Lizzie Borden Society Forum

I was on the net for some artifacts on Lizzie, and found some letters that Lizzie wrote. She signed them L.A. Borden. Seems that, other than her library card and her will, she signed all her letters L.A. Borden, even her personal letters to her friends.

I can't picture writing to one of my marine corps friends and signing it R.C. Horton. I mean we went thru everything together and I can't picture signing my letters them any other way than Robin.

What is with all the pomp and circumstance?

You're right, that is a bit odd. I also sign my name using my first two initials followed by my last name, ordinarily. I would sign a personal letter or note with just my first name, might even use a nickname if I had one! Maybe that was the result of Victorian mentality, the necessity for formality. It almost implies a lack of intimacy if it was acceptable to sign a personal letter in a familiar way at the time.

I wonder, if her friends, when answering her letters or writing to her, signed their names or if they were less formal and more friendly. Did you happen to run across any letter's to her?

Interesting. This made me think of a letter, written in 1910, by my 3rd great grandmother to one of her grandchildren. I am attaching a portion of it here for everyone to see. Apparently, things were much more formal back in those days. Even a grandchild rated the signature of initials plus the last name!! She signed it M. J. Phillips, for Mary Jane Phillips!!

It may well have been common practice at the time to use the formal signature in spite of familiarity. I notice the signature M. J. Phillips is preceded by "from your dear old grandma" and the signature may serve to identify which particular grandma.

It was most definitely a very common practice right before and after the turn of the century to sign letters with 2 initials and then the last name. It was the way signatures where written then be it letters or for any other purpose. There was NOTHING odd about it at all for them. It was the formal custom and practice of the times. They would probably find our usage of signing first names very forward, informal and downright rude and disrespectful and ODD!

It seems a bit stilted by today's standards, so to me it is a bit odd. I hardly think the current signature method of using a first name is either rude or disrespectful when it is used appropriately on an informal letter or note, but then, I wasn't raised by Victorian standards, so what do I know?

That's what I was trying to say Yooper. That what we consider odd was normal to Victorian age people and what they would consider odd is normal to us.

shakiboo wrote:I wonder, if her friends, when answering her letters or writing to her, signed their names or if they were less formal and more friendly. Did you happen to run across any letter's to her?

I didn't come across any, but I don't think I was looking that hard. Time to go back and look. I mean I put in letters that Lizzie wrote and that's what the computer gave. I am going to go back and type in letters Lizzie recieved and see what that brings up. It should be interesting.