I am making the final arrangements for Tavern Night at Rittenhouse Town and need to recruit one or two people to join me for the event. Tasks will be tending bar (mostly prepared drinks but occasional Ale Flip or Smoking Bishop) and teaching 18th Century games (especially Whist). I have the bar and tavern games, …
Category Archives: Ideas
The “Rittenhouse Compass”
In 1799, David Rittenhouse presented outgoing US President, George Washington, with a new surveying set including one of his newly invented vernier compasses. This important instrument which enables a surveyor to compensate for the angular difference between true and magnetic north. The “Rittenhouse compass,” was constructed with a nonius or vernier scale so that the …
Making Copies in the 18th Century
Today when we want to make a copy of a letter or a map all we do is strike a few keys on a computer or place the document on a Xerox Copier screen and within a few seconds, we have a near perfect duplicate. A few decades ago, the process was a bit more …
Either Fly the Flag or Don’t
Okay, this is a rant but I’ve had enough. First, under the guise of “honor” the right-wing extremist mutilated our flag with selective discoloration and even the pictures of hate mongers. Then they took the Betsy Ross Flag and imbued it with connotations of hate (alluding to a time when slavery was legal), then those …
Close the Damn Door on Paul Pitcher Day
Here in Philadelphia, we like to celebrate Molly Pitcher for her taking up arms against the British in 1778 but Paul Pitcher is also interesting. No, Paul was not Molly’s husband but none other than the Christian apostle “Paul” and Paul Pitcher Day is a Cornish celebration of the discovery of smelting (turning ore into …
Historical Tidbits — Louis XVI Guillotined
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. January 21, 1793 Louis XVI Guillotined In October 1789, a mob marched on Versailles and forced the royal couple to move to Tuileries; in June 1791, opposition to the …
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Why the US Capitol is in Washington DC and Washington DC is not one of the US States.
The American Revolutionary War, officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in September of 1783 but most of the fighting ended with the Siege of Yorktown in October of 1781. Because of the treaty negotiations, the Continental Army did not fully disband until 1783. Army service does not pay well and in …
Basic Colonial Brewing #2 — Brewing in the 18th Century
Beer was once considered the most health drink to give to children and vital to survival. To understand this, you must first understand that centuries of dense urban living had left the water in Europe unsafe to drink. People of the 18th Century did not understand why but they did observe that people who drank …
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Historical Tidbits — Pompton Mutiny
When reenacting or acting as a historical interpreter, its good to have a few historical dates and stories to share. This series will publish a few. January 20, 1781 Pompton Mutiny — revolt of New Jersey troops On January 20, about 200-300 of the soldiers at Pompton mutinied. According to eyewitness accounts, they were also …
The Health Benefits of Beer
So, I went to this lecture at a synagogue downtown (Rodeph Shalom) and the rabbi pulled a dozen or so Talmudic[i] references on beer and brewing for the group to consider. Now I will not bore my non-Jewish readers with the esoterica of rabbinic debate but the selection we discussed was who follow this blog …
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 