Some Victorian images for the kitchen

We were lucky enough to find some original images of some of the inhabitants of the house from the 1870s. Obviously they were in sepia, but I carefully hand tinted them to achieve a brilliantly realistic effect.

As you can see, they represent three stages in the preparation of one of those elaborate meals that the Victorians were famous for.

In this first picture we see the start of the preparations. The attractive (and obviously talented) cook is starting to lay up her table whilst a good looking but rather supercilious footman looks on.  A scruffy odd job man who was obviously brought up from the basement to do the most dirty and undesirable tasks is carrying a hamper of rich foodstuffs in.  Notice that there are also two cats which presumably had the prominent place in the Victorian household which they enjoy today.

The second picture shows the scene warming up as preparations for the meal are in full swing.  The attractive cook is justifiably angry with the odd job man who is clearing up after the cats who have spilled the cream.  The footman is not doing much apart from looking elegant.

In the final picture of the sequence we see the polished result of the meal.  The attractive, vibrant and supremely competent cook stands behind the meal she has made almost completely unaided.  As ever the footman is doing very little and the odd job man is helping himself to the port.  The two cats look on admiringly.

It is remarkable how these old images, though faded and crude, evoke the memories of people (and cats) who, although long gone, must not have been very different from we ourselves.

I have framed the pictures and hung them in the kitchen.