Victorian Advertisements - 1851 Quiz

Answer: A mail boat

Historically a "packet" boat was a vessel on a fairly regular schedule carrying mail, and usually passengers as well. Before the arrival of steam ships, timetables were often difficult to hold to, but when steam ships became available it was much easier to keep to a schedule, and routes proliferated. Southampton being a maritime hub, there were steam packets going to dozens of different places.

At one end you had local services, for example, "Southampton Steam Packets" offered trips between Southampton and the Isle of Wight seven times a day, using a fleet of six ships.

At the other extreme you had P & O packets going as far as India and China on a regular basis. These vessels would probably have been side-wheel paddle steamers, but not long after they were superseded by screw driven ships.

Answer: A funeral

Funerals at that time were very significant social occasions, and it was conventional to show your social importance by the way the funeral was conducted. A well-to-do family would have a ceremony involving carriages drawn by black horses, and often these horses were decorated with black plumes worn on their heads.

Incidentally, in Victorian times there did not seem to be specialist undertakers, but many stores, especially those selling special funeral clothing, would organise a funeral. You could buy black clothes for the occasion, or you might have some clothes dyed black. Whether you could have the original colour restored afterwards is dubious.

Answer: On the bottom of a ship

The clue I guess is in the reference to Sargasso, the well-known sea of weed drifting in the Atlantic. The advertised composition was claimed to inhibit the growth of weed etc. and hence it helped to conserve the vessel on which it was applied. The ad explains why it works; "One of the peculiar qualities of this composition is, that shortly after immersion in salt water, decomposition takes place between the oxides forming its base, and the surface of the paint becomes slimy, like the back of a fish, although adhesive, adding considerably to the speed of the vessel."

Answer: Cleaning your teeth

Hall's sold a range of materials for cleaning your teeth. The complete list was::
Aromatic Astringent Dentifrice
Rose Dentifrice
Pearl Dentifrice
Camphorated Chalk

Answer: Textiles used for bathroom or bedroom items

Ticking was a strong material made of cotton, and ticks were items made from this material, such as pillow cases and mattress covers.
Huckaback (sometimes Huggaback) was a material of cotton or linen, in a weave that made it particularly absorbent. It was therefore often used for towels.

Answer: In big houses.

Doorbells of course would be very common, but the installation of these was usually not very difficult. On the other hand, any middle class family would employ one or more servants, and these would often be summoned by ringing a bell. Bigger houses might have an intricate arrangement of bells which rang in the servants' quarters, and might indicate on a board in which room service was required.

Answer: Electricity

The use of electricity was just coming into fashion, but seems to have been poorly understood. To quote the advert:
"The various modes of administering this Boon of Nature's God is---
1 By throwing a stream of electric fluid on the patient:
2 Abstracting it by insulation on glass, by brass or wooden point:
3 By the vibratory current:
4 By sparks:
5 By the electric water, in inflammation of the eye, &c.:
6 By shocks"
Which would you volunteer to undergo?

Answer: A usually loose-fitting coat

A paletot coat was usually made of tweed, could be worn by a man or a woman, and was sometimes, but not generally fitted to the wearer. It had big lapels, no belt and was usually doublebreasted.
To quote the ad: "PARAMA Clothing, pliable, waterproof, and warranted to keep a good colour in any Climate."

Answer: Holding smelling salts

The full wording was: "A Splendid and very extensive Assortment of Richly cut Smelling Bottles. Also with Patent Spring Tops, in great variety".
It was conventional in those times for respectable women to act the part of the "weaker sex", and they were not supposed to be able to cope with stressful situations. At such times a lady would faint, or swoon, and would be revived by sniffing from a smelling bottle which she would fortuitously carry with her. Such a bottle would contain "sal volatile", which usually smelled of ammonia, which would help to revive the poor dear.

Answer: Use it for washing

These days sponges are usually made from synthetic material, but back then the only source was the original sea animal. The best sponges came from the eastern Mediterranean, and hence got the name Turkey sponges. Being very absorbent they would be used for cleaning impervious items, and for personal washing.

Answer: A woman's cloak

A pelisse was a long loose outer garment, such as a cloak, made from or lined with fur.

Answer: Removing grease spots

I can't do better than to let the original advertisement explain:
"Palk's Eximory Powder will on trial, be found to exceed anything of the kind ever offered to the public, as a safe, certain and easy application for removing Grease Spots out of Silks, Stuffs and Woollens of all sorts, without discharging the colour, leaving any stain, or being any detriment thereto."
It was available "In bottles at one shilling each"
I have no idea where the name "Eximory" came from.

Answer: A lifting device

A crab was an engine (that meant a mechanical device, not usually powered) used for hauling or raising heavy objects. Early versions would have had claws, hence the name.

Answer: An early inaccurate watch

The ad says:"Good sound Verge Watches converted into Levers at a small cost, and will be found to answer admirably". Early pocket watches used the verge escapement, which consisted of a wheel with notches cut round it on one side (so that it looked rather like a crown), which was made to rotate by means of a mainspring.

Its rotation was periodically halted by an arm with a flag attached, which was then turned so as to release the wheel again. Watches and clocks incorporating this mechanism tended to be quite inaccurate, being dependent on the tension in the spring among other things.

In the late 18th century a better mechanism was invented and developed, namely the lever escapement. The fact that the lever mechanism is used to this day in analogue watches and clocks is a tribute to the original idea.

Answer: At evening parties

"Routs" were evening parties, where these small sweet cakes were eaten. Rout cakes were mentioned by several early 19C novelists, including Austen, Thackeray and Flaubert.