Newsletter Archive

Herbs first were introduced into cooking not to flavor foods, but to disguise flavors.  Before refrigeration, frequently meat was served past its “freshness date”. Strong-smelling herbs worked hard to make what was on your plate palatable.  Phew! Aromatic dried herbs and flowers also were used to disguise human smells.  When bathing was to be tolerated only once or twice a year, the generous application of anything with a pleasant smell was considered a welcome corporeal addition.  Double phew! But the primary use for dried herbs was in medicines. One hundred - fifty years later, we’ve come full-circle.  Most recently the [...]

The great Mary Cantwell once wrote, “There is nothing better than the wind whistling at the windows and soup bubbling on the stove.”  She might have added ‘…and the glint of an old copper pot to keep you company.’ The science of copper is persuasive.  It conducts heat evenly and quickly – getting the contents up to temperature 20 times faster than stainless.  It doesn’t rust or corrode. And it is toxic to germs and bacteria. Historians at Colonial Williamsburg found that from the period of 1760 until 1810 it was common for cooks to load up a copper cauldron with [...]

Great Britain's Furniture Guilds have no equivalent in the United States. Created by the Statute of Apprentices in 1563 and continuing to this day, they are training grounds where skills are passed on, ensuring that age-old techniques are revered and not lost. To achieve the level of Master Craftsmen, Guilds require 7 years of dedicated learning - first as journeymen, then as apprentices.  This quality training is mirrored in the work that they do - including the selection of timber.  Fine, straight-grain is a criterion of mass-produced pieces (easier to match), but rarity and singularity are characteristics of state-of-the-art furnishings - like those crafted for Elijah Slocum.  [...]

Believe it or not, we have the Civil War to thank for the invention of mechanical banks. Here’s why: during the conflict both the North and South created their own paper money. The public, however, was leery of these new currencies, which lacked intrinsic value. On the other hand a coin, no matter its value, would always be useful as metal – therefore worth keeping. Shortly after the conclusion of the war, the first mechanical bank appeared. Half bank, half toy, it was designed to encourage youngsters to save by giving them a little free “show” with each penny inserted.  [...]

Poaching is not boiling. Boiling is way too aggressive. Rather, in poaching, the liquid should be kept at a very low simmer - no bubbles rising, just enough to make it shiver. The result is a delicate flavor, perfect for showcasing delicious sauces. A great example is the poached egg, so versatile that in 1903 Escoffier included 141 variations in his monumental cookbook, Ma Cuisine. Earlier, in 1894, the perfect cure for a hangover had been created by Lemuel Benedict when he topped a toasted English muffin with ham, poached eggs and creamy Hollandaise.  Delicious. It’s not just eggs that can be poached.  We [...]

Nothing says summer more than the fragrance and taste of just-picked fresh fruit. The first strawberry of the season, the sweetness of raspberries, lush, liquid cherries... Delicious now, more cherished still in the dead of winter–when the taste of jam takes you back to these precious/fleeting days of Summer. Now, while we’re in the thick of it, you need to be making preserves. And we have what will make it a success, solid copper jam pans. First, the basics. You won’t find a better heat conductor anywhere. That means you’ll spend less time boiling away the fruit's flavor, color and texture. [...]

Date/Circa:  1890 Origin:  England Size:  61" wide by 28" deep Catalogue no: A0307 Price:  $275 It’s winter in Great Britain and there is no electricity [yet].  How do you dry your clothes? You can use a “winter hedge row”, a tri-fold wooden frame that allows a few pieces of wet clothing to be hung by the fire.  OR, if you are a laundress in an 1880's English Manor House, you can use a large wooden rack, suspended from the ceiling.  The rack can be lowered via a pulley system, loaded with freshly-cleaned and bleached laundry, then pulled up to the highest reaches of the [...]

Date/Circa:  1930 Origin:  England Size:  32" high, 36" x 21" Catalogue no: A10100 Price:  $1280 The benefits of wicker and rattan without any of the drawbacks: that’s how Lloyd Loom got started. Eager to take advantage of the tremendous interest in Far Eastern imports, an enterprising American, Marshall B. Lloyd, twisted kraft paper around steel wire.  He then put the paper “threads” on a loom and wove them into wide sheets – suitable for use in any piece of furniture. They didn’t warp. They didn’t snag. They didn’t develop mold. And, just like that, demand grew and grew. Across the pond, furniture makers William Lusty [...]

Date/Circa:  1870 Origin:  England Size:  4 Gallon, 2 Gallon & 1 Gallon Catalogue no:  A0549 Price:  $1175 Question: How is a grain of wheat related to these beautiful copper measures? Answer: It all started in 1258 when England's King Henry III decided to standardize measurements throughout the Empire.  At that time, liquid measure and weights were thought to be directly related.  So, here was his proclamation:  One English penny shall weigh the equivalent of 32 wheat grains (from the midst of the ear), 20 pennies make an ounce, 12 ounces make a pound, 8 pounds equals a gallon of wine. For [...]

Date/Circa:  1850 Origin:  England Size:  7" High x 9" Wide X 5" Deep Catalogue Number:  A0815 Price $1175 Mid-19th century England was abuzz with industry. The age of industrialization was providing more and more to the general population. Manufacturing was new and different, cost effective, and welcomed - by all but a few.   Among the detractors was Augustus Welby Pugin. I n direct opposition to the rapid rise of manufacturing, he and his followers firmly believed in preserving and reviving the traditional methods of craftsmanship and skills begun centuries earlier. Industrialization affected all the arts and crafts. Take brass for instance. [...]