Early American Life

No one knows exactly why stonecarvers chipped out replica books—diminutive in size and forever closed—but they found a permanent place on bookshelves and in the hands of collectors. In our February issue, Winfield Ross talks with two owners of some of the largest collections of stone books to investigate the mystery of why they were carved and what makes them such desirable collectibles.

See issue contents.

FEATURED ARTIST

We’d like to introduce some of the artists selected for the 2011 Holiday Directory of Traditional American Crafts in the category Holiday.
Vaughn and Stephanie Rawson founded the Whimsical Whittler wood carving studio in 1989 specializing in Santas, holiday figures and other Americana-inspired folk art.
Read more about Vaughn & Stephanie Rawson.

Cast Iron Chef

Four centuries of culinary traditions came to life in a "Cast Iron Chef" competition held at Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia on Saturday, October 29, 2011. Each chef received a basket of surprise seasonal ingredients and then prepared dishes appropriate to her interpreted time period. The chefs interpreted time periods from early 17th century England to a 20th century American camping trip. Working in the 18th Century period was Mercy Ingraham, who regularly contributes both recipes and culinary history to Early American Life.

Click here to read more.

Fire-starter Project Bonus

In our December 2011 issue we feature an article, "Tokens of Thanks," that shows some holiday-spirited hostess gifts you can make. We've put full instructions and a printable sample of ancient-looking paper in our Sources pages. Or you can simply click here to go there directly.

Cider Mills to Visit

Leaves are aflame, a crisp chill is in the air, and you can smell the apple cider fresh from the press—at least is you visit a cider mill. We searched around and found several historic cider mills across the country. Most have stood their place for more than a century and are filled with both old-fashioned machinery and hospitality—and any one is a place where you can sip the world's freshest cider straight from the press. A visit to one of these mills near you will thrill the kids and your taste buds alike. Click here to see our listing of historic cider mills.

READER COMMENTS

On January 9th John Robinson wrote: I like the look of the spotted wall in the Kriner's bedroom. Do you know what material they used to create the dots? We are thinking of the same technique, which we have seen in photos of the Peter Wentz Farmstead, for our kitchen.

Click here to respond.

Readers' Exchange Returns

Long-time subscrbers probably remember our Readers' Exchange—it was once the most popular feature in the magazine. We've revived it here, on-line for quicker response. If you're looking for restoration help, offering back issues to a good home, need genealogical information, or are trying to find an answer, post a note for the EAL community. We'll keep your address and email private for your security.

Visit the Readers’ Exchange.