While trawling though historical newspapers recently I read, in amongst a collection of household hints, a particularly eye-watering recipe for a hair tonic (more about that later). At that moment household hints seemed vastly more fascinating than the topic I was researching so I went on a household hint hunt. Newspaper columns devoted to these hints seemed to be at their peak in the second decade of the twentieth century, in Australia at least, but had been published regularly since the 1860s. They were not common in the 1850s but I did find the odd ‘Hints to wives’ such as this one.

Hints to Wives — If your husband occasionally looks a little troubled when he comes home, do not say to him with an alarmed countenance, ‘What ails you my dear?’ Don’t rattle a hailstone of fun about his ears either – be observant and quiet. Don’t suppose that whenever he is silent and thoughtful that you are, of course, the cause. Let him alone until he is inclined to talk; take up your book or your needlework — pleasantly, cheerfully, no pouting, no sullenness — and wait till he is inclined to be sociable. Don’t let him ever find a shirt button missing. A shirt button being off a collar or wristband has frequently produced the first hurricane of married life. Men’s shirt collars never fit exactly —see that your husband’s are made as well as possible, and then, if he does fret a little about them, never mind it, men have a prescriptive right to fret about shirt-collars – Jerrola’s newspaper—The Melbourne Daily News  Mon 3 Feb 1851 p.4
Who would have thought that collars were so central to a happy marriage?

Many early examples of household advice were a miscellaneous jumble of useful hints.

Others provided brief recipes on everything from preparing potato cutlets with tomatoes to banishing mosquitoes, removing mildew and creating ornaments from fern fronds.

For example, the household hints column of the Saturday edition of Brisbane newspaper The Week (13 Oct 1877) included recipes for ginger beer, calf’s tripe, strawberry ice, soda scones, green corn fritters, Dutch sauce (for boiled fish), claret jelly and potato curry as well as directions on how to clean riding habits, fasten paper on tin boxes, remove stains made by marking ink, make sheepskin mats, and starch and iron collars and cuffs.

The throwaway society was not something conceived of at this time so people were frugal and did what they could at home before looking and, heaven forfend, paying for what could be done themselves. Nursing and more ‘minor’ medical aliments were treated at home. People looked for thrifty ways to keep their appearance neat and pleasant and, whenever possible, they mended, renewed and recycled clothing and household items.

Mending

These two recipes for mending broken china use materials I have never considered would work as a glue.

The juice of garlic, bruised in a stone mortar, is remarkably fine cement for broken glass or china, and, if carefully applied, will leave no mark behind.— The Clarence River Advocate Fri 29 Jan 1904 p.2

Clothing needed to last and so care was taken to ensure it was neat and presentable even after several years’ wear.

Two more hints from The Clarence River Advocate from 1904 (29 Jan 1904 p.2)
Spirits of turpentine will restore the brilliancy to patent leather. Boots and bags look almost new under its influence.
Mildew on black cloth is difficult to remove, but it is well to try the effect of rubbing the places with ammonia, which may be applied plain or with a little boiling water.

Some excellent preventative advice from The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express (3 Apr 1914 p.15)

Lace blouses were expensive and needed special care.
Button holes in a Lace Blouse—The difficulty of working buttonholes in a lace blouse may be overcome by basting a strip of linen inside hem where the holes are required, and work through the lace and linen together. When finished, cut away the linen. If closely worked these buttonholes will outlast the blouse.—The Albury Banner and Wodonga Express Fri 28 Oct 1910 p.14

Sickness and health

Nursing was usually done at home except in extreme cases.
An agreeable method of changing the atmosphere in an invalid’s room is to pour some eau de Cologne into a soup plate and with a lighted match set fire to it. The spirit will impart a delightfully refreshing odour to the air.—Darling Downs Gazette Tue 16 Jun 1914 p.2
But do make sure the soup bowl is not placed near the curtains.

A drop of lavender on the hair or pillow of an invalid will keep away annoying flies.—The Shoalhaven Telegraph Wed 25 Apr 1917 p.11

The hints columns also included advice on a range of conditions from the everyday to the more serious.

Hiccough is quickly cured by taking a lump of sugar saturated in vinegar.—The Brunswick and Coburg Leader Fri 20 Dec 1918 p.7

Guarding Against Colds—Sunshine and air do more to frighten away the demon of colds, than do any number of doctors or medicines. People who sleep with their windows open are far wiser than those who hermetically seal themselves against any fresh air until they arise. And don’t accustom yourself to never be in a draft for a minute, for it is sure to be unavoidable at times, and then if you are not used to it you will catch cold.—Bendigo Advertiser Sat 30 Jul 1904 p.7

But if you did catch a cold?
When one has a cold, and the nose is closed up so that one cannot breathe comfortably, relief may be found directly by putting a little camphor and water in the centre of the hand and sniffing it up the nostrils.—The Clarence River Advocate Fri 29 Jan 1904 p.2
That would certainly clear the sinuses. My grandfather’s (b.1887) cure, which I have not found mentioned in any of the columns, was to make up a cup of cooled boiled water and salt and irrigate the sinuses in a similar manner. Overdoing the salt was, literally, eye-watering.

