Today a letter from 1820 actually came across my desk as an acquisition. The author, George Robertson, was a distinguished Kentucky jurist, law professor (Translyvania University), and politician. He served terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, Kentucky House of Representatives, and also served as chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. In this letter he is complaining to a bookseller that he has not received a consignment of books.
Lancaster 6th July 1820
Gentlemen,
You
have written to me
twice that you had rec’d two boxes of
books for me and sent them to Jas Anderson
and Co. in Lexington. Since the reception of
this information I have sent three times to
Mr. Anderson but can’t find the boxes. They
say they never rec’d them.
I’m
very anxious to get them – and fear that
you did not send them. It is the third attempt
I have made to get books here and have never
succeeded yet. There is something very strange
in the fatality that befalls my books.
Be
so good as to examine and if you have
them, send them on as soon as possible – or let me
know what has become of them.
Respectfully
&c
G.
Robertson
Working in acquisitions, I can DEFINITELY relate. Sometimes you order these really magnificent items and they don't come in when you want/need them, and like good old George, you get worried they may never arrive! This penmanship is gorgeous, and the parchment is so nice! I love looking at it, it transports me back to 1820, and I, for a moment, forget text messages and Netflix, I just think about how these books were transported, How this letter was written, over candlelight perhaps? Where are his books now? It's remarkable how one artifact can impact your imagination so!
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