Friday, January 21, 2011

Saved Letters


One of the things I simply could not resist at Renningers 
was this stack of old letters, notes and invitations ...
...all dated from 1891 through 1896...


Fort Plain is a small town in upstate New York...
not too far from where my Mother's family came from.


It was fun to find this stack of saved letters 
with one cent postage stamps and lovely old penned script
 from this little familiar town in upstate New York...
...and fun to share it with my Mom here in Florida.


We opened the envelopes and read thank you notes, lovely invitations and correspondence between friends, family and neighbors dating back over one hundred years.



.

How romantic!



Isn't this embossed wedding invitation beautiful?

Thank you for all your great comments on our adventure at Renninger's Extravaganza.

To answer a couple of your questions... 

I do not know the price or the name of the dealer with the
 Jack Rabbit sign that so many of you liked...
...however I may be able to find out!  Shelley?

Those mercury glass bottles are sold individually or by the case...
I have the dealers card (somewhere) as Paula and I each bought one at the Madison Bouckville show the summer before last...
and will look for it for you...perhaps one of you knows and can save me the time of hunting through my piles for the information!

I am looking forward to going back to Renninger's Extravaganza in February
 and of course, will take you with me!
Let me know if there is anything I should look out for
 or anything you would like a picture of!

I hope that the weekend is going well for each of you. 
Thanks so much for stopping by!
:)


43 comments:

Sue (Vintage Rescue) said...

Laura, do you ever go to the ones in PA? I'm there every time; you should think about it! XOX

AntiqueChase said...

Wow, thanks for looking into the Jack Rabbit sign.... I'm first in line... please!!! LOL

Sonya Badgley said...

Hi Laura,
I love your old letters! Aren't they just wonderful? The handwriting is beautiful...
Blessings,
Sonya

Leo said...

I am going to go in February - and I can't wait to go!!!

Fishtail Cottage said...

A lost tradition....real letters, on real paper, sent in the mail. xoxo

the cardigan-inn said...

What a treasure.
That weddingcard is beautiful.
Love, Joni

Jem said...

I am completely in love with old letters - they are such a fantastic window into the past. The envelopes and franked stamps are beautiful to look at in themselves but the handwriting is something else! :-) There is such romance to such old letters!

Anonymous said...

Laura, what always amazes me about the old letters and post cards is how they often didn't even have to put the house # and street name. The mailman always knew who the recipients were "back then".
Lovely find!
Diane

la fourchette said...

Très jolie! Ahhh...the written word - even on an envelope it's gorgeous.

Vintage Gal said...

Laura, those letters are a real treasure~ I would love to go through and read them ;-)

Andi's English Attic said...

How clear the postmarks are. xx

Lori @ Katies Rose Cottage Designs said...

Ohhhh those are absolutely
wonderful old letters!
I just love them!

xoxo
Lori

erin's art and gardens said...

what a wonderful bundle of letters! i fear the art of beautiful handwriting is gone......

Brocante said...

Lovely - think of all those memories!

Karen Valentine said...

Oh Gosh! I couldn't have resisted either!!! Great find!
xo,
Karen

Gina at Vintage Junk in My Trunk said...

Why is it that old letters and envelopes always look so gorgeous? Did everyone have such beautiful handwriting or did the writing implements make everything look so pretty? I'm a sucker for them too...

Sue said...

Love the flowing script that everyone had "back in the day." Of course, penmanship was taught in school during that time period. Something that has sadly gone by the wayside in the last 50 years. I can remember that the nuns stressed beautiful handwriting back when my parents went to school. My mother attempted to re-teach me, but my habits were already formed. I do not move my wrist as I write in cursive. It stays stationary, thus no flow....
~ Sue

Karen said...

It's amazing how these things survive for so many years.I often wonder about the lives of the people who wrote the letters and how they would feel about us looking at and reading their thoughts.

Unknown said...

The letters are so wonderful. What a treat to read through. Are they all from the same family, or different people?
I would love to get one of those mercury bottles....if you can find the dealer's card!!!
Thanks again,
lynn

MJ Ornaments said...

I love everything about old letters, and thanks for sharing yours. Take care,
Martha

LizlovesVintage said...

These are wonderful, Laura.
I know you will cherish them.
I wish my Hubby would write to me. Ha, Ha
xx Liz

Anonymous said...

Laura, some of the postage stamps may be valuable and even more so affixed to the envelopes with postmarks (called "covers"). Obviously, you don't collect for resale, but I just wanted to make you aware of this possibility. The wedding invitation--priceless!

Madame Morell said...

I love old letters. Lovely pictures.
Jessika

Unknown said...

Love these old letters, I just love the handwriting on them, and then you sit and wonder who where these people? what where they like? I wish we had Flea Markets like the ones next to you.

Jolanda said...

Ver very special and beutiful, those letters, the stamps, the handwriting...lovely greetings!

Carole said...

I wish I had handwriting like they did back then. What fun you must have had reading them together.
xx
C

Anonymous said...

What a fascinating find!

ILoveCollecting said...

Very cool! I'm sure it was great fun reading them! :-) Emily

High Street Cottage said...

Laura, these are beautiful, it's always mysterious to dip into someone else's life.
Loved your previous post , thanks for answering questions, xoxo tami

sweetpea said...

sorry, laura, i am of no help on the sign. love those letters, there is something so pretty about the way people used to write. maybe the sign will be back in february.

hugs,

shelley

Lara said...

Such lovely letters and you have photographed them so beautifully! I love the antiqued tone of the paper and the penmanship they used back then.
Lara

amy of studio four corners said...

I'm a sucker for old letters too - the handwriting is always so lovely and the words always seem so caring. also loved your photos from Renningers - I visit florida often (friends and family on the west coast) - next time I will have to schedule time to get over there!
amy of four corners design

Julie@beingRUBY said...

Beautiful Laura...
I love the old letters.. the only ones I find are family one... How fabulous... handwriting & letter writing was such an art form back then...just beautiful...

ciao ciao xxx Julie

Anonymous said...

Oh, how lovely! I like old correspondence and the invitation is wonderful! Perfect photos.

Anonymous said...

Laura: Isn't it amazing the beauty of the handwritten envelope and letter before technology took over our world? It is still exciting to get a letter in the mail. While grateful for those personal letters, penmanship just never will be the same as it was a 100 years ago.
I have a stack of love letters from my mom to my dad when they were dating.....I have tied them all with a bow and they are priceless to me.

Love all you do Laura.

Trina Lucido said...

W*O*W! I just discovered your blog ... love it!

maddy said...

Wow..wonderful blog.. Writing letter is really enjoyable thing.
Letters

cheryl kuhn said...

What a lucky gal to find such amazing treasures!

cheryl kuhn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zita - Mlle Magpie said...

I ADORE those letters and that gorgeous calligraphy, Laura. A most wonderful find, my friend. p.s. thanks for the ballet encouragement and do say hello to lovely Mary Beth for me

found and sewn said...

Wow! These are just lovely.

Tina said...

awesome letter bunch Laura. What a great find.
xo Tina

Glorinha L de Lion said...

I loved your blog! I love vintage things ... the pictures are beautiful. Congratulations!