Factory Gothic / Bridget Marshall
@factorygothic.bsky.social
Sharing 19th-century Gothic industrial research
Dr. Bridget Marshall (she/her), Professor of English, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Book: http://tinyurl.com/h79c3epk
Dr. Bridget Marshall (she/her), Professor of English, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
Book: http://tinyurl.com/h79c3epk
Sure there was a lot of news yesterday, but don't miss this story: "Gummy sharks lay scattered among the rubble" after a truck hit a wall & flipped at a notoriously terrible intersection in #Lowell. Photo w/ shark-strewn rubble was taken TWO DAYS after the accident.
www.lowellsun.com/2025/11/12/n...
www.lowellsun.com/2025/11/12/n...
November 13, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Sure there was a lot of news yesterday, but don't miss this story: "Gummy sharks lay scattered among the rubble" after a truck hit a wall & flipped at a notoriously terrible intersection in #Lowell. Photo w/ shark-strewn rubble was taken TWO DAYS after the accident.
www.lowellsun.com/2025/11/12/n...
www.lowellsun.com/2025/11/12/n...
Sharing a few of my favorite historical images of when women started ruining the workplace.
November 6, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Sharing a few of my favorite historical images of when women started ruining the workplace.
MA Emergency Mgmt map shows over 2500 people without power in Lowell but National Grid's map shows nothing and website reporting of outage doesn't seem to work. mema.mapsonline.net
October 31, 2025 at 8:15 PM
MA Emergency Mgmt map shows over 2500 people without power in Lowell but National Grid's map shows nothing and website reporting of outage doesn't seem to work. mema.mapsonline.net
Happy Halloween! Free #costume ideas from archives! Why not be:
1. The witch from this beautiful edition of Gaskell's Lois the Witch (1861-ish)
2. Thomas Cooke as Frankenstein's creature (1832?)
3. "The Nemesis of Neglect" from a Punch cartoon (1888)
4. Group costume: Broom ladies (1850?)
1. The witch from this beautiful edition of Gaskell's Lois the Witch (1861-ish)
2. Thomas Cooke as Frankenstein's creature (1832?)
3. "The Nemesis of Neglect" from a Punch cartoon (1888)
4. Group costume: Broom ladies (1850?)
October 31, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Happy Halloween! Free #costume ideas from archives! Why not be:
1. The witch from this beautiful edition of Gaskell's Lois the Witch (1861-ish)
2. Thomas Cooke as Frankenstein's creature (1832?)
3. "The Nemesis of Neglect" from a Punch cartoon (1888)
4. Group costume: Broom ladies (1850?)
1. The witch from this beautiful edition of Gaskell's Lois the Witch (1861-ish)
2. Thomas Cooke as Frankenstein's creature (1832?)
3. "The Nemesis of Neglect" from a Punch cartoon (1888)
4. Group costume: Broom ladies (1850?)
Looking for something else but found this great stereograph @historicnewengland.bsky.social of the Making-up room, Lawrence Hosiery Co., #Lowell, Mass., ca. 1865. A lot of early images of the mills only feature machinery, so it's lovely to see the workers. www.historicnewengland.org/explore/coll...
October 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Looking for something else but found this great stereograph @historicnewengland.bsky.social of the Making-up room, Lawrence Hosiery Co., #Lowell, Mass., ca. 1865. A lot of early images of the mills only feature machinery, so it's lovely to see the workers. www.historicnewengland.org/explore/coll...
Just a taste of both the best and the worst thing: Harriot Curtis apparently had a lot to say and not enough paper. In letters like this one, written from Lowell on 12 May 1838, after filling the page, she turned it upside down and wrote a "second page" upside down between the lines of the first.
October 28, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Just a taste of both the best and the worst thing: Harriot Curtis apparently had a lot to say and not enough paper. In letters like this one, written from Lowell on 12 May 1838, after filling the page, she turned it upside down and wrote a "second page" upside down between the lines of the first.
I saw a guy working on the sign back in August. Excited to see this sign lit up again!
October 27, 2025 at 12:24 PM
I saw a guy working on the sign back in August. Excited to see this sign lit up again!
Dealing with an unfortunate halt to progress. Because the Center for Lowell History is in a National Parks building, it is closed, so a chunk of my current research project is on hold. Their digital collections libguides.uml.edu/archives/dig... are great but not quite what I need right now.
October 10, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Dealing with an unfortunate halt to progress. Because the Center for Lowell History is in a National Parks building, it is closed, so a chunk of my current research project is on hold. Their digital collections libguides.uml.edu/archives/dig... are great but not quite what I need right now.
10 October 1893 a Boston Daily Globe headline asked "Who is Waterproof Man?" who was haunting the young women of Exeter, NH, assaulting them, and tearing off pieces of their clothing. Factory girls and shop girls were terrified. Rumors claimed it was a prank by students at Phillips Exeter.
