Wonderful (and Long!) 1840 Letter from Elias A Brown To "My Dear Wife," with Beautiful Cross Writing J.T. Swartzenberg 1 1/2" across at base

1 1/2" across at base

then one great book plate after another for the second half

hand-sculpted of plaster (solid)

showing that this was a page of a school notebook: a math problem relating the ages of the first four presidents

that made me jump on it--most of all the wonderful polka dots decorating the robe of our angel at left

Wonderful (and Long!) 1840 Letter from Elias A Brown To "My Dear Wife," with Beautiful Cross Writing J.T. Swartzenberg 1 1/2" across at baseI have for a long time wanted to turn up a good example of cross writing, shown here on the first page of this letter, brilliantly (and beautifully!) used in the early mid 19th century as a way of conserving space and paper. I just love to look at it! But happily this is a pretty wonderful and notable letter, too, written from Elias A Brown to his dear wife Louisa Anna (Cady) Brown in Minaville, Montgomery County, NY, 1840. There is a good bit about