This image by Nancy Rosin (2007) from victoriantreasury.com is of a puzzle purse dated February 14, 1816! By clicking on the link, you can read about these wonderful puzzle purses, and how and why they were made. (Sweethearts exchanged them as early as the 1790s.) Happy Valentine’s Day to all my readers!
Valentine puzzle purse, February 14, 1816. Image by Nancy Rosin
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Jane Austen's World 
Lovely post. Hope you will take a moment to look at my blog, dedicated to Jane Eyre, Mr. Darcy, Emma Bovary, Alice in Wonderland and several other literary characters.
Thank you for sharing this enchanting bit of history! I wonder who wrote it and to whom. Happy Valentines Day to you, Vic.
What a charming piece of history re the puzzle purse from the early nineteenth century! Wonderful. I’d also like to add that Downton Abbey is about the only program worth watching and over all these seasons, they’be become like family. No family has high drama and riveting plot lines all the time. There are peaks and valleys, If I have misunderstood your point, apologies, as I’m all for exceptional writing. It would be great to see Benedict Cumberbatch make an appearance. Oh, what an appearane that would be. Great good fun. Thank you for such an insightful and interesting take on Season 4.
An aside: LOVE the brilliant and very funny obit for Charlotte Collins (nee Lucas).
Oops. I need a typist. “they’ve become like family…etc.”
Roseanne, “they be,” is absolutely fine. You have stumbled across a Hampshire country yokel way of speaking. Living in Steventon and later in ,Chawton Jane would have heard a lot of ,”They be,,I be, you be, aaaagh’s, eeeee’s, and many other incomprehensible sounds, to us anyway, but perfectly intelligible in a rural community of the 18th and 19th century.
Keep up your , “they be’s” said with a broad Hampshire accent. You might have to practice of course. It would be a nice party piece, Roseanne. Add a few gutteral aagh’s, ooh’s and eee’s and that will be amazing,followed by swigging back a pint of English beer such as London Pride or Adnams. I bet you can get those in your local supermarket. My mate in Canada can get bottled English beer in his supermarket. But I digress.
Beautiful and quite creative! Looking at the folds, I wonder if the folded paper creation children still make, with individual letters on the outside, is a carryover from the puzzle purse. Thank you for sharing this well preserved treasure. Contemporary lovers might improve their romance by employing a similar handwritten love note rather than texting.
This was just delightful! Thank you for sharing it. I wonder along with Carolyn above if the puzzle purse and children’s fortune telling folded toys have the same origin.
Another wonderful post, Vic. Thank you for always sharing timely articles. Just perfect for today.
This is wonderful! Thank you ever so much for sharing it.
I remember these from my schooldays. The inside folds contained little girly messages, a bit like the messages on loveheart sweets, and the alternate folded visible surfaces were coloured with contrasting colours, each coloured section being numbered 1 to 4 – 8 numbered section. The thumb and one finger of each hand were inserted into each of the 4 finger folds created by the folding of the paper. The question “What is your name” resulted in the name being spelled while the puzzle was opened alternately horizontally or vertically with each letter and held open at the final letter. Then, “pick a colour” followed by the same exercise while spelling the colour word. Finally, “pick a number” led to lifting the numbered fold and reading the innocent message underneath. Since I attended an all girls’ school it has never dawned on me till now that this was an exercise for flirting with boys.
Thank you for your wonderful description! I had no idea about the “what is your name” feature. Vic
Hello there Vic! I am trying to get in touch with you regarding a comment you made in an old post. I was hoping to get a citation from you for a resource. Your listed email doesn’t work… would love to chat ‘off board’ if you get a chance.
…ignore the above post please. :) sent it to the wrong address…
Another delightful post thank you Vic,
I’m always amazed when I find that the English were as romantic as these posts of yours indicate.
I think it must have been those nasty froggies coming across the channel corrupting the weak and impressionable, luckily for me my forebears escaped all that romantic nonsense thereby allowing me to grow into the normal cheerful cheeky chappy that I am!
:)
I understand its “chip” week in England. Now see, that’s what I call a holiday.
We’re so serious here in the USofA. No humor or sense of fun whatsoever. Valentine’s being amongst the worst. We do have a fellow in town who rides around on a bicycle and chastises anyone who isn’t wearing something green for St. Patrick’s day, but that’s highly unusual.. I was glad to see your brave and wise comment. Lord Merton who is currently noticing the charms of our much loved yet indignant Isobel on Downton Abbey is to be noted as probably the most attractive man on the show, I do think those fabulous works by the great English Romantic painters such as Lord Frederick Leighton, are greatly misinterpreted. We know so little. And there are so many “Roses” out there. You are fortunate, LordBearOfBow. Be glad. Be very glad.
Oh dear. Its LordBeariOfBow, not Lord Bear. My apologies.
My sincere appreciation to the General! I can’t believe I backed into such fortuitous knowings about the broad Hampshire accent Jane would have heard from the local yokels in her lifetime, Would Lady Mary attempt it? Cora, certainly. I be practicing and swigging, (does root beer count?)…
Roseanne , my name is Tony. The ,”General,” bit comes from a mixture of things,,playing centre back in the defence for a football team, my surname Grant and a teacher who thought it funny to call me ,”The General.”
However, I like your pluck in taking on a regional accent and vocabulary challenge!!! ha! ha!
Go for it!!!
All the best,
Tony
Thank you, Tony. Interesting moniker history! I will have to search online for some good audio examples of that broad Hampshire accent you’ve cleverly pointed out our beloved Jane Austen would have heard regularly. What a great detail! My thanks again.
Here is a link to series of recordings of English dialects. Every county used to have its own dialect.
Nowadays people might retain an accent but they don’t use the old phrases and words. They speak, using the same language we do, Roseanne,, with perhaps a few cross Atlantic differences of course.
I come from Southampton although I live in Wimbledon, South London now. My accent has a Hampshire twang to it, although I don’t notice it myself when I am talking.To anybody who I am talking to they would probably be able to place where I come from.
One of the Hampshire dialect recordings actually begins with the the words, “they be.”
I hope you enjoy these recordings.
Tony
http://sounds.bl.uk/accents-and-dialects/survey-of-english-dialects
Every county used to have its own dialect.
Nowadays people might retain an accent but they don’t use the old phrases and words. They speak, using the same language we do, Roseanne,, with perhaps a few cross Atlantic differences of course.
I come from Southampton although I live in Wimbledon, South London now. My accent has a Hampshire twang to it, I don’t notice it myself however, the person I am talking to would probably be able to place where I come from.
One of the Hampshire dialect recordings actually begins with the the words, “they be.”
If you search the BBC Dialect Sounds web site you will find recordings of Hampshire accents. One of the recordings actually starts with the phrase, “they be.”
I hope you enjoy them.
Tony
Thank you so much, Tony. Turns out I’ll need a lot of that pluck as I’ve just listened to a 3 minute recording of a Hampshire accent. How wonderful that these dialects are available.
This will certainly conserve you time when you’re looking for one in specific, and they keep them looking neat.
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