Letters of love

AN ENTHUSIAST OF THE WRITTEN WORD, LIZ MAGUIRE FOUNDED FLEA MARKET LOVE LETTERS, AN ARCHIVE OF FOUND CORRESPONDENCE DATING FROM THE LAST 100 YEARS

THE STORY BEHIND THE DIGITAL VINTAGE LOVE LETTER ARCHIVE, Flea Market Love Letters, starts like all good romantic stories should: with a teenage girl discovering a shoebox of yellow paper on a card table at a flea market in Skippack, Pennsylvania, on a hot summer’s day. It was almost a decade ago when I found that shoebox of letters from the 1920s, and it began a whole new adventure for me.

I began sharing the letters that I ‘found’ – sourced from flea markets and (in pandemic times) online auctions – on Instagram in 2017. Our apartment was remodelled after a fire that took place before my husband and I moved in, and I became consumed with the idea that if it went up again the letters would go with it. They were so precious to me. I used Instagram as a way to record their existence, only to discover the letters would become precious to many others as well.

Since then, I’ve shared more than 500 letters with first-hand accounts of history – including both World Wars, the Great Depression, the Queen’s coronation, and more – previously only read about in textbooks. And it’s my privileged job as the keeper of the letters to preserve and share these truly one-of-kind stories. The letter writers are not always sweethearts. They are sons writing to parents, husbands writing to wives, friends writing to one another. The list of potential writers and recipients is endless. These aren’t just stories: they are the legacies of real individuals.

For me too, it’s a labour of love. When a letter collection arrives, I photograph each one in detail, then transcribe before sharing on Instagram and the website, before they’re filed into a binder. A Second World War series that I shared last year was 130 letters long – it took me seven months to publish, totalling over 144 pages of typed manuscript; some 57,495 words.

At last count there were more than 1,600 letters in the archive. The most frequent time periods for letter writing are a surprise to no one. In storage, I’ve got close to 100 First World War letters and nearly 400 Second World War letters and, while I couldn’t possibly choose a favourite letter, I do have a favourite time period. I’m particularly drawn to the 1920s and 1930s: when the First World War is in the rear view, then there’s the Great Depression so soon after. In those 10 to 15 years, you’re looking at mentions in letters about unrest in Europe but also residual trauma from the Spanish Flu and mass unemployment and poverty from 1929.

It’s a very rich time for human stories.

As a letter writer myself, I started Flea Market Love Letters with the intention to preserve and advocate for the handwritten letter. In September 2020, to give back, I launched the ‘ Write More Letters’ Project, a fundraiser to support the U.S. Charity ‘Hope For The Warriors’ which works with Veterans and Military Families. I believe that everyone has a letter story. What’s yours?

Do you have a vintage or found letter you’d like to tell Liz about? She may be a handwritten letter fan but she loves email, too. You can write to her and share letters at info@fleamarketloveletters.com.

1910s: McALLISTER*

‘Oh Honey, if I could only have you here and was snuggled in your arms tonight making all our plans right with you. If you but knew how lonely I am to be held in your arms and feel your kisses. It makes me so very impatient at times.’ (November 1914)

The McAllister letters start in 1912, a little over a decade into the new century. The McAllister letters are named for their recipient ‘Harriet McAllister’. The collection tells of a young, pure and ardent love between Harriet and her ‘Boykins’ George Tietema. George and Harriet would marry in late 1914 but were active pen pals before, accumulating some 60 letters from January 1913 to November 1914. With Harriet in St. Paul, Minnesota, and George in Slayton, Minnesota, the two are separated by just two hours, but the letters are full of young anguish at being kept apart.

FIRST WORLD WAR: BUSHNELL

‘Dear Mother… Received your most welcome letter and was entirely glad to hear from you. Received two of your letters that were addressed to Ft. McDowell and were forwarded here. The money was welcome too to say the least. I couldn’t even send a letter as I didn’t have money enough to buy a stamp.’ (14 April 1918)

In 1918, Walter Bushnell in Pismo, California, enlisted in the U.S. Military and set off to play his part. Writing to his mother Ada throughout his deployment, the archive has 38 letters from March 1918 to August 1920. Letter writing and postcards in particular were popularised in this period: ‘the poor man’s telephone’. In the 14 April 1918 letter, the war is almost seven months from ending with Walter, it seems, not yet having left U.S. shores for conflict but certainly feeling the pinch on his wallet.

