Penny Campbell: Fill & Download for Free

What's the fashion trend from the past that you miss?I was a teen in the late 1950s and I miss so much from that time. I miss the shoesespecially. Not the Saddle shoe or saddle oxford, though tying tiny bells in the laces at Christmas time was fun. Jingling through the silent halls while classes were in session was a cool thing to do — till the admin banned bells.No, not the saddles - I miss penny loafers. Unlike the saddles, loafers just slipped on, especially while wearing a garter belt and a pair of hose. This was fine in the winter, but in fall and late spring, they were hot.Elvis Presley wore them with argyle socks - but no penny.This is how I wore mine. White bobby socks sometimes and hose other times - but the pennies were mandatory. As my father worked at the post office, he would get me a roll of brand new, uncirculated pennies. It was easy to slipthem into the slits.Penny loafers are available all over the Internet, but these are what they have advised me to wear. Nope! Not gonna do it. They are butt-ugly! I may be old,but I still have my pride. I would rather go barefoot!Interviews by Decade: 1950s1950s Teen Fashion: Styles, Trends & PicturesA Quick History of Penny Loafers - He Spoke Style

Did medieval blacksmiths have a stock of things to sell, or was all their work made-to-order?Like any artisan, a blacksmith did both. For example, he would make blanks — formed but unfinished pieces. Then he would shape the shoe to the horse’s hoof making it made-to-order. This shoe in a museum in England was made-to-order.Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, Richard Henry photographerHe made nails by the barrel; they were 100 for a penny hence the name “penny nails”. That’s what Poppa called them.This a picture of a Viking burial about 1019.Personal items were found in the grave. Here we can see a razor, a scissors for trimming beard, tweezers and a frying pan. (Photo: Howell Roberts, University Museum of Bergen)A medieval blacksmith would make measured-and -made-to-order maille.European wedge riveted mail, showing both sides of the rings, 16th to 17th century.A blacksmith who worked in a small village would know his customers extremely well so often he would have ready what they needed before they needed it. For example, he knew how old John Farmer’s plow was and when he couldn’t repair it anymore. He knew to have the plow made and ready before next spring. He knew each household’s needs and preferences and had those custom items ready. Skillets, sickles, tack, fire dogs, candlesticks, grills, and griddles, etc — any household or agricultural items his neighbors needed. At times, he would be too busy to do small repairs and that is when a traveling blacksmith, called a tinker, would be in the village for a few days.So our smithy had a stock of made-to-order items. He would be a well-liked and valuable member of the village. Such care as he gave is rare today.One Pinterest pictureA Viking blacksmith buried with his toolsChain mail - WikipediaFile:Medieval horseshoe (FindID 617637).jpg

How did people buy small items centuries ago when even pennies were worth large amounts?For (my) convenience, I am limiting my answer to buying two things! The first is Bread. Bread is still a household item all these centuries later. Bread was so crucial that riots occurred when not enough food was available. People lost their heads literally --well, one certainly did when she suggested that the hungry should eat cake!Edit: The woman who lost her head was not the French M.A. I was referring to a baker’s wife in a historical novel I read. She was brutally murdered also.Who made bread? Peasants did--in their own homes when possible. Some went to either a communal bakehouse or made arrangements with the localbaker for a small fee. Since the bakehouse belonged to the entire community, one could pay to use the facility by collecting wood (free). Cleaning the oven and building (done with others it was not difficult work) and was also free.Who then paid for bread? The moderately and very wealthy. They had the small coins to buy bread whenever they wished.Eggs. Who couldn’t or didn’t buy eggs? The destitute often went without eggs unless they foraged from the countryside or stole from an unguarded coop. Just as the destitute rarely ate meat, they seldom had eggs either.The next level up had their own chickens which they had to protect from the destitute. If they lived in the countryside, the housewife often went to a nearby village or, better, a city to sell her surplus eggs. If the household was in the city, a few chickens could be kept in the backyard. (This is common in New Mexico.) So, who did buy eggs? City households whose yards were put to work purposes and chickens were not possible to keep.The same people who bought bread and eggs bought the “small items” of the question. Going to a market was the Medieval equivalent of going to a mall and was usually just as much fun.Images from the internet.