I like the way there is always a story, and here is a good one.
The date is October 20th 1906 and Lizzie has selected this picture of Eltham Library to send to her aunt in Somerset.
The message on the back reads, “This is our Free Library which is to be opened tomorrow, what do you think of the building?”
Sadly I don’t know what Miss Neath of Bridgewater in Somerset thougth of the building and nor have I been able to track down with certainty, either her or Lizzie, although in 1901 there were a few candidates living in the south west and I found a Mary E, aged 10 in Plumstead who could be our sender.
So for now I shall concentrate on the card and reflect that here is a bit of history, sent the day before the library was opened.
That was on October 20, 1906 and Lizzie had posted it sometime in the evening, although I am a bit confused about her timing given that October 20th was a Saturday.
I won’t be alone in having a soft spot for the building, our Stella worked there and I was a frequent visitor, taking out books and records and sitting for hours in the reference section.
The picture postcards come from the collection of Tricia and she has three more.
The four were sent between October 1906 and July 1908, and one includes a tantalizing picture of a man she identifies as her dad.
All of which makes them very personal, and there may have once been more, given that Lizzie talked “about another for your collection”.
But for now that is it other than to wonder whether any of the young people in the picture were known to Lizzie which of course is something we will never know.
The message on the back reads, “This is our Free Library which is to be opened tomorrow, what do you think of the building?”
Sadly I don’t know what Miss Neath of Bridgewater in Somerset thougth of the building and nor have I been able to track down with certainty, either her or Lizzie, although in 1901 there were a few candidates living in the south west and I found a Mary E, aged 10 in Plumstead who could be our sender.
That was on October 20, 1906 and Lizzie had posted it sometime in the evening, although I am a bit confused about her timing given that October 20th was a Saturday.
I won’t be alone in having a soft spot for the building, our Stella worked there and I was a frequent visitor, taking out books and records and sitting for hours in the reference section.
The picture postcards come from the collection of Tricia and she has three more.
The four were sent between October 1906 and July 1908, and one includes a tantalizing picture of a man she identifies as her dad.
But for now that is it other than to wonder whether any of the young people in the picture were known to Lizzie which of course is something we will never know.
But almost as soon as I posted Matt replied with the comment, "That Library one is one of mine, sent by Elizabeth Ann Neath b1869 Woolwich to her Aunt, fathers side sister, Elizabeth Neath b1841, shown as a servant at Quantock View in 1911". Matt K Minch
Location; Eltham High Street
Picture; Eltham Free Library, 1906, courtesy of Matt K Minch
Location; Eltham High Street
Picture; Eltham Free Library, 1906, courtesy of Matt K Minch
on the right side of the library, there was a foundation stone that was engraved with the date it was opened and who by. i saw this stone every time i went to the kids library via the side entrance. this stone has dissapeared, i have been trying to find out what happened to it for a very long time. do you know anything about it.
ReplyDeleteNo Bob ..... you have got me intrigued
ReplyDelete