Document Type
Personal Letter
Keywords
spencerian script
Abstract
Holiday wishes from William H. Mathewson to his sister Emma. Dates 1869 and 1871 have been scribed on this fine example of Spencerian penmanship. The card reads:
"Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from William to my dear sister Emma.
Were half the power that fills the world with terror,
Were half the wealth, bestowed on camps and courts,
Given to redeem the human mind from error,
There were no need of arsenals nor forts
Executed by Wm H. Mathewson
Student, Warner's Bryant & Stratton College"
The 4 lines of poetry in the above are from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's antiwar poem, "The Arsenal at Springfield." Longfellow wrote this poem after touring the gun filled Springfield Arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1843.
