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Years ago when one of our daughters was studying literature at school, we used to look in secondhand bookshops for old books on the subject.
Yesterday I picked up one of these old books - which she has probably never opened! - and found a letter tucked inside.
It was dated 1929 and had been sent by a man in Bideford to his grandson along with a different book - to help him with his studies by the sound of it.
It's odd to think that this letter has been in our house for years and we didn't know!
My cousin used to be a librarian and she said the things people use as bookmarks is beyond all understanding (eg a rasher of raw bacon!).
I've been looking on the Internet and think I may have discovered who the writer and recipient were.
Flick - Researching on the internet is much more interesting than doing my ironing (or yours!) or keeping your mother in law out of your way, although on both counts - especially the latter -you have my sympathies!! (My mother in law was a lovely person, but the woman I refuse to call my stepmother was a ???? !!)
A few years ago OH decided that the best place to keep our share certificate for majority shareholding in our company was inside a book (His mother used to hide valuable documents inside books apparently.) Anyway, during a big clear up I took this book to the charity shop. Technically the finder would have been able to sell the shares or claim ownership. Fortunately (!!!) we went bust and the certificate became valueless. (We lost the lot - our jobs, cars, company, savings, pensions etc etc We're still in recovery mode. Perhaps I'd had a premonition)
Re that letter - the man who wrote it was in his 90s at the time. His name was William Bryan Reed and - according to the Methodist Archive website - he was a member of a famous Bible Christian family in Devon. He lived to within two months of his 100th birthday.
His grandson was about 24 and was already a minister.
How long would that have taken to find out in pre-Google days? It took me about 10 minutes yesterday!
Comments
Yesterday I picked up one of these old books - which she has probably never opened! - and found a letter tucked inside.
It was dated 1929 and had been sent by a man in Bideford to his grandson along with a different book - to help him with his studies by the sound of it.
It's odd to think that this letter has been in our house for years and we didn't know!
My cousin used to be a librarian and she said the things people use as bookmarks is beyond all understanding (eg a rasher of raw bacon!).
Flick - Researching on the internet is much more interesting than doing my ironing (or yours!) or keeping your mother in law out of your way, although on both counts - especially the latter -you have my sympathies!! (My mother in law was a lovely person, but the woman I refuse to call my stepmother was a ???? !!)
I wonder if the person who bought the book thought they were in line for a fortune.
His grandson was about 24 and was already a minister.
How long would that have taken to find out in pre-Google days? It took me about 10 minutes yesterday!