Postage 1940

Today's the day ....................... to send a letter

It was the last of this year's volunteering sessions at the Kirkcudbright Galleries and Museum this afternoon.

I've been working on a series of letters written by the Scottish Colourist Artist, J D Fergusson (1874-1961) to his good friend and fellow artist in Kirkcudbright, E A Taylor (1874-1971).  They make fascinating reading and not only give a detailed account of what was happening in Fergusson's life at the time of writing, but also tell quite a lot about the character of the man himself.

Every letter is full of clues of what it was like to be moving in the circles of these (relatively well-off) artists.  It was an exciting time because they were exploring new ideas of art that were quite different from what had gone before.  But the world around them was changing too as a result of two World Wars and all that that meant.

Even the envelopes tell a story.  This one was posted at 7.45 pm on 4th July 1940 in Glasgow, where J D Fergusson was living at the time.  He had returned to Scotland from Paris at the outset of WWII.  No postcodes needed then - just the name of the house 'Greengate' - which is still there today.

The postage was two and half pence - and it was probably in Kirkcudbright the following day ..................!