Sandusky Daily Register – Jan 30, 1891
As stated in this 1891 Pearline advertisement, the produce came into being about 1877. They seemed to have kept their illustrator pretty busy producing a wide variety of advertisements.
Since I ran across some “Hints for Housekeepers,” while looking for the Pearline ads, I am including them. Some are entertaining, some might be useful, and some are rather dangerous, and come with a cautionary warning:
Galveston Daily News – Jul 13, 1888
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Can you tell it was election season when this next one ran?
Daily Northwestern – Nov 27, 1888
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These hints don’t appear to be serious:
Handy Hints for the Housekeeper.
A perplexed housekeeper wants to know what she shall do with the tin cans that from day to day accumulate about the house — fruit cans, meat cans — of all kinds cans, cans, and a thousand cans. Well, if you keep a boarding house, you might throw them into the street, right in front of the house as a bait for the homeless man seeking a boarding house, If you have a home, however, you might utilize the cans in many ways.
You might take the tomato cans, fill them with soft, rich earth, and plant them, and by and by a whole handful of all sorts of weeks would come up. Then you could take the can to the pottery and have the potter twist a nice terra cotta vase about it so as to completely hid the can, and thus at a trifling expense, not over a few dollars, you could utilize your old tomato can as a garden vase.
Or you could take a lobster can, and bore three holes at equal distances in the sides, close to the open end. Then cover the can as thickly as you need with fine plastic material used in the manufacture of cheap statuettes, and employ some good artist to fashion ?? in graceful shape and beautiful designs. Then fasten bright brass chains in the three holes and hang it in a hook in the porch roof, and you will have a handsome hanging basket that need not cost you more than $5.
If you should break a kerosene lamp, save the foot of it, and with a bit of red flannel and merino and some white crochet make a pin cushion of it, stuffing the flannel and merino out in a large, irregular shaped sphere and with the crochet cotton work “lOve thE giVEr” on it. Then set it in the spare room on the dresser, care being taken to have the cushion fastened on so loosely that it will cant a little to one side. Then, when the guest wakes up in the night and sees that awful apparition in the moonlight, he will confess all his sins, put on his clothes hindside foremost, and dropping himself out of the window will flee in terror into the wilderness and never come back to spoil your best pillow shams with his bear’s oily head again.
“It isn’t what you get,” they say down in West Virginia, “that makes you rich, it’s what you save.” A few cents here and there in household expenses are not noticed at the time, but at the end of a year they aggregate enough to pay the for a steam thresher.
Fort Wayne Daily Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) May 7, 1881
Sandusky Daily Register – Aug 8, 1889
Sandusky Daily Register – Mar 3, 1890
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This one even mentions Pearline in its hints:
Hints for the Housekeeper.
If you think the kitchen is a hot place be easy on the cook.
Lard applied at once will remove the discoloration after a bruise.
A rug under one’s feet is restful when long standing is necessary, as in ironing or washing dishes.
Whites of eggs may be beaten to a stiff froth by an open window when it would be impossible in a steamy kitchen.
Mrs. Emma Ewing avers that not book knowledge alone but cook knowledge is needed in this broad nation of dyspeptics.
Cistern water that has become foul may be purified with powdered borax or alum. A quarter of a pound of each will cleanse twenty-five or more barrels.
Put a little pearline in the greasy pots and roasting pans and it will greatly facilitate cleaning them, especially if you stand them on the range to heat the water.
Most vegetables are better cooked fast, excepting potatoes, beans, peas, cauliflower and others which contain starch. Cabbage should be boiled rapidly in plenty of water; so should onions, young beets and turnips.
William Galvani learned from experiments that by cooking most fruits and vegetables lose their natural flavor, which he says in “Food, Home and Garden,” is after all, more delicious than any that can be artificially supplied.
You can prevent your pretty new ginghams from fading if you let them lie for several hours in water in which has been dissolved a goodly quantity of salt. Put the dress in it while it is hot, and after several hours wring it out dry and wash and usual.
The pretty woman fades with the roses on her cheeks and the girlhood that lasts and hour; the beautiful woman finds her fullness of bloom only when a past has written itself on her, and her power is then most irresistible when it seems going.
