I love the 1995 "A Little Princess" but it is interesting to me that it's essentially the opposite princess theme from the book. In the original 1905 novel, Sara is not a princess because all girls are princesses, she's a princess because the author thinks eliteness is inherent-- The book was reinforcing the idea that social class wasn’t about wealth, but was an inherent, internal factor that differentiated people in the upper classes as being separate beings from those in the lower classes.

After his final meeting with his family, Louis XVI fell upon his bed, weeping, and said to the abbe de Edgeworth: "What a meeting have I gone through. Why should I love so tenderly, and why should I be so tenderly beloved?"
Let's look at the accounts of this meeting. Louis XVI had asked to see his family with no witnesses, and this was partially granted. Louis XVI could see his family in the dining room of the Temple, where there was a glass partition window, which would allow municipals to watch them without (theoretically) hearing them.

Since it's apparently #WorldToiletDay: Contrary to popular myth, the palace of Versailles did have toilets and bathrooms. At the time, bathrooms were luxury rooms dedicated to bathing, while toilet facilities were kept in separate spaces. (contd) During Versailles time as a residence, toilet facilities ranged from various types of toilet chairs and commodes to chamber pots as well as public lavatories and, by 1789, 9 flushing toilets in private apartments. Some apartments had "toilet rooms" (marked "chaise").

Historical Barbie thread! It's time to finally dig into the 18th century, along with the early 19th century since there isn't much there and I feel like combining eras for my own sake. First up: "THE" 18th century Barbie... Marie Antoinette! This doll was inspired by a court portrait of Marie Antoinette, with one rather strange added detail: she's wearing the infamous "Affair of the Necklace" necklace, or rather, a piece based on the most famous version of it. No idea why, a very bizarre thing to add here.

One of the claims in the "Naked Cooks, Excrement, Rats: The Secretly Disgusting History of Royal Palaces," article is that James IV/I never bathed, and subsequently the rooms he occupied were lice-filled. Is this true? Let's take a look... History.com


The article, for reference, if you've never read it: If you're a follower or you follow accounts like @fakehistoryhunt you probably already know that a lot of information in this article is untrue/debunked or misleading. But what about the claim re: James?history.com/news/royal-pal…

Another distortion in Chevalier: Marie-Josephine, the marquise de Montalembert and her husband. The film portrays the marquis de Montalembert as a stodgy military men who has great disdain for the arts and forbids his wife from being on the stage. The reality? Well... The real marquis de Montalembert was a military man who specialized in engineering. He was also (drumroll) a playwright who ran a theater with his wife, Marie-Josephine, who acted on stage. So not only was he a lover of theatrical arts, he ran a theater and his wife performed.

The takes about Titanic being a ship "for the wealthy" have been popping up because of the submarine, and idk how to tell people that the vast majority of Titanic's passengers were third-class passengers traveling to/from America. It was a passenger liner, not a luxury yacht. Third-class passengers had the highest capacity (around 1,100 top capacity for 3rd class--she wasn't full for her maiden voyage) as these types of passenger liners saw their bread and butter with the "average" person and families making these crossings to/from America.

One June 19th, 1787, Sophie Hélène Béatrice, the fourth child born to Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, died at just under one year old. Her loss is reflected in this portrait by Vigee-Lebrun, which includes an empty cradle where Sophie would have been painted. Marie Antoinette wrote to her sister in law Elisabeth, asking her to visit the Trianon after her daughter's death, "... we are mourning the death of my poor little angel. Farewell dear heart, you know how much I love you and I need your whole heart to comfort mine."

"... the notion that [the 1999 revival of interest in Joseph Bologne] brought Saint-Georges back from two centuries of total oblivion, seems but a self-serving scenario meant to enhance the importance of his re-discoverers." Gabriel Banat in his 2006 biography. Banat has a fairly lengthy passage towards the end of his biography where he contradicts the commonly accepted notion that Bologne had been entirely forgotten until recently (recent to his 2006 biography, that is) and this particular quote jumped out as relevant.

Honey refrigerator cookies from 1940, printed in "Gleanings in Bee Culture." All the adds in these are bee related, I'm losing my mind.

