Here's what's new on Mostly-Victorian.com for the month of May, 2010: We've just uploaded over 150 articles from the 1882-1883 annual of The Girl's Own Paper -- including a delightful serial story about "Robina Crusoe on Her Lonely Island."
We've also added the complete "Victorian era" collection of The Girl's Own Paper (23 volumes, from 1880 to 1901) to our e-book collection in Grandma's Attic, so please drop by and take a look! (You can obtain each volume individually as an e-book, or get the entire set on two DVDs for considerably less.)

The Girl's Own Paper, 1882-1883

Cooking

Broken Bread and What to Do With It, by Phillis Browne

Cookery for the Poor, by Phillis Browne

Home-Made Jam, by Phillis Browne

Home-Made Pickles, by Phillis Browne

How to Provide Food for Small Families, by Phillis Browne

The Right Way of Making Tea and Coffee, by Phillis Browne

Teacakes and Rolls for Breakfast Tea, by Phillis Browne

Crafts and Needlework

Art Needlework, by Helen Marion Burnside

Fancy Braid Crochet

Knotting, by B.C. Saward

Small Articles Made with Plush, Satin Sheeting, Satin Merveilleux, and Piece Linen, by B.C. Saward

Torchon Lace and How to Make It, by B.C. Saward

My Work Basket

Barbotine Pottery Painting in Two Lessons, by Fred Miller

Coloured Leaves: How to Print Them

Crayonium, by B.C. Saward

How to Paint Upon Satin and Silk, by B.C. Saward

Lustra Painting, by B.C. Saward

Stencil Decoration, by Fred Miller

Etiquette

Etiquette for "Our Brothers", by S.F.A. Caulfield

How to Address People of Title, by Ardern Holt

Punctuation Viewed in a New Light, by S.F.A. Caulfield

The ever-scintillating Ms. Caulfield makes a good case for the concept that good punctuation (especially in the matter of letters) is good etiquette!

Some Hints on Giving Presents

Fashion

The Fairy of the Family: Family Clothing, by Dora de Blaquiere

A four-part series on how to buy, clean, mend and renovate clothing.

Dress: In Season and In Reason, by A Lady Dressmaker

Fashions for 1882-1883.

Health

The Health Advice of Medicus

Topics include: Tea in Health and Sickness · How to Nurse and Tend the Aged · Medicines: When to Take and When to Avoid · Exercise, and How to Benefit By It · Early to Bed and Early to Rise · A Plea for Vegetables v. Drugs · Pure Air: What It Can Do · What a House Ought to Be to Be Healthy · Sleep · The Secret of Home Happiness and Wealth · In the Fall of the Year

Domestic Poisons: Their Detection and Antidotes, by An Analyst

History

Curiosities of Court Receptions, by the Hon. Mrs. Armytage

A Female Crusoe/Another Female Crusoe

The second tale will be familiar to anyone who has read Scott O'dell's The Island of the Blue Dolphins, as it is the actual news account that inspired the novel.

The Foundling of Kempten, by the Baroness van Gilta

A Girl's Own Paper Three Hundred and Sixty Years Ago

An account of an Aztec mother's advice to her daughter.

About Gloves and Their Significance, by Henry Frith

The Victorian Home

The Linen of the House, by Dora de Blaquiere

Screens for Fireplaces, by B.C. Saward

Spots and Stains and How to Clean Them, by Dora de Blaquiere

A Water Bouquet, by Lady Hope

Victorian Life and Society

A Few Words About Modern Jews, by Constance M. Finn

An interesting article seeking to dispel stereotypes about Victorian Jews.

The Girl's Own Home, by The Countess of Aberdeen

An appeal for a home for working girls in London, for "if she has no home to go to, will she not be likely to seek for change from the dreary round of work by reading the trashy literature that abounds, by resorting to dancing rooms and theatres... where she is in danger of losing all that is pure and true and highminded..."

Girls' Work in the Mission Field: Europe, by Mary Selwood

Hints to Travelers, by Ruth Daney

What to pack, what to wear, what to expect when traveling in Victorian days.

How I Learned to Play Lawn Tennis

The Kindergarten, by Dora Hope

The "Kinder-Garten" was developed in 1782 as a means of preparing children for schooling.

Occupations for Children, by Dora Hope

Girls should by all means be encouraged to make clothes for their dolls; it will teach them... how to make their own garments.

Servants and Service, by Ruth Lamb (9 parts)

The Thames Church Mission, by Anne Beale

Toboggans and Tobogganing, by Alfred C.W. Harmsworth

An Underground Excursion, by Ruth Lamb

A venture into a coal-pit.

Winter Entertainments in Villages, by Gentianella

Y.W.C.A., by the Hon. Emily Kinnaird

A look at this relatively new organization.

Folklore

Girls' Christian Names

A five-part series on the lore and history behind girls' names.

Nature and Gardening

Girls' Own Pets, by Gordon Stables

This series on birds as pets began in 1881; this segment examines "foreign birds."

Creepers and Climbing Plants, by Gordon Stables

Window Gardening, by Gordon Stables

Royalty

Anecdotes of Queen Victoria and the Royal Family

Travel and World Cultures

An Armenian Girl's Betrothal and Marriage

The Colonies and Dependencies of Great Britain, by Mrs. Brewer

A hypothetical "tour" of the various colonies and dependencies of Great Britain, with the aim to educate would-be travelers to these destinations.

The Girl's Own

Accounts of travels by some of GOP's young readers.

Hints to Travelers, by Ruth Daney

What to pack, what to wear, what to expect when traveling in Victorian days.

A Lady's Journey to Texas, and Back Again, by Julia Conron

This is a delightful four-part series detailing a British lady's adventures as she and her husband try to establish a ranch in Texas. The series concludes in the 1883-1884 annual, but I've included the entire series here.

May-Day in France, by Annie Kemm, F.R.H.S.

Our Journey to Persia

A Tremendous Journey

A reader's account of travels along the Gregory River in Queensland, Australia.

Work, Education and Finance

Female Clerkships in the Post Office

Includes information on salaries for various positions.

A Few Words on Money Matters

Higher Thoughts on Girls' Occupations: Literature, by Alice King

Higher Thoughts on Girls' Occupations: Music, by Alice King

Higher Thoughts on Girls' Occupations: Teaching the Young, by Alice King

Fiction

Robina Crusoe and Her Lonely Island Home