There were a couple of challenges I had to deal with to work with these letters. First off was the fact that they were written by a 7 year old so it was important to me to create a book that reflected that. I didn't want anything too sophisticated looking so I decided to use cork paper and chalkboard cloth for this project. The second challenge was that there were no envelopes for these letters. It appears that they were all opened and stored flat because there are no real creases set in any of the papers. So I wanted to bind them into the book without folding them. This meant that the book had to be a little bit bigger than the ones I've done in the past which I think actually helped to add to the overall cohesiveness of the project.
This book measures 11" X 8"x 1" closed. Upon opening the book you'll find a note from me:
That says:
Grace harding wrote these letters to her mother and daddy over the period of 1927 to 1929 while she lived at Mrs. M. Lewtas Burt's School for Tiny Tots in Peekskill NY.
Grace was an average student who got along well with her class mates and seem to enjoy her time at school. She writes of sleigh rides, birthday and Halloween parties and her part in the school play. She was a thoughtful and caring little girl and in her letter to santa after asking for a sled, a book, a game and some dishes she hopes that she has not asked for too much.
Grace fell sick several times over the school year with whooping cough, the measles and other general childhood maladies but through all of them she continued to write to Mother and Daddy asking them to come see her during the upcoming weekend.
Grace was 7 years old in 1927 and these are her letters...
There are 38 letters and two of her report cards in this book.
On another note: I want to thank all of you who wrote to me about the death of my dog Robin last weekend. Your notes and emails meant a lot to me and I appreciated every one of them.
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