Becky FifieldJan 1, 20152 minNew Year’s Day – A Great Day to Run AwayDer Wöchentliche Pennsylvanische Staatsbote 9/17/1773. RL Fifield Photo. Library of Congress. Many of us choose some aspect of life to...
Becky FifieldAug 29, 20132 minCatering to Clients in an 18th Century Philadelphia ShopI spent July at a Research Fellowship at Winterthur Museum, Library, and Garden. This mainly meant identifying manuscripts and object...
Becky FifieldAug 8, 20132 minDigging in the Archives: Philadelphia City ArchivesNothing like a little research day on my birthday. Quarter Session Docket, June 1, 1767. Philadelphia City Archives. During my stay at...
Becky FifieldAug 1, 20131 minDigging in the Archives: Swarthmore College’s Friends Historical LibraryMy time here at Winterthur is wrapping up. I took yesterday to visit two incredible local institutions, the Friends Historical Library at...
Becky FifieldJul 5, 20131 minHistoric Philadelphia Mapping ResourcesMy research on indentured and enslaved servants’ lives has led me to mapping out their existence on historic maps of Philadelphia. I’m...
Becky FifieldJun 14, 20132 minVanishing History: Recording African-American Burial GroundsOn a Sunday afternoon in 1992, I was collecting fallen autumn leaves along Chapel Road outside Havre de Grace, Maryland where my...
Becky FifieldMay 30, 20132 minWhat I’ve Been Reading: Buying Into A World of Goods by Ann Smart MartinRead this great book on 18th century commerce in the backwoods of Virginia. Ann Smart Martin’s Buying into the World of Goods: Early...
Becky FifieldMay 6, 20132 minMuseum Monday: All the Goings On…Hello Readers of The Still Room! I’ve missed writing posts for the blog, but have been putting my energies into some projects that may be...
Becky FifieldApr 4, 20133 minConnecting the Dots: Convict Servants in MarylandEddie Izzard puns on the Church of England: “Cake or Death?” For people found guilty of committing small crimes in England,...
Becky FifieldApr 1, 20134 minMuseum Monday: Maryland State Archives in 2013The stepped structure of the Maryland State Archives on Rowe Blvd, Annapolis. For a building built in 1984, I think the Maryland State...
Becky FifieldDec 21, 20122 minShifting Garment Styles, 1750-1790: What Research and Sketching Have in CommonI roll over this analogy in my mind as I work with my study of 1,000 runaway indentured and enslaved women and their 6,000 garments,...
Becky FifieldAug 5, 20121 minRunaway Scavenger HuntIn researching the lives of indentured and enslaved women during the 18th century, I’m trying to rebuild their communities, to better...
Becky FifieldJul 20, 20122 minVariety Among the 18th Century Lesser SortsDer Wöchentliche Pennsylvanische Staatsbote 9/17/1773. As part of my research on 18thcentury working class clothing, I have been studying...
Becky FifieldJun 23, 20121 minNames of the Forgotten – Runaway Clothing Database ProjectMaryland Gazette, August 9, 1787. Library of Congress. RL Fifield photo. The Runaway Clothing Database project uses newspaper runaway...
Becky FifieldMay 26, 20123 minHike up your woolen undies: A Treatise on the Propagation of SheepBaa. Cool it, already. Photo: Imaginactory. John Wily wrote the motivational pamphlet A Treatise on the Propagation of Sheep, the...
Becky FifieldApr 1, 20122 minDownton Abbey is Hot – Now for some real servants.I fully expect Masterpiece Classic’s Downton Abbey to inspire the costume choices of many next Halloween (see my post on Downton...