Enquire Within Upon Everything
Enquire Within Upon Everything was a how-to book for domestic life, first published in 1856 by Houlston and Sons of Paternoster Square in London. The editor was Robert Kemp Philp. It was then continuously reprinted in many new and updated editions as additional information and articles were added. The book was created with the intention of providing encyclopedic information on topics as diverse as etiquette, parlour games, cake recipes, laundry tips, holiday preparation and first aid.
When I was five years old my Dad gave me a copy of this book and I memorised the entire contents by the time I was seven. If you believe that you’ll believe anything. It is true though, that I did spend a lot of time reading it & looking things up. Things like “How to make babies” etc..
What this taught me was this. Having a readily available source of information on a wide range of subjects is invaluable. Don’t forget that in 1950, when I got my hands on that book, we had no computers or internet and we didn’t have a TV.
We have seven kids (all grow up with kids of their own).
I intend to have a spot on this website where I can pass on some of the knowledge I have acquired – much since the advent of the WWW and plenty that is relevant to folks who may make enquiries on here.
Watch this space for topics like:
Watching BBC iPlayer whenever you like (in France!)
Obtaining almost any TV program that has already been transmitted and being able to watch it at any time of the day or night.
Latest Movies, Music, Computer Games, Software – you name it.
It’s all out there if you know where to look.
Blog by @tony
A lovely tale. You clearly took great note of the “how to make babies” section!! I saw something a while ago from a 1950’s house keeping magazine aimed at women and how to keep your husband happy. Apparently we were never to complain if he came home grumpy or to complain in any way about our day. We were to have freshly tidied hair and lipstick, children and their toys were to be invisible and a drink ready poured. Oh and be available at all times for conjugal rights, I presume so that the husband could practice what he had read in the “how to make babies” section!! Thanks for sharing, so interesting to see how times have changed.
Ha, ha, yes I used to have a book like that but never fathomed the make husband happy so skipped that bit, left him to be miserable without me and made myself happy instead! Didn’t make babies either but my cats are such wonderful friends and companions I really don’t feel I’ve missed out on anything. Edith Piaf had it exactly, je ne regret rien… adore those rrrrrrrrrrs.