#crosswriting

“I am dying by inches, from not having any body to talk to about insects...”

Behold the most annoying letter I have transcribed thus far. 8 cross-written sheets that are out of order. It was very helpful to see the originals, & I've now put the text in the correct order & transcribed all of the words. Fitzjames tells Aunt Louisa about the landing of King Otho at Napoli in February 1833.

Just know I had to go through this:

To give you this:

for my Fitzjames biography. Working with low quality black and white scans and staying up too late make for plenty of corrections. But it is very satisfying to get all of the words in the end.

Thrift store therapy has to be one of the best ways to lift a blue mood. Combine that with a day of unseasonable pleasant temperatures, and you know it’s going to be a good outing.

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Amazing Grace Boutique and Cafe

Wild and Free Studio

Guyton Small Mall

The small historic City of Guyton, during the Civil War era, was an affluent town if you take a walk down Central Avenue that is easy to see. The residents are fortunate to own a piece of history.

Century old home

Antique and collectible shops, cafes, and a variety of others today welcome visitors with open doors.

Guyton old drug

Walking past Claudettes, once a Bed and Breakfast, I was lucky enough to catch her working in the yard.

1868 Historic Home

It has been years since I’ve seen her, and she quickly invited me to sit on the porch and chat.  Like old friends, we quickly came up to date on each other’s lives.

Porch swing

Southern home porch

1868 Davant-Thompson-Tuten house

  Reminiscing about the old days and her delicious buffet menu, I thought about the unique booklet she gave to her guests. She kept them on hand and offered me one.

Cross writing from the 1800’s

Notice that the business logo is placed on a letter written in 1876-1877. This type of writing is called cross letters or cross writing. Similar in pattern to a criss-cross quilt.

Letters written with criss crossing the words during the 1800’s

During those years, the post office charged 2 pennies for a 1/2 ounce letter that included the envelope.  Postage was charged by weight.

I guess we could say that not much has changed.  Save a penny here, save a penny there, we still look for the bargains.

Thanks for coming along, I hope you are enjoying the scenes of coastal Georgia and South Carolina

Alice

  Jo’s Monday Walk

Word of the day/quilt