Guess what came in the mail today? "The Front Window," a companion book to the "1870s Barbie who starts her own newspaper to promote a woman's right to vote" Grolier Edition Barbie doll. The book is about 50 pages so I won't be sharing the whole thing, just some highlights. The story is frontended by a modern day Skipper lamenting having to write a story for the school newspaper and miss out on an N' Pink concert. Becky sends Skipper to the library where she comes across "The Front Window" newspaper. She falls asleep, and we're back in the past.

All right, time to take a look at "Helpful Heart," the storybook that comes with the Civil War Nurse Barbie doll. Can you guess if this book is going to try to be "neutral" so as not to be unappealing to the "Lost Cause" demographic? "Some thought it was about who owned the land, but others believed it was about freeing the slaves." Because you can't have a storybook for a Civil War Nurse doll include the primary reason why these states seceded: battlefields.org/learn/articles…

A miniature of Marie Antoinette with her children Marie-Thérèse and Louis-Joseph by François Dumont. The miniature, in the collection of Waddesdon, had previously only been known in this engraved version.

Moreau's work was not entirely in vain! I was curious to see what books were part of the 160 (or so) books he selected for Marie Antoinette's library as dauphine, and after looking one up, it also appears in her library at the Tuileries--this was the more "stately" library. The book in question: "Histoire des Empereurs Romains" by M. Crevier, published in 1763 in 12 volumes. All 12 volumes can be accessed here: lib.ugent.be/catalog/rug01:…

No, Marie Antoinette didn't do pretend farm work at the hameau, nor was it a fake village. The idea that she was milking washed cows or picking up cleaned eggs are all part of the posthumous myths that turned it from a pastoral country estate to a live-action LARP village. As far as I can tell, the idea of "picking up cleaned eggs" is specifically from the Sofia Coppola film, though other depictions of Marie Antoinette doing "prettied up" farm work can be found in previous media.

A rare copy of a book created by Jacob-Nicolas Moreau, who was initially appointed in 1770 as the librarian of Marie Antoinette when she was dauphine. This book was his program for his plans for her library, and is an original copy. Set to be sold by Osenat. The book is broken into 3 sections: "The object and moral goal of History; the chain of events which compose History; the series of books that teach us about it." The last part included around 160 books that he considered "the best French books [to] compose a historical library."

Historical Barbie thread! Let's do the 1930s, which doesn't have much, and a few are in a borderline era. First up is "Steppin' Out Barbie," from the Great Fashions of the 20th Century line. A bit of a "eh" for me. She's pretty, but I wish they didn't go for a Hollywood look. All of the other 1930s dolls are from the Inspiring Women line, and some of them I am sort of throwing a dart at the decade because the line doesn't really specify exactly "when" they are depicting these women. Next up: Amelia Earhart, one of the first "IW" dolls.

90s Hallmark Barbie dolls are just a history doll smorgasbord and I love them for it. The 1920s inspired "Holiday Voyage" doll also inspired a few other pieces of merchandise in addition to the doll herself... Two different ornaments, including a diorama-style ornament with a lil figurine.

No historically inspired Barbie will ever be as bizarrely specific as Civil War Nurse Barbie. She comes with a mini book, and the back of the box indicates that she's serving specifically at Gettysburg. She's going to need those bottles. I've had this one on my Barbie wishlist for years, finally took the plunge today and bought one on Ebay. I saw photos of the book inside years ago and it was absolutely ridiculous, I can't wait to share it.

Historical Barbie thread! Let's go for the 1940s. I am not remotely an expert on 40s fashion, and some of these dolls are perhaps a bit closer to the 1930s instead. If you know of any 1940s inspired official Barbies I don't end up listing, share! First up: Fabulous 40s Barbie. Fabulous 40s Barbie was from the "Great Fashions of the 20th Century" series.

Historical Barbie thread! Let's dive into the 1920s, which doesn't have too many official Barbies, but the ones it does have might just be the bee's knees. First up: "Flapper Barbie" from the early 90s "Great Eras" series. Next up is "Dance Until Dawn," the 1920s doll for the "Great Fashions of the 20th Century" series from 1997-2000. I think she'd look better without the boa.