Friday 10 April 2015

The most beautiful antique journal find with poems and drawings .....



Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals
and of your learning in life.
It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate,
thoughtful conversation with yourself.

Robin S. Sharma


Loving history as I do and also enjoying keeping journals myself, I was thrilled when I found this perfect vintage little journal.  It belonged to a lady called Lilian Maxwell.  This lady has written little poems inside and also sketched as well.  
It is a dear little book and is around the 1900 as she has kindly dated some of her sketches, one being 1906.

Inside on the first page she has artistically written her name and now I am so very interested in her.  It is the Sherlock side of my nature and of course the fact that I have worked in genealogy as well....
 Who was she,  She must have been from a wealthier family as her penmanship is beautiful and of course she has the beauty of time on her hands to keep such an item, which in the poorer households they would not been afforded such luxury....

I now feel I would love to know more about her and for a bit of fun really I am going to look on the 1901 census to see how many Lilian Maxwell's there actually are.... I can eliminate any family I think that are from labourer or farming backgrounds at that time and see if I can find her.. It is rather a needle in a huge haystack but as I have said now I am so curious.

As you turn the dear delicate pages Lilian has drawn and sketched and written little poems and thoughts.
 Not every page is filled and there are often gaps of four pages before another is filled with something, which again is curious.  This book is stunning and I love it.  

Because I myself sketch my designs and sometime do a little water colour in there, my love of this little book has grown I think.  A lady after my own heart in a way and her sketches are beautiful.  Also there is a page in the book written by her in French and the title is Les Violettes .  This again tells me she is from a privileged back ground to be able to write in French
( it could be copied from a book, but again I do not think a working class family at the time would have access to such things)

This page is a poem about St Andrews by the Northern Sea.....

Also curiously there is a beautiful picture of a tulip being carried by a fairy with beautiful writing and signed Ruth Maxwell Dec 21st 1906!! so who is Ruth, her mother or a sibling?

So If I can find a household with a Ruth and a Lilian then I believe I will have found the mystery of who owned this dear little book.... I now would like to know who the mum is and father.  Is Lilian the mum?  This is a conundrum that I must peace together ... if only for me!

I will let you all know when I have an update.

For now though it is back to my stitching until the light fades and then I am on this case to find the Maxwell family ..... wish me luck.

Happy Stitching!

2 comments:

  1. How interesting and what a charming little book. Do keep us updated.
    Ruth, Oh So Vintage

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Ruth, I will. I have found out quiet a lot today and sent for a Birth certificate so when everything is collated I will up date on here!

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