Wonderful (and Long!) 1840 Letter from Elias A Brown To "My Dear Wife," with Beautiful Cross Writing banded decoration 6 5/16" across at rim

6 5/16" across at rim

8 1/2" in diameter

or I think it could also make a pretty terrific little hand mirror

18 3/4" l x 8 3/16" t

I've just gotten in a big new batch of old clay marbles

Wonderful (and Long!) 1840 Letter from Elias A Brown To "My Dear Wife," with Beautiful Cross Writing banded decoration 6 5/16" across at rimI have for a long time wanted to turn up a good example of cross writing, shown here on the first page of this letter, brilliantly (and beautifully!) used in the early mid 19th century as a way of conserving space and paper. I just love to look at it! But happily this is a pretty wonderful and notable letter, too, written from Elias A Brown to his dear wife Louisa Anna (Cady) Brown in Minaville, Montgomery County, NY, 1840. There is a good bit about