Horseradish will afford instantaneous relief in the most obstinate cases of hoarseness. The root, of course, possesses the most virtue, though the leaves are good until the dry, when they lose their strength. The root is best when it is green. The person who will use it freely just before beginning to speak will not be troubled with hoarseness. The root boiled down and sweetened into a thick syrup will give relief in the severest cases.—Kapunda Herald Fri 17 May 1912 p.8

When the children are troubled with bites from midges and other annoying insects that are so common at this time of year, cover the bites with a paste made of carbonate of soda and a little cold water. This won’t grease sheets and pillow cases as an ointment would, but is splendid for relieving irritation.—The Sydney Wool and Stock Journal Fri 24 Nov 1916 p.12

A medical journal says that in carrying children in the arms care should be taken not to carry them habitually on the same side, as this tends to make them on sided.—The Week Sat 14 May 1887 p.27
I’m not sure about the effect on children but, even to this day, this does help the mother to develop a very strong right arm (or left as the case may be) that can be useful at other times.

There was advice, too, on far more serious conditions.

Burns—Make a paste of common baking soda and water and apply it promptly to the burn. It will check the pain and inflammation.—The Clarence River Advocate Fri 29 Jan 1904 p.2

Treatment of Wounds—A wound produced by a sharp cutting instrument will heal without trouble when the edges are nicely brought together, and left so with out putting on any salve, provided the access of air is shut off and the person possesses a good constitution. If the wound is produced by a rusty nail or a similar cause, so as to be jagged, it will soon become inflamed, and in such a case it is recommended to smoke such a wound with burning wool or woollen cloth. Twenty minutes in the smoke of wool will take the pain out of the worst wound, and if repeated once or twice will allay the worst case of inflammation arising from a wound.—Ovens and Murray Advertiser Sat 11 Dec 1880 p.6
I have my doubts about the effectiveness of wool smoke if the jagged wound caused by a rusty nail harboured clostridium tetani.

And finally a recipe for the woman who has a long and busy day
When the day has been long and hard, when a sharp pain begins to make itself felt in the busy woman’s forehead and a dull ache in the back of her neck, there is only one thing for her to do. First she must get out of her tight clothing and bunch her hair on the top of her head. Then she must bathe her face and neck for five minutes in the hottest water she can bear. After that she should lie down flat on her back. If she does not fall asleep, she should rise at the end of half-an-hour. She will feel ten years younger. There will be no pain anywhere.—The Muswellbrook Chronicle Sat 17 Nov 1900 p.5

Keeping yourself nice

As well as hints for keeping clothing looking smart, the columns included items on ensuring your appearance was nice.

Brittle Nails—Rub a little almond oil into them every night. Wear gloves when working near a fire.—The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser Sat 2 Aug 1902 p.297

To prevent the smell of onions, which is so offensive on the breath, eat a sprig of parsley.—Darling Downs Gazette Mon 16 May 1910 p.7

And now the item that originally piqued my interest.

A similar recipe (different alcohol though) was published nine years earlier in The Argus (5 Dec 1909 p.15) in answer to a request by SM of Nar-Nar-Goon for a tonic made by steeping an onion in dry gin.

Another Gippslander replied a fortnight later and said that she had ‘been using it for some three months with splendid results and warmly recommends it in spite of the unpleasant smell. She puts two medium-sized onions through a mincer, and pours over them half a pint bottle of Holland’s gin, then leaves them standing in a covered vessel. Every other morning she rubs this liquid briskly into the scalp with her fingertips, afterwards rolling the hair up loosely, so that the air can penetrate through it. In about an hour the disagreeable smell disappears.’ Another Gippslander found the tonic ‘very cleaning and stimulating. It makes the hair glossy and fluffy, she says, and promotes the rapid growth of new hair.’
Does the ‘disagreeable smell’ truly disappear or is it just that Another Gippslander has become used to it after an hour?

In the same column that had the original request was another recipe for hair tonic that sounds more tolerable.
Rosemary tonic is made by stewing a pound of rosemary leaves in a quart of soft water for five or six hours. Filter the liquid through soft muslin, and add half a pint of bay rum. Rub the tonic into the roots of the hair every night and morning.—The Argus Wed 1 Dec 1909 p.15

Hair tonics often featured alcohol and still do today, though now most often in the form of isopropyl alcohol, but there are online sites (and no doubt magazines) touting the benefits of wasting perfectly drinkable alcohol of all sorts on your hair [There are lots of ads inserted through this article].

The hair—Jamaica rum, constantly used to wash the hair, keeps it very clean, and promotes its growth. It is most injurious to sleep with the hair plaited.—The Week Sat 17 Nov 1883 p.21

Hair tonic—half a pint bay rum, 30 drops tincture of cantharides, half teaspoonful salt. Shake well before using. If the hair is dry add a little castor oil.—The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser Sat 2 Aug 1902 p.297
Tincture of cantharides was a common ingredient of the many hair tonics and made from the blister beetle.

If one’s hair is brittle, try rubbing the scalp every night for a little while with pure olive oil, it strengthens the roots and improves the hair.—The Land Fri 20 Jul 1917 p.11

To stop the hair falling, rub sage tea into the scalp every alternate night. Make the decoction very strong, and add to it a little spirit to prevent it from becoming sour.—The Brunswick and Coburg Leader Fri 20 Dec 1918 p.7

Next month I will post some more from these household hints columns on the art ‘making do’ as well as some fascinating culinary recipes.

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All the advertisements and their images can be found using the invaluable Trove search portal of the National Library of Australia.