First, I suppose, come letters; then adventure.
— Robert Louis Stevenson
| Letters from the swamp | |
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Mary Mapes Dodge (illustration, page 1) was the first editor of St. Nicholas, a magazine which featured letters from children (as mentioned in the article on page 7) in the regular column "The Letter-Box". Ladies Pictorial, also mentioned in the article on page 7, could refer to any of several magazines from several countries, none of which appear to be available on the web. |
| "The Postman Gave them a fright" | |
| Howard E. Altemus' series of "Mother" stories ("A Book of the Best Stories that Mothers can tell their Children", says the subtitle, changed to "Best Bedtime Stories", "Best Bird Stories", etc. for the various collections) are still available from some used booksellers; the cat and mice on page 5 are from the story "The Animals' Picnic". | |
| Helping letters | |
| If you're interested in Chemo Angels (Writing between the Lines, page 10), here's a handy link. Stamps for the Wounded doesn't seem to have a web site of its own, but here's a description from the Ayr Hill Lions' Club site. The organization dates back to 1942. | |
| In Memoriam | |
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If you knew Janice Uttley (LEX #229; see In Memoriam, page 19), you might want to read her obituary and guestbook, and a tribute by a friend. |
| The World of Letters | |
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Admiral Nelson's letters to Lady Hamilton, wife of the British ambassador to Naples, are available at Powells and Google Books. The letter on page 23 was written from HMS Victory only a few months before the famous Battle of Trafalgar in October 1804. Although the battle was a triumph for Britain, Nelson was killed. Because of their controversial love affair, Emma Hamilton was denied permission to attend the funeral. If you are interested in learning more about Admiral Nelson and his world, a good place to start is The Nelson Society. There you'll find a chronology; articles on battles, people, and artifacts of naval life; and listings of current events related to Nelson's life and times. |
| Add these to your library | |
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The books mentioned (The Postmistress, page 20, and The Handcrafted Letter, page 28), can be found on these links to Powell's bookstore. "Handwritten correspondence is coming back into vogue....Sending a hand-written letter is like sending a small part of yourself," says the publisher of the latter book. Powell's also has copies of this book signed by the author for a slightly higher price. |
| Collectors' corner | |
| If the subject of pens is of interest, check out Pen Collectors of America, as mentioned in From the Editors (page 29). | |
| Dream Days | |
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Wondering how Selina's revenge worked out, and why Harold was writing a death-letter to begin with (page 32)? You can read the full text of Kenneth Grahame's Dream Days at Gutenberg or at Google Books. Of course, it's also available, with its predecessor The Golden Age (one version of which has illustrations by Maxfield Parrish), at Powell's. |
| Clicking on most of the books on this page will take you to Powell's, the world's largest independent bookstore. You can also use the search engine to the left. Any purchase you make by following one of these links will help support LEX – not just these items but any book or DVD in their inventory. | |
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