1880 - 1886 BRADFORD, VT MOTHER CARTER'S LETTERS TO SONS WORKING IN MONTPELIER

Description

Here is a unique and interesting group of 10 letters sent by a Bradford, Vermont mother to her sons Fred A. and Henry Carter working in Montpelier between 1880 and 1886. Each letter is in its original small stamped envelope (the smallest approx 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 in,, the largest approx 3 x 5 1/2 in.). Nine of these surviving letters were addressed to Fred and one to Henry. Recounting typical daily happenings on their farm such as the work their father was doing, the vegetables grown, the weather, their horses and other animals, mother Carter also goes on to comment, in diary like fashion, on a wide range of local news including funerals, illnesses, prices of commodities, farm auctions, the boy who drowned in the river, seeing a comet, and a wife who left her husband after a brief and unhappy marriage. In one letter to Fred, she even suggested that he might give up clerking in favor of taking the bar exam to become a lawyer. Mother Carter's handwriting is small but very legible. A few letter samples are shown. The darker horizontal marks are the fold lines necessary to fit the folded letters into the small envelopes. A few of the letters are faint but still readable. These letters offer first-hand insights into how ordinary rural folks lived and labored in a simpler time. How ephemera like this survived at all for 135 to 141 years and ended up in South Coast Massachusetts is a mystery to us. Perhaps these rare letters would find their way back home to be treasured and preserved by Carter relatives (if any) in Bradford today. We ship via 1st class mail - fast & free.
1880 - 1886 BRADFORD, VT MOTHER CARTER'S LETTERS TO SONS WORKING IN MONTPELIER
1880 - 1886 BRADFORD, VT MOTHER CARTER'S LETTERS TO SONS WORKING IN MONTPELIER
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Description
Here  is a unique and interesting group of 10 letters sent by a Bradford, Vermont mother to her sons Fred A. and Henry Carter working in Montpelier between 1880 and 1886. Each letter is in its original small stamped envelope (the smallest approx 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 in,, the largest  approx 3 x 5 1/2 in.). Nine of these surviving letters were addressed to Fred and one to Henry. Recounting typical daily happenings on their farm such as the work their father was doing, the vegetables grown, the weather, their horses and other animals, mother Carter also goes on to comment, in diary like fashion, on a wide range of local news including funerals, illnesses, prices of commodities, farm auctions, the boy who drowned in the river, seeing a comet, and a wife who left her husband after a brief and unhappy marriage. In one letter to Fred, she even suggested that  he might give up clerking in favor of taking the bar exam to become a lawyer. Mother Carter's handwriting is small but very legible. A few letter samples are shown. The darker horizontal marks are the fold lines necessary to fit the folded letters into the small envelopes. A few of the letters are faint but still readable. These letters offer first-hand insights into how ordinary rural folks lived and labored in a simpler time. How ephemera like this survived at all for 135 to 141 years and ended up in South Coast Massachusetts is a mystery to us. Perhaps these rare letters would find their way back home to be treasured and preserved by Carter relatives (if any) in Bradford today. We ship via 1st class mail - fast & free.
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Shipping
We almost always ship the same day payment is received.  For post cards and most other small paper items, we usually ship free. For other items we try to ship by the most economical method available or offer the buyer options for expedited shipping (both subject to change as postal rates increase).
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If you are ever unhappy with a purchased item, please let us know immediately and we will make it right. We offer a 14 day return policy with money back (excluding shipping charges to return) if not satisfied. Items returned must be well packed and in the same condition as shipped.
About Us
We owned and operated a 'mom & pop' antique shop for over 27 years in a barn attached to our home in Assonet Village, Freetown, Massachusetts. Because of age and health reasons, we have retired and closed our shop to focus our selling on eBay and other online venues. We thank the thousands of past customers who supported our efforts over the past 27 plus years.
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