Welcome to our new home page

Welcome, and we hope you will like the changes to the home page. Old & Interesting has more visitors than it used to, and we think you may appreciate new ways to explore the site, with more ways to find what interests you, or what's popular. At the same time, we're starting a companion site, Home Things Past, with articles on a range of domestic antiques and space for comments.

All our articles (complete sitemap here) are illustrated, and we like to think they're original, knowledgeable, and different from what you'll find elsewhere. Here are links to some of our most-visited pages:

Thank you to everyone who's ever emailed with interesting info, queries, and pictures. It's been a pleasure to discover what a wide range of interests readers of Old & Interesting have. Our visitors include living history reenactors, antiques collectors, and people involved in traditional crafts. Some are researching for books, TV programmes, or academic projects. The clothesline picture (left) echoes the interests of readers pursuing sustainable, thrifty lifestyles. Some visitors have long memories, or are thinking about how grandparents lived their lives. Of course there are many more readers who come without us knowing what's brought them here. Reaching a variety of people across the world helps make publishing online very satisfying. Thanks to every one of you for sharing our interests.

  Antique household equipment, furnishings, utensils - housekeeping as part of social history. Domestic life, household management - how people ran their homes and did the daily chores. Yesterday's everyday objects are today's antiques or museum pieces, making us curious about past ways of life.

Old & Interesting takes a look at how these everyday things were used, how people managed their home life - and more. Click for  RSS feed or email to hear about new articles and blog posts.

Making butter in 1930s North Carolina, the same way as 1000+ years ago.

Quick pick
Laundry blue ~ popular
Beer warmers ~ quirky
Rushlights ~ make them yourself?

Coming soon
Enamel cookware history will be the next article here. Sign up for RSS feed or get email updates.

Click for a complete list of all articles arranged by topic.

What is it?

Click on the picture to find out how the little wooden horse and board were used.

Home Things Past

Latest post on our new companion site is about stovetop utensils in a 1920s kitchen. Click through for a big photo of a nice old vintage stove, and see if you can identify everything.

Did you know?

Oval copper kettles came into fashion a generation before this English kettle was made around 1850, and they cost more than round ones. In the 1820s, buying a round kettle, not oval, would save you enough money for a "gridiron or frying-pan" (2 or 3 shillings) according to domestic advice from Esther Copley.