Letter from Mary Linwood to Unknown, January 31, 1821

By Nicole Anderson

Diplomatic Transcription

My Dear Madam

I shall be greatly

obliged if you will

tell Mr. Laplume —

the Letter I left is

in haste & he will

oblige me by getting it

frank'd this day. —

Yours Sincerely,

M. Linwood 

Thursday

31 of Janry

[page break]

Miss Linwood

31st Janry, 1821

Analysis

This letter was sent by Mary Linwood to an unidentified "madam". While the "madam" is decribed as dear, this may have just been a formality. Linwood asks Laplume to help her get another letter "frank'd", meaning to get the postage fees covered. There is little to no information regarding a Mr. Laplume, implying that he was not a popular figure in London at the time, and instead someone local to Linwood's area. As there was talk of another letter left on the desk, I believe this shows that this particular letter was hand delievered and the receiver must have lived not far from Linwood. As Mary Linwood was in her later years during the time this letter was sent, it may have been more convenient for Mr. Laplume to go and have her letter franked instead, as she couldn't travel. 

Details

There is some amount of white space on the letter, implying that Linwood was not worried about the high costs of paper. There is a date at the end of the letter and the same date with the year on the cover; Janurary 31st, 1821.