© 2016 National Archive of Australia
Brilio.net/en - A mysterious little letter, written in 1870, has travelled the time and has been found in Australia.
The letter was flown over Paris in a hot-air balloon during the Prussian siege and ended up in Brisbane, Queensland, almost 150 years ago. The National Archive wants to know why.
The puzzling letter was written by a man who was living in the besieged former French capital, and intended for his mother in Normandy.
A (or Ch for Charles) Mesnier (or Mesmier?) wrote to his "bonne mre" and wants to know whether she and the family are safe.
The letter was posted from Paris on 7 December 1870, and possibly received over a week later by Madame Mesnier. Through his letter, the lady must have known that her devoted son was desperate to know if the family was safe.
Image: National Archive of Australia
"We don't need any more than a note that you are in good health to reassure us," writes the man, whose age is unknown.
"So far the siege has not really had an effect on the state of our health. We don't have much meat every day and when we do get some it is not very much but we can easily get by as things are and no one in our household is complaining.
"Embrace for me uncle and aunt and Maria as I embrace you with all my heart. Your devoted son."
The man also expressed in details the passion and dedication shown by his fellow Parisians in defending the city against the Prussians.
"We cannot succeed in all our attacks but I have the firm conviction, my good mother, that the ultimate success will be for our just cause," he writes.
The Prussians besieged Paris from September 1870 until January 1871, with the French ended up surrendering the city.
The hot-air postal service
Image:Prussian forces/gettyimage
During the Siege of Paris between 1870 and 1871, the Prussians disrupted the communication into and out of Paris. They cut the last secret telegraph cable, located in the bed of the River Seine on 27 September.
The situation forced the Parisians to find other way to communicate, and the hot-air balloon seemed to be the ideal option. Nearly two million letters were posted by hot-air baloon in order to bypass the enemy after the cables were cut. Besides the balloon, homing pigeons are often used to send letters and to bring the response letter back to Paris.
Letters were delicately folded into a tiny envelope so as many as possible could fit inside the balloon.
The Australian National Archives has been in deep conversation with its French counterpart, Archives Nationales, about a potential exhibition.
"We were delving into our collections to see what material connects to France, and it was extraordinary to find this intriguing piece of history," says National Archives assistant director-general Louise Doyle as reported by the BBC.
"I find it romantic and elegant all in the same breath, and quite beautiful the relationship this man has with mother."
According to Doyle, the letter was possibly bought at an auction and then donated to the Queensland Telegraph Museum, but its journey was not entirely clear.
The National Archives hopes to conclude whether there is a solid Australian connection with the letter, and whether any of the sender's relatives are living in Brisbane.
Source: BBC
(brl/tis)
