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| ruth_s_autograph_book [2025/02/04 09:31] – judith | ruth_s_autograph_book [2025/02/04 09:34] (current) – judith |
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| Emma and Fiona Cullen-Ward have a battered album that we would call an autograph book. {{:cover_c_14.4_x_11cmscan_20241206.jpg?200|}}It is 11 x 14.5cm and contains signatures and sketches both on its pages and as loose additions. There are also loose photos tucked into the album. I have put the names of those who signed in bold for easier identification.\\ | Emma and Fiona Cullen-Ward have a battered album that we would call an autograph book. {{:cover_c_14.4_x_11cmscan_20241206.jpg?200|}}It is 11 x 14.5cm and contains signatures and sketches both on its pages and as loose additions. There are also loose photos tucked into the album. I have put the names of those who signed in bold for easier identification.\\ |
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| The best indication of its owner is the following page: {{:to_ruth_scan_20241206_3_.jpg?200|}} It reads: 'To Ruth. I love you. Not because your face is fair/And sweet & gentle too. But because you are yourself/So good & kind and true. **Jo[or Lo?] Collingridge**. "St Cloud" Ryde 11th Feb. 1901." This declaration narrows the ownership to Ruth and almost certainly to Ruth Murray-Prior. It is also a reminder that we can be more inhibited than our forebears because our society is more sexualised. So this open and quite public declaration of love could be lesbian (at a time when homosexuality was illegal and largely considered deviant), but more likely referred to an openly loving friendship. The little book has another contribution by **Jo[Lo?] Collingridge** - this drawing of a Japanese musician: {{:japanese_drawing_scan_20241206_2_.jpg?400|}} The Collingridge family who lived at St Cloud were Arthur and his wife Margaret and their 12 surviving children. The identity of the person is unclear. The assumption is that a young man who not write such a declaration unless they were family or engaged/married. That leaves 4 possibilities as Arthur and Margaret only had 4 daughters: Maud b.1874; Louisa (known in the family as Googs); Mary (known in the family as Bobbie); and Anne (known in the family as Darkie.((Winsome Collingridge, email to J. Godden,3/2/2025)) The closest possibility is that it was Louisa signing herself as 'Lo' - her nickname Googs was perhaps just for her family to use.\\ | The best indication of its owner is the following page: {{:to_ruth_scan_20241206_3_.jpg?200|}} It reads: 'To Ruth. I love you. Not because your face is fair/And sweet & gentle too. But because you are yourself/So good & kind and true. **Jo [or Lo?] Collingridge**. "St Cloud" Ryde 11th Feb. 1901." This declaration narrows the ownership to Ruth and almost certainly to Ruth Murray-Prior. It is also a reminder that we can be more inhibited than our forebears because our society is more sexualised. So this open and quite public declaration of love could be lesbian (at a time when homosexuality was illegal and considered deviant), but more likely referred an openly loving friendship. The little book has another contribution by **Jo [Lo?] Collingridge** - this drawing of a Japanese musician: {{:japanese_drawing_scan_20241206_2_.jpg?400|}} The Collingridge family who lived at St Cloud were Arthur and his wife Margaret and their 12 surviving children. The identity of the person is unclear. My assumption is that a young man would not write such a declaration unless they were family or engaged/married. That leaves 4 possibilities as Arthur and Margaret only had 4 daughters: Maud b.1874; Louisa b.1875 (known in the family as Googs); Mary b. 1877 (known in the family as Bobbie); and Anne b. 1880 (known in the family as Darkie.((Winsome Collingridge, email to J. Godden,3/2/2025)) The most likely of these is Louisa signing herself as 'Lo' - her nickname Googs was perhaps just for her family to use.\\ |
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| That there are so many sketches in this small album indicates how art was valued by Ruth, her family and friends including the Collingridge family- see [[http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Library/Local-and-Family-History/Historic-Ryde/Historic-Figures/Arthur-Collingridge|Ryde Library]]. It is not known if Ruth herself drew or whether she concentrated her talents on writing. This album are not about masterpieces nor professional artists; rather it indicates the enjoyment amateur artists and others gained from creating and treasuring art.\\ | That there are so many sketches in this small album indicates how art was valued by Ruth, her family and friends including the Collingridge family- see [[http://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Library/Local-and-Family-History/Historic-Ryde/Historic-Figures/Arthur-Collingridge|Ryde Library]]. It is not known if Ruth herself drew or whether she concentrated her talents on writing. This album are not about masterpieces nor professional artists; rather it indicates the enjoyment amateur artists and others gained from creating and treasuring art.\\ |