October 10, 2025 at 11:06 AM
10 October 1893 a Boston Daily Globe headline asked "Who is Waterproof Man?" who was haunting the young women of Exeter, NH, assaulting them, and tearing off pieces of their clothing. Factory girls and shop girls were terrified. Rumors claimed it was a prank by students at Phillips Exeter.
Some gravestone rubbings from the collection at the Center for #Lowell History. Augusta H. Locke (the rubbing omits the "E" at the end) and Susan E. Parker worked in Lowell's mills. Augusta's age is listed as "17 years, 4 months, 10 days," a specificity that surprised me. Each day is precious.
October 3, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Some gravestone rubbings from the collection at the Center for #Lowell History. Augusta H. Locke (the rubbing omits the "E" at the end) and Susan E. Parker worked in Lowell's mills. Augusta's age is listed as "17 years, 4 months, 10 days," a specificity that surprised me. Each day is precious.
Even mill girls enjoyed a cozy fall murder mystery. Fantastic short story "A Woman's Revenge" appeared 1 Oct 1842 in The Factory Girl newspaper. It tells the tale of an "unaccountable murder" in Williamstown, Vermont and ends with a written confession by the murderess: "I slew him!"
October 1, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Even mill girls enjoyed a cozy fall murder mystery. Fantastic short story "A Woman's Revenge" appeared 1 Oct 1842 in The Factory Girl newspaper. It tells the tale of an "unaccountable murder" in Williamstown, Vermont and ends with a written confession by the murderess: "I slew him!"
Exhausted and grieved to share that our perfect dog, Alice, passed away peacefully yesterday. She was surrounded by her loving but heartbroken family and she had a belly full of rotisserie chicken. You can see her in action, as we like to remember her: youtu.be/GC9fMdTUsng?...
September 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Exhausted and grieved to share that our perfect dog, Alice, passed away peacefully yesterday. She was surrounded by her loving but heartbroken family and she had a belly full of rotisserie chicken. You can see her in action, as we like to remember her: youtu.be/GC9fMdTUsng?...
It's a beautiful day at the #Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race. Perfect weather and wonderful crowd plus the Party Band. My fave was Moo Haul: the Legend of Storrow. (Non-Boston area people look up "storrowing.")
September 20, 2025 at 6:06 PM
It's a beautiful day at the #Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race. Perfect weather and wonderful crowd plus the Party Band. My fave was Moo Haul: the Legend of Storrow. (Non-Boston area people look up "storrowing.")
#OTD 5 Sept 1874 the Daily Southern Cross (Auckland NZ) informed readers of a "Novel Scalping" in which a 14-year old factory girl in Birmingham got her hair caught in a spindle and that "her head was completely scalped all round, the skin and hair being torn off as clean as a night-cap."
September 5, 2025 at 11:53 AM
#OTD 5 Sept 1874 the Daily Southern Cross (Auckland NZ) informed readers of a "Novel Scalping" in which a 14-year old factory girl in Birmingham got her hair caught in a spindle and that "her head was completely scalped all round, the skin and hair being torn off as clean as a night-cap."
1910 US census indicates my great-grandmother Margaret Agnes Valentine worked as a lacer in a cotton mill at age 15. She lived to age 99 and I knew & loved her, but never knew anything about this until right now. It's an unnerving discovery after all these years of researching mill girls.
September 3, 2025 at 5:18 PM
1910 US census indicates my great-grandmother Margaret Agnes Valentine worked as a lacer in a cotton mill at age 15. She lived to age 99 and I knew & loved her, but never knew anything about this until right now. It's an unnerving discovery after all these years of researching mill girls.
Delighted to have this arrive today in the mail today: The Edinburgh Companion to the Victorian Ghost Story, edited by Andy Smith, including an essay from me about "Ghostly Machines and Mechanical Ghosts." Full TOC and ordering info: edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-vic...
August 23, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Delighted to have this arrive today in the mail today: The Edinburgh Companion to the Victorian Ghost Story, edited by Andy Smith, including an essay from me about "Ghostly Machines and Mechanical Ghosts." Full TOC and ordering info: edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-vic...
FWIW, in relation to the article's question about the impact of teachers' gender on student success, all the teachers listed have men's names; there are two women "Assistants."
Oh, and one girl was taking Greek with 12 boys; 59 girls took Latin, along with 51 boys.
Oh, and one girl was taking Greek with 12 boys; 59 girls took Latin, along with 51 boys.
July 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
FWIW, in relation to the article's question about the impact of teachers' gender on student success, all the teachers listed have men's names; there are two women "Assistants."
Oh, and one girl was taking Greek with 12 boys; 59 girls took Latin, along with 51 boys.
Oh, and one girl was taking Greek with 12 boys; 59 girls took Latin, along with 51 boys.
