Zinaida Rashevskaya

Getting around

Walking was a common mode of travel

Ordinary people frequently traveled long distances on foot, with a common unit of measurement being the league, which roughly corresponded to one hour of walking.

At the table

The Ordinary Worker Lunch: Ordinaire

A typical working-class lunch, known as an ordinaire, consisted of boiled beef, broth, vegetables, cheese, bread, and wine for about one franc. Many workers saved money by eating only the broth and vegetables at lunch and taking the beef home for dinner.

What people wore

Alsatian folk dress used on political parades

In Alsace, traditional Tracht was tied to religious occasions like weddings and first communions, but it later became common at political rallies; when Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Strasbourg in 1877, women were greeted in Tracht. The text also describes how the costume’s symbolism shifted with politics over the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Music

Violins, accordions, and brass were common instruments

Common instruments in rural settings included violins and accordions, while brass bands played wind and percussion instruments like drums, cymbals, and triangles.

Daily life

Strict posture training devices

To encourage upright posture, children were sometimes forced to wear heavy wooden armatures shaped like a cross tied to their backs.