Dead letter mail, ca. 1917. Supt. Marvin McLean and Mrs. Clara R.A. Nelson.
(Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.)
(Photo courtesy of Library of Congress.)
I anthropomorphize.
As a kid growing up in Chicago, I would never leave my bike outside in case it rained; it might get cold. I cried when I passed a stand of leftover Halloween pumpkins because I didn’t want them to feel bad about not having been chosen. Even today, if I have to throw something in an empty garbage bin I make sure I put another piece of trash with it so it doesn’t get lonely.
Given what I do for a living, my attribution of human characteristics to personal objects is even stronger than it is for winter squash. So when I hear about an undelivered letter found after 50 years or a trunk full of clothes found in an untouched bomb shelter, my heart races.
Imagine my arrhythmia upon learning what was uncovered in a 400 year-old shipwreck off the coast of Holland in August 2014.
Imagine my arrhythmia upon learning what was uncovered in a 400 year-old shipwreck off the coast of Holland in August 2014.
An early 17th c. noblewoman's dress discovered aboard a shipwreck off the Dutch island of Textel.
News of the discovery was kept quiet for 18 months until the finds could be examined and stabilized.
(Photo courtesy of Kaap Skil Museum, Textel, North Holland.)
News of the discovery was kept quiet for 18 months until the finds could be examined and stabilized.
(Photo courtesy of Kaap Skil Museum, Textel, North Holland.)
Apparently shifting currents exposed the well-known 17th century wreck off the coast of Textel, a Dutch island in North Holland. Unprotected by sand and silt, artifacts aboard the as-yet undisturbed ship risked damage from natural elements so divers brought its contents to the surface.
What at first appeared to be bundles of rags were later discovered to be an exceptional haul of antique textiles, all remarkably preserved thanks to their burial in the seabed away from oxygen and animals. Even more remarkably, the consistency of sizes among the pieces suggested the loot was the property of a single--and very wealthy--owner. Rich silks, woven damasks and embroidered bodices resembled the clothing depicted in 17th century art and led researchers to believe the owner may even have been royal. Only two days ago, historians positively identified the owner as Jean Kerr, Countess of Roxburghe, lady-in-waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria.
What at first appeared to be bundles of rags were later discovered to be an exceptional haul of antique textiles, all remarkably preserved thanks to their burial in the seabed away from oxygen and animals. Even more remarkably, the consistency of sizes among the pieces suggested the loot was the property of a single--and very wealthy--owner. Rich silks, woven damasks and embroidered bodices resembled the clothing depicted in 17th century art and led researchers to believe the owner may even have been royal. Only two days ago, historians positively identified the owner as Jean Kerr, Countess of Roxburghe, lady-in-waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria.
One of the most important textile finds in Europe, this discovery is considered "the Night Watch of the costume world." -Professor Emmy de Groot, University of Amsterdam
The last watery discovery of this sartorial magnitude was found almost thirty years ago aboard the Steamboat Arabia, which sank in the Missouri River in 1856. Like the Dutch finding, the contents of the Arabia were immaculately preserved by the clay that entombed the wreck. So pristine was the cargo, in fact, that the food among its 200 tons of freight remains edible after 160 years.
Crates of clothing and over 4,000 pairs of boots were excavated from the Arabia,
whose contents are now on display at a dedicated museum in Kansas City.
(Photo courtesy of the Arabia Steamboat Museum.)
whose contents are now on display at a dedicated museum in Kansas City.
(Photo courtesy of the Arabia Steamboat Museum.)
Such reports of drowned clothing tempted me to dust off my deep-diving certification and head for the nearest body of water. Until I read about a building inherited by an unwitting family in 2014 that, when opened, revealed a perfectly preserved mid-century shoe warehouse filled with thousands of pairs of deadstock shoes.
Exactly one year prior, the Daily Mail reported the tale of an eerie time capsule discovered in an English townhouse: a war widow assuaged her grief by shopping compulsively for seven decades after her fiance’s death and stored each of the items—unworn—in trunks around her childhood home.
Exactly one year prior, the Daily Mail reported the tale of an eerie time capsule discovered in an English townhouse: a war widow assuaged her grief by shopping compulsively for seven decades after her fiance’s death and stored each of the items—unworn—in trunks around her childhood home.
(Top) Each year Vervia Todd vacationed and filled a suitcase with the finest clothes, only to store them unworn in closed-off sections of her home. (Bottom) A childhood photo of Ms. Todd with her mother Amy and father Sam.
(Photos courtesy of North News & Pictures Ltd.)
(Photos courtesy of North News & Pictures Ltd.)
More clothes were eventually found in the walls and chimney, and took over a year to properly document and categorize. When sold at auction, the collection fetched six figures.
I can only imagine what I might have done upon discovering any of these "love letters from the past." After fainting, I probably would have covered them to make sure they weren't cold or reassured them they had done nothing wrong to have endured their unusual histories.
But sometimes it keeps me awake at night to think about what else is out there, waiting and lonely. And how I would love to be the one to find them.
But sometimes it keeps me awake at night to think about what else is out there, waiting and lonely. And how I would love to be the one to find them.
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