1857 cartoon from Harper's Weekly
Mention a decade in the 20th century and the chances are that just saying something like the '50s or '80s will bring to mind a picture of that decade's style; from clothes, to vehicles, to mood. Once a time has passed it is easy to distill its essence into a handful of images we can use as shorthand to invoke that time period. It has been that way through history.
But writing about the people of the time, of any time back in history, forces a closer look. Life was not as homogenous as our shorthand would make it seem. Different places changed at different times and went through different events that altered life's patterns.
Currently I am involved in several projects which have me skittering from one time period to another and from one place to another. I spend time in 1890s Ontario through diaries found at the University of Guelph diary project at https://ruraldiaries.lib.uoguelph.ca/search, then dredge up memories of Vancouver in the '70s and early '80s for something I am writing, and meanwhile I am working on a project about disasters in the early '20s in Port Coquitlam, BC. What on earth was I thinking when I brought home a library book about Suffolk history to look for background on my family roots there in the 18th century?
But I love history and each era has its own flavour, its own rules and codes for living. Finding them out is all part of the fun of digging into the past and pulling out the stories.
Images:
By
unknown 1857 artist - Ultimately from Harper's Weekly; scanned by H. Churchyard
from The Wonderful World of Ladies' Fashion: 1850-1920, edited by Joseph J.
Schroeder, Jr., Public Domain,
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