Friday 10 September 2010

Tower of London and Tower Bridge


Although the picture of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge is excellent and better than many I see today of the same scene, the interest of this card, sent from Ely in Cambridgeshire to March in the same county, lies in the message:
Received box safely this dinner time.  Does mother mean a yard of satin for her dress, she put sateen in letter & does she want it cut on cross?  Please let me know as soon as possible then I can get it. 
Do you think my neck will be too bare without insertion?  Did Lily get her card?  Tell her I hardly know I've got a sister Lily.  I never hear anything about her.  Those photos are nice.  I will send them back when I send box again.
Your loving sister May.
It makes me wonder if the dresses are for a special occasion?  A wedding perhaps?  I may be reading too much into it.  But the wondering gives me some enjoyment which will have been far from the minds of the sender or her sister.

These days we would make a phone call or at best send an email to find out the answers to those questions.  In years to come, there would be no looking back at a card and saying, "Do you remember when..?" and most certainly nobody will be discussing the possibilities of what the occasion was over 100 years later.

This is a post for Postcard Friday, which is hosted by Beth Niquette at The Best Hearts are Crunchy.

14 comments:

  1. I'm not a sewer, so can't comment on the questions the above message asks. It does, however, give a great glimpse into style back then.

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  2. What an interesting message! I can't imagine waiting for cards and letters when technology has allowed us instant and constant contact. I wish they had mentioned the colors of the cloth and yes - the occasion for which the dresses for which are being made. Heaven forbid there should be any bare necks showing! I vote for the insertion!

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  3. A yard is not enough for a dress - this must have been for a trim fabric, or a length of ribbon.
    Remember mail went faster in the 'old days' and there was morning and afternoon delivery. May could possibly get a response the next day.

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  4. Beautiful card and the message is fun, isn't it? Full of all sorts of information... fabric, sisters who don't communicate ... times are sure different. Really enjoyed this post. Happy PFF

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  5. Fascinating message. Was she a young girl from a village who had left her family to work as a seamstress in the big city?

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  6. Oh, how lovely!! ou are right about the loss of letters and postcards. They called it "correspondence" didn't they? I have a memories box and all of our cards, brochure, flyers and tickets go in there. It aso has my wedding shows and gloves in. I kee promising to wear my wedding shoes for fun but never do.

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  7. I am wondering what she meant by "insertion."

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  8. Great post card and sadly these separate from families. And a hundred years from now our family will not have even these vintage postcards with emails and text messages. Thanks for sharing. I love postcards that have a message

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  9. Cool card! I wish we had to use PCs as much today as in the past - sure email and phone calls are more convenient but they are so fleeting!

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  10. An interesting message, though mostly unfathomable to me. I always enjoy seeing pictures of the twin towers of London and that scary walkway between the top floors of the towers. Thank you.

    You would be amazed at how many Americans couldn't even pick out the real Tower of London in that picture of many towers. Lesser Americans, I mean.

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  11. beautiful card! have been watching "the tudors" on DVD recently so this is just perfect for me! happy PFF!

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  12. I love the old postcards of London.. and what a beautiful bridge.
    Thanks for Sharing... Happy PFF

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  13. I have always loved visiting the Tower of London and seeing the Crown Jewels. I also like the ravens!!

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  14. What a lovely postcard! Thank you so much for sharing the text on the back!

    You know--some things never change. Women still talk about their clothes and wonder how their sisters are doing. lol I'm so grateful for two marvelous sisters.

    Happy PFF!

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Welcome to my postcard collection! I love hearing what you think of the cards - but spam WILL be deleted.

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