{"id":2228,"date":"2021-02-15T13:04:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T13:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/?p=2228"},"modified":"2021-02-15T13:04:14","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T13:04:14","slug":"posts-from-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/2021\/02\/15\/posts-from-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Posts from the Past"},"content":{"rendered":"

This February we’d like to\u00a0<\/span>think beyond<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>the exclusivity of romantic\u00a0<\/span>love and<\/span>\u00a0open our hearts to all the affection and emotion which can be conveyed by a handwritten letter. Until\u00a0<\/span>the mid-twentieth century<\/span>\u00a0letters<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>were<\/span>\u00a0the primary<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>means of contact for people living more than a few miles apart<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>the pleasure of receiving a letter or note was often enormous<\/span>\u00a0– indeed<\/span>\u00a0the wish to correspond was a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>driver of the growth in literacy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Letters reassured<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>made practical arrangements\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>when t<\/span>he post arrived up to five times a day could move quickly enough to write a note in the morning inviting someone to dinner and receive a reply by lunchtime.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>he Dorset History Centre contains within its walls the tender outpouring of many a heart, and if Covid<\/span>–<\/span>19 hadn’t broken over us we would have shared a\u00a0<\/span>selection<\/span>\u00a0of correspondence in two ‘Letters Live’ shows.\u00a0<\/span>We\u00a0<\/span>are now re-purposing the research which\u00a0<\/span>DHC\u00a0<\/span>volunteers undertook into\u00a0<\/span>letters<\/span>\u00a0written between 1870 and 1950<\/span>\u00a0into a\u00a0<\/span>learning resource<\/span>. This focuses on<\/span>\u00a0letters to and from children<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and will be rolled out via the\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>ultural\u00a0<\/span>H<\/span><\/a>ub, a long<\/span>–<\/span>standing partner of DHC<\/span>. We will share further information in due course!<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"\"
D-DRT\/C\/73\/2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our youngest correspondents are children writing to their parents<\/span>.<\/span> This example, <\/span>rather charmingly written on\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>hristmas\u00a0<\/span>writing\u00a0<\/span>paper in June, from Mary Anna to her father, expresses her thanks for a gift. Given the paper, we can only guess that perhaps Mary Anne wasn’t such a frequent correspondent!<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Daddy,<\/p>\n

I hope you are well. Thank-you for your lovely present. [] Lois brought them round yesterday. I’ve got a bit of a cold so I’ve got to stay in bed.<\/p>\n

Love from<\/p>\n

Mary Anna<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0—<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes\u00a0<\/span>the letters\u00a0<\/span>have to<\/span> tell a very sad story. In a letter from Freeland Filliter to his Mother-in-Law in 1852<\/a>, <\/span>he sorrowfully explains <\/span>that his wife Rose has\u00a0<\/span>suffered a stillbirth:<\/span><\/p>\n

Rose was confined this morning with a\u00a0<\/span><\/i>little girl<\/i><\/span>\u00a0but to our\u00a0<\/span><\/i>severe disappointment<\/i><\/span>\u00a0the poor little dear was born dead. I am however most thankful to God that my precious little wife is doing well, though fretting much at having experienced\u00a0<\/span><\/i>such<\/i><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a termination after a\u00a0<\/span><\/i>very suffering<\/i><\/span>\u00a0time. The event happened about \u00bd ??? she was taken ill last night. We had a very good careful and experienced nurse from Dorchester, the Mother of our Nurse Maid & Mr Hall the Medical Man.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have just been with Rose \u2013 poor little dear \u2013 we both\u00a0<\/span><\/i>so much<\/i><\/span>\u00a0wished for a\u00a0<\/span><\/i>little girl<\/i><\/span>\u00a0\u2013 but we must take our lot as it is bestowed by a wiser Providence which disposes of events for us.<\/span><\/i>..<\/span><\/i>\u00a0She desires her kindest love to her mother and all of you.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I have just taken dear little Sydney, a picture of health and infantine grace and beauty up to his dear Mama to cuddle and caress her as is his wont.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

—<\/p>\n

\"\"
D-DRT: Accession 10570<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The arrival of a new ‘<\/span>babby<\/span>‘ in the\u00a0<\/span>house can give rise to\u00a0<\/span>humour, as\u00a0<\/span>i<\/span>n this letter from James Druitt to his sisters<\/span> circa 1862:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My Dear Sally<\/span><\/i>\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The news is astounding a little\u202f<\/span><\/i>babby<\/span><\/i>\u202fwhich can do nothing but squall and\u00a0<\/span><\/i>e<\/span><\/i>at and slobber and sleep all day and night I do not know how we shall get on in the holidays we shall be turned out of our own rooms and out of the house and be obliged to sleep in the old cow houses\u202fif the Grandpapa and\u202fGrandmama\u202fAunts and Uncles come down but I do not vote for that I cannot write any more but I will finish<\/span><\/i>\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I remain<\/span><\/i>\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Your affectionate brother<\/span><\/i>\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

James Druitt<\/span><\/i>\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u202f<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PS Mind you both write and tell me your opinions by return of post JD<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Personal correspondence is one of the most accessible forms of communication you can find in the collections at DHC and you may wish to browse our catalogue for further examples<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This February we’d like to\u00a0think beyond\u00a0the exclusivity of romantic\u00a0love and\u00a0open our hearts to all the affection and emotion which can be conveyed by a handwritten letter. Until\u00a0the mid-twentieth century\u00a0letters\u00a0were\u00a0the primary\u00a0means of contact for people living more than a few miles apart\u00a0and\u00a0the pleasure of receiving a letter or note was often enormous\u00a0– indeed\u00a0the wish to correspond… Read more Posts from the Past<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1892,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[82,161,278,154,109],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1892"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2231,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228\/revisions\/2231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk\/dorset-history-centre-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}