Variations from letter-writing manuals
Humble petitions signed by women in Late Modern
London
The present study analyses two sets of 25 petitions
each. They were signed by different women who possibly belonged to lower
social ranks, and they were addressed to the governors of the Foundling
Hospital and the Bank of England. These were most probably men who occupied
high positions in society. The study focuses on the comparison between the
information present in the manuals and the petitions selected for this
study. The petitioners had different needs and their circumstances also
varied. This is reflected in the results, which show differences, and also
similarities, between the two sets of petitions. Furthermore, most display
some features found in the manuals, but not all of them follow the rules or
recommendations faithfully. The writers, who cannot always be identified and
may not have been the same as the signees, seem to have been aware of the
existence of letter-writing manuals, but they may not have had first-hand
contact with them.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Letter-writing and petitions in eighteenth-century England
- 3.Letter-writing manuals in Late Modern England
- 3.1The instructions in these manuals
- 3.2Features of the petitions in the manuals
- 4.The present study
- 4.1The data
- 4.2The manuals
- 5.Method
- 6.Results
- 6.1Group 1: Petitions that include a superscription and/or an opening
formula
- 6.2Group 2: Petitions that do not include a superscription and/or an opening
formula
- 7.A comparison between Group 1 and Group 2
- 8.Conclusions
-
Acknowledgements
-
Notes
-
Sources
-
References
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