1920s: STOCKER

‘I don’t feel as if my letters have given any idea of the wonderful trip we are having, for I have often had to write them where we are so hurried. We find something to do all the time in the day and often do not have dinner until seven or eight o’clock. We enjoyed every minute. Arthur sends love and Harry, too. With much love from here, Alice’ (6 August 1924)

In 20th-century America, the concept of a European Tour was a month-long trip taken by the wellto-do for their cultural betterment. There are 33 ‘Stocker letters’, named after Alice Stocker, from 1918 to 1929. Alice, her husband, and son are living in New York in 1924 when they are sent on a European Tour by her parents. The family photograph and write home to her parents from such exotic places as England, France, and Switzerland. In 1924, most of Europe was just recovering from the horrors of the First World War, and the Stocker family are not protected from the harsh truths of that. However, there is still an element of the Romantic adventure, perhaps captured here best in an excerpt from this letter, written by Alice to her father, about their time in Lucerne, Switzerland.

1930s: LINDSAY

‘Dear darling wife, I got your loving letter this afternoon and was glad. I am feeling good tonight but am a little lonesome at present. Have had a little hard week and have been too tired to do much of a night but eat and sleep but would feel better if you was here to cheer me up.’ (7 August 1936)

Historians say that The Great Depression started in 1929 with ‘Black Thursday’ and ended in 1933. However, first-hand accounts of life in the American South like those in these ‘Lindsay letters’ – named after their authors Walter and Virgie Lindsay, based in Tennessee – show that the hardships of the Depression extended well beyond 1933 and into the start of the Second World War. Through the 14 letters between the couple, we’re treated to romantic and bittersweet professions of love and aspirations for life. The letters date from August 1935 to October 1940. Most often Walter and Virgie are separated, with Walter working at whatever jobs he can find to support their small family. It wouldn’t have been unusual at all during the Great Depression for husbands and wives to live and work apart for months or years at a time. This August 1936 letter shows Walter confiding in Virgie that while separated, her letters bring him comfort.

1930s: ROTH

‘My Dearest: I got two letters from you today and did I enjoy hearing from you! I am warning you in advance that this won’t be a two page letter because every one in this house is in bed. I guess they won’t be asleep until I finish my letter though. (I was working at the house until 10 o’clock.) Honey, I am so glad that you liked everything in your surprise box. Your mother and Dotty picked the dresses for you and Dotty selected the nail polish. The only thing I did was to pay for them. It is needless to say that the box of candy brought back pleasant memories to me too when I purchased it.’ (25 July 1939)

The Roth letters magnify the everyday details of a husband and wife – Kaye and Nelda “Nonie” Roth – in Pennsylvania. The 20 letters go from spring 1938 to summer 1939. While Nelda recuperates at a hospital for a condition we’re not privy to, Kaye is renovating their dream house, which the couple write about. Their tenderness is evident with Kaye’s sweet greeting and focus on happier times.

SECOND WORLD WAR: SMITH

‘Dear Mom + Pop… I sure hope that by now you have received some word from Manny. I believe there was very strict censorship concerning where he is, and the mail was held up on account of it. That happens very often. I write him every week and I’m sure I’ve got a bunch of mail from him on the way. Mom, those socks should come in handy. I’ve got enough now but they wear out easy and sometimes they’re hard to replace. I filled out some and I’ve got dimples. Ain’t that cute?? Pop, are you keeping track of the Russians? They’ll be in Berlin by the time you get this. I’m in sound health. Don’t worry about a thing. Your loving son, Herman’ (9 February 1945)

Milton “Manny” Smith and Herman Smith were two Jewish brothers from the Bronx. In reading the Smith letters home – 34 letters from spring 1942 to winter 1945 – it’s evident that the brothers felt they couldn’t always be honest about their experiences. There are also a number of V-Mail (or Victory Mail) letters. A V-Mail one page letter was written by a G.I. on a particular type of stationery.

The letter was then scrutinised by censors. When it passed censorship, it was photographed onto microfilm and shrunk to 60% the size of their original editions. The reduced size of the letters meant more could be carried without affecting space on military vessels for life saving supplies and weapons.