Madeleine Wedesweiler has this interesting story, posted in Domain, about a married couple living in the Victorian era. She describes that stepping inside the house of Sarah and Gabriel Chisman in Port Townsend, Washington is like getting into a time capsule that will take you back to the culture and technology of the 19th century.
Sarah, who has an equally engaging essay published in Vox where she describes their chosen lifestyle, explains that she and her husband study history, in particular the 1880s and '90s, and that they connect their daily life to their period of study.
From their everyday clothing, to the things they use inside and outside the house, they choose to be influenced by that particular period. The turning point was when they bought their present Victorian-inspired home. The first thing they did was to replace the conventional refrigerator for an ice box where they now store their milk and meat. Sarah wears a corset and Gabriel rides a penny farthing bicycle to work.
Sarah is a writer, who to this day, uses an antique fountain pen and liquid ink for her entries in her diary. She sews and does their laundry by hand. In their kitchen is a Charm Crawford stove that needs to have its fire tended before cooking meals. Instead of the modern-day lights, they use oil lamps and the early patents of electric light bulbs.
They have acquired many second hand furniture through eBay including 1890s carved wood armchairs and a carved wooden bedhead, while an old Chinese rug on their living room came from the great grandmother of Gabriel and is considered an heirloom. Their home is heated by antique kerosene and gas heaters, and their hand-sewn mattress is stuffed with feathers.
Gabriel told Sean Keeley of Curbed, "We want to encourage people to do things different, even if they're not normal or mainstream. And whatever interests them, just do it. Follow that path and try it out and you'll be amazed by what you learn."
Sarah shares in her article in Vox that one of the difficulties they are encountering is the reaction of people to their way of life, as they are oftentimes ridiculed and scorned. "Journalists seem to be expecting some plaintive lament about dealing with Victorian technology, but those are the joys of my life. The hardships come from daily dealings with the ignorant," she says.
