Browse Items (46 total)

A parlourmaid servant serving afternoon tea dressed in a typical uniform

An editorial discussing the working conditions of female servants and the need for reform to ensure that they have fair work conditions and aren't forced to work excessive hours.

Painting of a female servant peeling apples. Artist showed servants working in idealized settings

A novel relating the story of a poor girl who becomes a kitchen maid. She is seduced by a son of her employer.

The columnist describes the problem of poor skill and work ethic of servant girls and how to address the problem.

Painting of a servant washing clothes by a river as a man, who appears to be a soldier, flirts with her. It's a romanticised view of the scene.

Painting of a lady's maid combing her lady's hair. Lady's maids were expected to know how to dress their mistresses' hair in the latest fashions as part of their daily work.

This satirical cartoon depicts the "wrong" and "right" ways to keep a girl servant. The wrong ways are all variations of allowing the maid to do whatever she wants (giving her too much free time, letting her sleep in, etc); the right way to treat a…

Letter to the editor from famous Victorian critic John Ruskin, arguing that in order to create better servants, employers should act worthy of being well-served--that is, they should treat their servants as they themselves would like to be treated,…