Luise Marie Mayrhofer

What people wore

Infant swaddling for physical development

To help them grow straight, infants in the Kirchberg region were placed in a swaddling cushion for several months, which prevented them from moving or kicking.

Daily life

Housing for the poor in Vienna

In 1909, around 66,000 people in Vienna were bed-renters who did not have their own home and paid to use a bed for only a few hours. Many tenement buildings lacked running water, toilets, and electricity, requiring residents to collect water from a corridor tap called a Bassena.

Work

Low wages and long hours

A worker in wool weaving could earn 34 Heller for finishing a shoulder collar, which took a significant amount of time, or roughly 51 Heller per day if highly skilled. Cigarette paper production workers could earn 10 to 12 Kronen for a long shift starting at 5 a.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m.

Music

Instruments and foot-tapping dance customs

In the Ziller Valley, traditional wedding music was performed by ensembles consisting of two fiddles, a diatonic accordion, a Tyrolean folk harp, and a string bass. Dancers at these events frequently tapped their toes in time with the music, using specific patterns for two-four and three-four time signatures.

At the table

Ideal middle-class meals and coffee house culture

Before the war, the ideal middle-class meal consisted of a three-course menu featuring soup, a main dish of meat with side dishes, and dessert. Intellectuals frequented coffee houses around 1900 to enjoy coffee drinks like the Melange.

News and letters

Vienna's fast pneumatic mail service

In Vienna, the pneumatic tube system delivered messages within the city in about 30 minutes, costing 15 kreuzer or 30 heller, which was equivalent to the price of two ordinary letters or a loaf of bread.