Welcome to A Victorian Year in Ontario

Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen, the year is 1865, Her Majesty Queen Victoria has reigned since 1837 and we are in the midst of a prosperous era. The purpose of this blog is to record the daily round of chores, tasks, trials and triumphs of our household in rural Upper Canada (now known as Ontario). We have embarked on an experiment to live a year as close to the way it was done in 1865 as we possibly can. We will post our remarks and await your comments, suggestions and critiques. So join us as we travel back in time.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Letter writing

I went to Guelph yesterday, on my trip home today I was listening to CBC as usual. Nora Young was on with her program Spark...she  interviewed someone who has decided to write a letter a day , hand written, not on the computer...It is called the "letter a day project" and can be found on the CBC Spark website...Funny enough I had just affixed a stamp to a letter, Yes you guessed it, a handwritten letter. Written with pen, nib and ink from an ink well..Just they way it was done in 1865.I have a few people that I write to often from all over . We write in period style and I am blessed enough to have a lady who writes from the US and even draws in the post mark as it would have been...very cool.
I have numerous ink wells and my newest favorite was purchased in an antique shop in St Thomas ,it is wooden and covered with tooled leather, The lid opens to reveal the ink holder/well  (which had been replaced with a thimble,,oh well it works fine .) it is a lovely piece. My Grandson Aidan has gotten into using my pens and ink and loves practicing . So I had a little chuckle as I was listening to this program while my letter to my friend was sitting on the dash waiting for me to mail it. I have often wondered if anyone at the post office notices our letters ...
Talk to you soon
Margaret

2 comments:

  1. hello, my name is Nella...after you left my bookstore in Durham, a couple of books just leapt to mind that you might like: 1 is The Household Guide or Domestic Cyclopedia dated 1894 reprinted by Coles in 1972, and In a Canadian Attic by Gerald Stevens "a Guide to almost every conceivable antique or art object that might be found in a Canadian Attic", and Quilts "and Other Bed Coverings in the Canadian Tradition" .

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nella
    We will have to stop by next time we are in Durham...Thank you

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your feed back . If you have anything you would like us to add please ask. Again Thank you !!!