introduce this blog.

Hello Friends! This is my blog, for the random things I do or learn that I think may be of interest to other people. I hope you enjoy it. I'm currently working on a degree in history, with interests in pursuing archival or museum studies in the future. I also have an amateur background in sewing, and like to learn whatever kind of crafts that I can! Here you'll find a combination of materials I've researched both for work and on my spare time. Posts will likely be irregular- I have to spend a lot of time doing stuff in order to post about it... well, that and also I'm a student and have difficulty getting motivated to write when marks aren't involved... They will show up eventually though.
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