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Mss Eur F674
- Record Id:
- 032-002409382
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-002409382
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000005043.0x000001
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Mss Eur F674
- Title:
- Letters from Peking by Olga (Molly) Orpen-Palmer (1886-1964) to her mother
- Scope & Content:
-
Letters written by Olga (Molly) Orpen-Palmer (1886-1964), wife of Harold Bland Herbert Orpen-Palmer, Military Attache to the British Legation at Peking, to her mother, Mrs William W Pemberton. Includes mss notes of biographical information on Harold Bland Herbert Orpen-Palmer by Julia Boyd, grand-niece of the author. Includes transcripts of 12 letters, transcribed by Julia Boyd.
1) Letter 1: dated P&O SS, 28 October 1920. "Here we are sailing along on a beautiful sea..."
2) Letter 2: dated P&O SS Sicilia, 16 November 1920. "Aden was very interesting. More so than I had expected. We arrived here just after breakfast..."
3) Letter 3: dated P&O Sicilia, 23 November 1920. "We get into Penang early tomorrow morning..."
4) Letter 4: dated P&O Sicilia, 10 December 1920. "We are within 50 miles of Shanghai..."
5) Letter 5: incomplete. First two pages missing. "... I priced a faily simple evening frock in a French shop (in Shanghai)..."
5A) Letter 5A: Incomplete. First week in January 1921. "...For one thing I wanted to have Brian with us for Xmas..."
6) Letter 6: dated British Ligation Peking, 18 January 1921. "A mail leaves today so I will scrawl you a few lines in a desperate hurry..."
7) Letter 7: dated British Legation, 8 March 1921. "Life is so rushed here & I write so many chits etc..."
8) letter 8: dated British Legation Bungalows Pei-tai-ho, 3 August [1921]. "We came here on July 6 & I have first been doing nothing but bathe & lie about. The heat in Peking was getting too much for me..."
9) Letter 9: dated British Legation, 10 January 1922. "At last, a line to you to thank you ever so much for the nice set of table..."
10) Letter 10: Fragment, p.1 missing. No date, probably July 1922. "... like to hear from them if he accepts would help his C.O.'s pension in ..."
11) Letter 11: dated British Legation Bungalows Pei-Tai-Ho, 18 August 1922. "At last a letter from home. Yours of July 6th..."
12) Letter 12: fragment. Written in Pei-tai-ho, August 1922 or 1923. "...Here I think this is more like Indian life, a nest of Bungalows and each putting up some of the Legation bachelors. But in Peking you would be hopelessly landed..."
13A) Fragments A: Written in December 1920 just after they had moved into their house (British Legation Peking) "... Outside the Legation a bit & then had to be at our Bungalow..."
13B) Fragment B: written before Christmas 1920. "... Has cost me £1 a yard. (16 dollars) so it's been an awful expense..."
13C) Fragments without transcription
14) Research notes about Orpen-Palmers by Julia Boyd (in pencil)
- Collection Area:
- India Office Records and Private Papers
- Project / Collection:
- India Office Private Papers
- Hierarchy Tree:
- [{ "id" : "032-002409382", "parent" : "#", "text" : "Mss Eur F674: Letters from Peking by Olga (Molly) Orpen-Palmer (1886-1964) to her mother" , "li_attr" : {"class": "orderable"} }]
- Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002409382
- Is part of:
- not applicable
- Hierarchy:
- 032-002409382
- Container:
- not applicable
- Record Type (Level):
- Fonds
- Extent:
- 14 files (12 complete letters & 2 fragments with transcripts; fragments without transcripts; pencil notes on scrap-papers)
- Digitised Content:
- Languages:
- English
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1920
- End Date:
- 1923
- Date Range:
- 1920-1923
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
-
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- User Conditions:
- Source of Acquisition:
- Donated by Julia Boyd, 2 May 2013
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)
- Names:
- Orpen-Palmer, Harold Bland Berbert, British Military Attache at Peking, 1920-1923, 1876-1941
- Related Material:
- Publication: A dance with the dragon: the vanished world of Peking's foreign colony by Julia Boyd. (New York, 2012)