Emily Chan
Recently, a financial institution in Swansea, Wales, received a surprising postcard in the mail. The postcard featured a print of a stag standing beneath a starry night sky.
It was from someone named Ewart and was addressed to Lydia Davies, who lived at 11 Craddock Street, where the Swansea Building Society is now located.
The card was dated August 23, 1903, and finally reached its destination 121 years after it was sent. Employees were astonished to find it among their usual mail regarding mortgages and savings.
Now, the Swansea Building Society is working to uncover the origins of the postcard and trying to track down any living members of the Davies family.
The image on the card is a black-and-white print of a 19th-century painting called The Challenge by the English artist Edwin Henry Landseer.
Additionally, the stamp has an image of Edward VII, who was the king of the United Kingdom between 1901 and 1910.
The short handwritten message from Ewart is barely legible. He sent the card from the coastal Welsh town of Fishguard. The letter read:
“Dear L. I could not, it was impossible to get the pair of these. I am so sorry, but I hope you are enjoying yourself at home. I have got now about ten [shillings as] pocket money not counting the train fare, so I’m doing alright. Remember me to Miss Gilbert and John, with love to all from Ewart.”
The letter shows that Ewart and Lydia were discussing something specific that she had the context to understand.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
