Satire: One Colonial Housewife's Holiday Shopping

A Shopping Trip in the 18th Century

By Misty Thomas
QuailBellMagazine.com

My stars! Suddenly these holidays are upon us and I have nothing to show for it! My house needs a little décor as everyone in town has seen the stale pottery that I have on display. How do I keep appearances up when all of my vases and paintings are old and tired?! 

During these specials holidays, there will be visitors in and out of our posh and magnificent home. I must make sure that everyone oohs and ahhs over my new art and pottery. Where do I even begin? I know, a quaint trip down to Williamsburg, Virginia. I always find the best vases there. There is a shop there that has quite the finger vase collection that would be absolutely perfect for my guests to ogle.

My mother-in-law, of course, is the one who piqued my interest in the collection of vases and artwork. My home was quite plain until one day, she decided to visit and unannounced at that. She critiqued every painting in my home and said I needed more art. Apparently, the women in London have quite the personal art collections and if I am to be a prominent American woman, I will need the same. After hearing that, I took our first trip to Williamsburg. A weekend trip of shopping and learning about art from the Who's Who in English culture.

My mother-in-law recently introduced me to the finger vase, which Miss Claire LeDoyen introduced to you Quail Bell(e)s before. It is incredibly divine and since I love to display fresh flowers, the finger vase is a necessity in my home. Williamsburg is famous for these vases and I can find just about any type that I want there. I love the finger vase because I can display five different types of flowers at a time and my guests can see what lovely taste I have in flora. After purchasing a few of these finger vases, I decided that all I need now is some art for my bare walls.

My mother-in-law has suggested that we have a few paintings of the Revolutionary War in the study. She tells me that the men will enjoy their cognac and reminisce about their days as soldiers—the "good ol' days." I suppose that she is correct, so I purchased a couple of those from a kind, young lady in Williamsburg for twenty pence. She insisted that I give her less, but it was evident to me that her family needed the money more than I did. 

With war paintings purchased and finger vases in tow, I needed just a few more items to make my collection complete for my future guests. I purchased quite a few paintings of the homes in Williamsburg and also a few paintings of vases and flowers. These are bright in color and will help to liven up my darker rooms. I purchased a few for gifts as well with the holidays being upon us. 

Overall, I say that this Williamsburg trip was quite a successful one and I absolutely cannot wait for my guests to see the amazing new artwork that I will have on display for my annual holiday parties. But first to prepare for All Hallows' Eve...

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