These letters graciously have been shared with the Victorian Web by Eunice and Ron Shanahan; they have been taken from their website. The letters give an insight into the daily lives and concerns of 'ordinary' people without whom history would not exist. The letters are a wonderful example of how much history may be gleaned from such sources.
The article to which this image refers, covers some of 12 letters I bought recently which were written by a needle manufacturer in Derbyshire to his sister at home in Hathersage, in the Derbyshire Peak District. The letters cover the time from January 1845 to September 1848.
The writer was Joseph Robert Cocker who lived with his sister Hannah Cocker at Broom Cottage.
Related documents
The letter from JR Cocker to his sister
Image of the letter cover
Links
to another photograph of Broom Cottage
Image of the needle packets; the contents were made by the Cockers
The second letter to Miss Cocker
Last modified 18 January 2007