Other great data found here includes the different subjects that were taught to boys/girls & how many were taking each subject. Top classes for boys: Composition (99), Declamation (99), Penmanship (61), History (56); for girls: Vocal music (145), Composition (145), Penmanship (139), Arithmetic (85).
July 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Other great data found here includes the different subjects that were taught to boys/girls & how many were taking each subject. Top classes for boys: Composition (99), Declamation (99), Penmanship (61), History (56); for girls: Vocal music (145), Composition (145), Penmanship (139), Arithmetic (85).
A small sampling of deportment: Three girls -- Lucy A. Eaton (2), Clara A. Fletcher (3), and Arabella L. Lunt (2) -- were the ones to watch out for. Among the boys, Abel C. Tuttle (6), Lyman P. Byrant (6), Edward H. Carlton (7!), Lucius W. Hinton (5), Patrick W. Rend (5) and many more!
July 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
A small sampling of deportment: Three girls -- Lucy A. Eaton (2), Clara A. Fletcher (3), and Arabella L. Lunt (2) -- were the ones to watch out for. Among the boys, Abel C. Tuttle (6), Lyman P. Byrant (6), Edward H. Carlton (7!), Lucius W. Hinton (5), Patrick W. Rend (5) and many more!
This article reminded me of this item from 1856 www.loc.gov/resource/rbp... showing the grades of each student at #Lowell High School. Boys' scores for "deportment" range from 1 to 7 (1 being the highest/most positive), while girls' scores are almost always "1" with just two 2's and one 3.
July 23, 2025 at 5:07 PM
This article reminded me of this item from 1856 www.loc.gov/resource/rbp... showing the grades of each student at #Lowell High School. Boys' scores for "deportment" range from 1 to 7 (1 being the highest/most positive), while girls' scores are almost always "1" with just two 2's and one 3.
#OTD 14 July 1906, Wales' Weekly Mail published "Ghost in a Factory," an account of a ghostly figure walking through the factory a night, "everything natural in appearance except the head, which looked as if it had been crushed or mutilated, only a stump remaining..." On-theme for Bastille Day?
!["GHOST IN A FACTORY"
"Bristol is puzzled with a spook that has walked regularly for a fortnight. The foreman on night duty at a large factory discovered it one night between eleven and twelve.
...
[three men agree to come back to watch another night]
..they saw the solitary figure (in a couching position, walking with deliberate stride, and casting a shadow as it went) emerge apparently from the wall in the corner, cross the archway, and in about three minutes return again, disappearing over the wall."
Full original here: https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3378305/3378307/42/factory%20ghost](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fzooqyrfvdvh3nezxvr5dqqb/bafkreifpsrloltzplidjung7whbvohswhdtkllmdwyl3cv3zwtv5qhpjoy@jpeg)
July 14, 2025 at 3:24 PM
#OTD 14 July 1906, Wales' Weekly Mail published "Ghost in a Factory," an account of a ghostly figure walking through the factory a night, "everything natural in appearance except the head, which looked as if it had been crushed or mutilated, only a stump remaining..." On-theme for Bastille Day?
I'm also co-chairing a roundtable panel on Teaching the American Gothic. We're 16G, Saturday 10-11:20, also in Empire room. This panel (full details in screenshot and alt-text) is one of two organized by the Society for the Study of American Gothic @ssag.bsky.social We'd love to have you join us!
May 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
I'm also co-chairing a roundtable panel on Teaching the American Gothic. We're 16G, Saturday 10-11:20, also in Empire room. This panel (full details in screenshot and alt-text) is one of two organized by the Society for the Study of American Gothic @ssag.bsky.social We'd love to have you join us!
Putting together some slides for my 8:30 am (yikes!) panel at ALA next Saturday morning in Boston. I'll be talking about Harriet Jane Farley (and her Lowell Offering) and George Rex Graham (and his Graham's Magazine). We're session 15E (Empire room).
May 16, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Putting together some slides for my 8:30 am (yikes!) panel at ALA next Saturday morning in Boston. I'll be talking about Harriet Jane Farley (and her Lowell Offering) and George Rex Graham (and his Graham's Magazine). We're session 15E (Empire room).
Not quite sure why #smoke is such a big deal today. I've seen a lot of it in my research, so here are a few favorite images: Bethlehem Steel Works (1881), view of a British industrial town (1850-70-ish), Lowell, Vermont (1910-20-ish), Lowell, Massachusetts (1910) (probably my very favorite).
May 8, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Not quite sure why #smoke is such a big deal today. I've seen a lot of it in my research, so here are a few favorite images: Bethlehem Steel Works (1881), view of a British industrial town (1850-70-ish), Lowell, Vermont (1910-20-ish), Lowell, Massachusetts (1910) (probably my very favorite).