When a warm bath is taken, if the whole body from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet is instantly sponged with cold water there will not be danger of taking cold. The cold water closed the pores naturally. They are left open unnaturally after a warm bath.
Commonplace but important is the suggestion, “Be careful of fire.” Never take risk of lighting fire in stove or furnace not known to be ready and safe. In building or repairing see that the pipe holes in the chimney are tight and well protected from lath and siding by use of clay pots made for the purpose.
The Mountain Democrat (Placerville, California) Jan 2, 1892
Sandusky Daily Register – Jul 21, 1890
Sandusky Daily Register – Dec 12, 1890
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PLAIN TALK.
Every Day Hints for the Practical Housekeeper.
The oil of white birch bark, which gives to Russia leather its peculiar aromatic and lasting qualities, when dissolved in alcohol is said to be excellent for preserving and waterproofing various fabrics. It renders them both acid and insect proof, and in no way destroys their pliability.
Tea and coffee stains will usually come out of linen if put into water at once or if soon washed. IF the yare of long standing rub pure glycerine on them, and then after washing this out, wash the linen in the usual way.
Prick potatoes before baking so that the air can escape. This will prevent their bursting in the oven.
Bad breath or offensive breath may be removed by taking a teaspoonful of the following mixture after each meal. One ounce liquor of potash, one ounce chloride of soda, one and one-half ounces phosphate of soda, and three ounces of water.
A good formula for layer cakes is as follows: One cupful of sugar, one-half cup of butter, one-half cup of sweet milk, the beaten whites of four eggs, two cupfuls of flour and a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder.
The Housekeeper gives the following hints: To take ink out of linen, dip the spotted parts immediately in pure melted tallow, the wash out the tallow and the ink will have disappeared.
Lima Daily Times (Lima, Ohio) Aug 16, 1892
Sandusky Daily Register – Jul 15, 1892
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This next one is kind of creepy:
Sandusky Daily Register – Oct 11, 1892
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Let the men wash!
Fort Wayne Gazette – Apr 30, 1895
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Here are the household hints that come with the warning. The dangerous hints are mostly at the end of the list:
HINTS FOR THE HOUSEKEEPER.
The following directions for removing stains, spots, etc., must be used with exceeding caution, Chloroform, benzine, turpentine, kerosene and gasoline are all dangerous substances unless handled with extreme care.
Sponge a grease spot with four tablespoonsful of alcohol to one of salt.
Sprinkle salt over the spot on a carpet and sweep all up together.
Rub finger marks from furniture with a little sweet oil.
Put a lump of camphor in an air-tight case with silverware to keep it from discoloration.
Remove paint spots from a window by rubbing a copper cent over them.
Sprinkle salt over fresh claret stains.
Wash ink stains in strong brine and then sponge with lemon juice.
Hold a fruit stained article over a bowl and pour boiling water through the cloth.
Rub egg stains on silver with salt on a damp cloth.
Use wood ashes on discolored tableware.
Clean steel knives with raw potato dipped in fine brick dust.
Rub brass with hot vinegar and salt and scour with fine ashes.
Clean a carpet with a broom dipped in a very weak solution of turpentine in hot water.
Cleanse grained woodwork with cold tea.
Scour ironware with finely sifted coal ashes.
Soak mildewed clothes in buttermilk and spread on the grass in the sun.
Wash rusty gilt frames in spirits of wine.
Wash oilcloth with a flannel and warm water; dry thoroughly and rub with a little skimmed milk.
Purify jars by soaking hem in strong sodawater.
Wash blackened ceilings with sodawater.
Rub white spots on furniture with camphor.
Rub a stove zinc with kerosene.
Cleanse bottles with hot water and fine ????s.
Remove fruit stains from hands with weak oxalic acid.
Clean jewelry with prepared chalk.
Wash hair brushes in weak ammonia water.
Rub stained hands with salt and lemon juice.
Remove ink from wood with muriatic acid, after rinsing with water.
Wash japanned ware with a little warm soda.
Rub mirrors with spirits of wine.
Apply spirits of salt to ink stained mahogany.
