In my new book I have a section about ruff collars—those accordion-like, cartwheel-shaped gizmos that were in style from about 1530 to 1630. That’s a long time to be in fashion, expecially considering how incredibly ungainly and impractical (not to… Read More
When famine struck the settlers in the Jamestown colony during the winter of 1609- 10, starving colonists turned to cats, dogs, snakes, and rats to stay alive. When that was gone, they boiled their ruff collars, which had been stiffened… Read More