Among the articles to be found in the rooms of the planter’s residence were musical instruments, the most common of which was the virginal, but the hand lyre was not unknown. The cornet was also in use, and likewise both the small and the large fiddle, the violin, the recorder, the flute, and the hautboy.[1]
The utensils of the kitchen were made of brass, tin, pewter, wood, or clay. In the homes of the most affluent planters, there was probably an occasional boiler of copper and brass, imbedded in brick and mortar, and heated from beneath. This was a common feature of the English kitchens of that age. A boiler of this kind was often used in brewing. The principal utensil for boiling was the great iron pot which was hung on moving iron racks firmly attached to the chimney-piece; in summer, when a large part of the cooking was done out of doors, it was swung to a pole supported by posts and a fire lighted under it. Doubtless, the food of all the servants and slaves on each estate was prepared in a single mess in this utensil. These pots weighed in general about forty pounds, but in many cases they exceeded that figure. In addition, there were brass, tin, and copper kettles, some holding as much as fifteen gallons. There were iron spits for roasting, and iron and brass ladles for pouring the gravy over the flesh as it was cooking, and the dripping-pan for catching the gravy as it fell. There were gridirons for broiling, iron and brass skillets for baking, and
- ↑ See, for these different instruments, Records of York County, vol. 1664-1672, pp. 77, 532; vol. 1684-1687, p. 341, Va. State Library; Records of Lancaster County, original vol. 1690-1709, p. 31; Records of Lower Norfolk County, original vol. 1695-1703, f. p. 137. The items in the inventory of Judith Parker included one recorder, two flutes, and one hautboy. Records of Surry County, vol. 1671-1684, p. 376, Va. State Library. Josiah Moody owned two violins. Records of York County, vol. 1687-1691, p. 42, Va. State Library.
