Ephemera Peculiaris – dearest Dove

READ ALL ABOUT IT – Ephemera Peculiaris: Or, ephemera derived ‘of peculiar, strange, odd or unusual characteristics…’ 
Wendi Bradshaw delves into older worlds of unrequited love and advice probably part of the genre of nasty Valentines

Dearest Dove letter

This form letter was recently found in Charnwood Antiques and Collectables, Lakes Entrance, and proprietor (and ESA member) Roger, couldn’t provide information about its origins.

Likewise, although a search through the internet reveals many interesting facts about ‘Dear John’ letters, which were written specifically through wartime, there is no mention of a female recipient equivalent. We don’t know who this (decidedly not so) dearest ‘Dove’ was, or where she may have lived. It is rather sadly dated on Valentine’s Day sometime in the 1870s. The paper is frail and crease-marked, and as you see, the phraseology is… well, special. Finally, is it signed ‘An old Un’? or ‘Arnold (someone)’ We’ll never know.