Use sulphuric acid, wash off with suds, for medicine stains on silver.
Remove all stains from wall paper by powdered pipe clay moistened.
Use gasoline for removing paint.
Use jewelers’ rouge and lard for rubbing nickel plating.
Wash willow ware with salt water.
Clean hard finished walls with ammonia water.
Rub whitewash spots with strong vinegar.
Rub soft grease over tar and then wash in warm soda water.
Dip a soft cloth in vinegar and rub on smoky mica.
Sponge faded plush with chloroform.
Take paint out of clothing by equal parts of ammonia and turpentine.
To remove machine oil from satin use benzine. Be careful about having a light in the room as it is very explosive.
Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 27, 1894
Fort Wayne Gazette – Dec 30, 1895
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Pearline gets violent:
Fort Wayne Gazette – Jun 12, 1896
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HINTS FOR THE HOUSEKEEPER
A PAN of borax and sugar, kept under the sink, will discourage roaches.
Plenty of hot water and washing soda put down the sink pipes will keep them clear, and lessen the plumber’s bill.
A piece of lime or charcoal in the new refrigerator will prevent the “new” odor and taste from clinging to eatables.
To successfully bake a piecrust without its filling, line it with paraffin paper and fill it with uncooked rice.
Enameled ware that has become burned or discolored may be cleaned by rubbing with coarse salt and vinegar.
A teaspoonful of lemon juice to a quart of water will make rice very white and keep the grains separate when boiled.
A tablespoonful of borax is an agreeable addition to the dishwasher, and helps to keep the hands soft instead of irritating them, as soda does.
The Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana) Dec 1, 1907
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Curse Monday, Wash Day:
Nebraska State Journal – Oct 25, 1897
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The late 1890s must have been desperate times; this woman is slashing with a dagger:
Eau Claire Leader – Jul 6, 1898
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Hints for the Housekeeper.
A soft clean cloth dipped in melted paraffin will give the stove a smooth, attractive surface. Kerosene-oil on a soft lintless cloth may be used on the nickel afterward to effect a polish.
Put two worn blankets together, cover with silkolene and stitch with worsted. Thsi makes an attractive comforter, if you choose the silkolene and worsted to harmonize with the color scheme of the bedroom.
Brushes should be hung up. They should never be allowed to stand on their bristles as this mats them and tends to make the bristles fall out. In using a broom, sometimes use one side and sometimes the other; this will make it wear evenly and so last longer. An oil mop will wear longer if it is not hung too near the heat after washing it. The bristles of a carpet sweeper or a vacuum cleaner can be well cleaned of hairs with a buttonhook or a pair of scissors.
Fine china nicks particularly easily when it is warm. A towel in the bottom of the dish pan will save much danger of chipping. Use a mild soap in washing painted or gilt-edged china and wash one piece at a time. Avoid using water that is too hot, in washing dishes and put plates into it edgewise so that both sides will expand with the heat alike. Much fine china, especially that which is made in China, is rough on the bottom. When the dishes are stacked in the closet, soft paper, or flannel pads should be kept between them to prevent the decoration on the front from being scratched, worn or chipped.
— Delineator.
The Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) May 27, 1922
Nebraska State Journal – Aug 16, 1897
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Hints For The Housekeeper
A Model Floor Waxer
I haven’t a floor waxer, so will tell how I wax my floors. I lay down a piece of cloth, put on the middle of it the amount of wax it will take, then place a warm flatiron on the wax, gather the cloth all up on the handle of the iron and proceed to iron the floor. As the iron cools change for a warmer iron. The wax goes go much faster this way and soaks in better, because it is warm. I wait about half an hour, then put a large piece of old woolen goods in the mop and then polish the floor. Try it on your Congoleum rugs and see how much brighter they are.
Save On Cleaning Candlesticks
Instead of scraping the wax from brass or silver candlesticks, plunge the metal part in hot water and thus melt the wax. Candlesticks are often scratched when the wax is scraped off. By melting off the wax much time is saved and you will not run the risk of marring the candlesticks.
Sheboygan Press (Shepoygan, Wisconsin) Jan 7, 1927
YesterYear Once More 