Handwritten letter, continuation: winter dresses, Henrietta Cloth, the Bull Head Alpaca from Kerrison's, and the Reception
Book 1, Page 187
Transcription
An open-book scan showing two facing leaves of a handwritten letter in brown ink on lined paper. Both columns begin and end mid-sentence.
Left page
Our dresses were our last / winter ones, of Henrietta Cloth / that had been well / worn until [Lent?] & had / been freshened up with new / braids & trimmings for this / winter’s wearing — As we / did not worry ourselves / much on the dress question, / which was a relief / — immense — You ask / to know what clothes / we have — well early / in the season, Nell was / inspired to have something / ready for the winter, so we / roamed over a counter / of goods at Kerrison’s & / I not much interested / but ^we decided on a / piece of “Bull Head Alpaca.” / Nell thought that 28 yds / would be a plenty for / our two suits — It being a / warm day I agreed —
Right page
A top-edge header runs along the right column, written along the margin: [Friday — These are the last pages.]
And now, for our / dear Selves — Nell & I / had never intended / to appear, as there / were so many people / who could help them / Entertain their guests — / & after all that we / had done, we thought / we would not be Expected / to come out, as it was / An Effort. So I kept / up a lively interest / in the preparations & / successfully puzzled / the whole tea party. / who were very anxious / to know what I would / wear to the Reception — / The King family were / quite Indignant when / they found out that morning / that we had never thought / of appearing —
AI Notes
An open-book scan showing two facing leaves of a handwritten letter in brown ink on lined paper. The cursive is dense and continues mid-sentence on both columns. Part of the same wedding/reception letter that runs from page 189 (paginated 2/3) through 187/188 (the ‘last pages’ as the right-column header marks them) and on to pages 190 (paginated 10), 192 (paginated 12), 193, 195, 196. The left column describes the writer’s and Nell’s winter dresses (last winter’s Henrietta cloth, freshened with new braids and trimmings, the cloth question dismissed as a relief), then Nell’s inspiration to find new winter goods, an outing to Kerrison’s (a leading Charleston King Street dry-goods house) where they decide on 28 yards of ‘Bull Head Alpaca’ for two suits. The right column opens with a top-margin header ‘Friday — These are the last pages,’ then describes how the writer and Nell had never intended to appear at the Reception, kept up a show of interest in the preparations, and successfully concealed their intent — until the King family discovered that morning that they had never thought of appearing. Letter continues onto page 188.
Letter continues on next page. The wedding/reception described in this cluster appears to be that of “Sis” and “Louisa” (named on pages 192, 193, 195), with William ushering and the King family among the guests.
The wedding under discussion across pp. 187–196 is that of the compiler’s great-uncle Theodore Gaillard Barker (“Tho.”, “Tody”, T.G.B.) to Louisa Preston King (L.P.K., 1834–1920), daughter of Judge Mitchell King — initials and pet-name confirmed on pp. 191, 192, 193, 194. The letter is bound out of order: read the cluster as 189(p.2–3) → 191L(p.4) → 193R(p.5) → 194L(p.6) → 194R(p.7) → 193L(p.8) → 190(p.9–10) → 192(p.11–12) → 195 → 196 → 187/188 (Friday, last pages). Kerrison’s was the leading dry-goods house on King Street, Charleston, in the mid-19th century.