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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: londonscorpion on Sunday 01 December 19 11:56 GMT (UK)
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I have transcribed the following 1724 inventory from Sussex. Eight words are illegible to me while 16 others, in red, are guesses and really need confirmation. I would be grateful for any help.
1. Imp Wearing Apparele and Cash
2. Item In ye kitchen one Clock one Jack 1 Drefser twenty
3. Dishes of Pewter Eight Doz and ffour plates two pewter
4. Rings Eight Candlesticks six P(ai)rs of ??? Six Spitts two
5. Andirons two P(ai)r of Tonges one P(ai)r of Potthooks three ???
6. One Bacon Rack two Tables one ??? two Stools five (see also line 12)
7. Chairs 2 P(ai)r of Window Curtains one Chest one P(ai)r bellows
8. 1 fire Shovele one P(ai)r of Andirons one iron driping ??? a
9. Cuppboard 2 Trepts 2 Box Irons a P(ai)r of Stilliards Two
10. Warming Pans two brass Skimmers one ffender one iron
11. Plate and some other small Things
12. Item in ye Scullery one pump 1 Table one ??? (see also line 6)
13. Three Pottage Potts ffour Skilletts two iron Kettles
14. two Sauce Panns one Stew Pan two Bucketts ffour
15. Trays Six wooden Dishes two doz of Trenchers
16. Item in ye Bakeing houfe one Brushing hutch one Sape two
17. dresfers one Keeler one Cuppboard 2 Powdering Tubbs
18. Item in ye Strong Beer Seller Seven Barrells Eight
19. Stellidges two Powdring Tubbs two Grose of Bottles
20. Item in ye Mild Beer Seller ffive Barrells one Stellidge
21. two Keelers and a Tumstle
22. It: In ye small beer Seller three Barrells two Stellidges
23. and a Tumstle
24. It: In ye Brewhouse two Coppers one Brew Vate one
25. Cooler one Pump Six Tubbs five keelers two Barrells Three
26. Stellidges and one Jutt
27. It: In ye milkhoufe one Cheefeprefs one Churne four Brafs
28. kettles Nine Trays and one Stellidge
29. It In ye Hall two Tables Six Chairs Six Cushions and
30. a Bird Cage
31. It: In ye Parlour one Ten Table w(i)th Sett of Chinney one
32. other Table Eight Chairs w(i)th Cushions two Window Cushions
33. w(i)th Curtains and a P(ai)r of Andirons a fire Pan a P(ai)r of Tongs
34. and a P(ai)r of Bellows
35. It: In ye Withdrawing Roome a Table ffive Chairs a
36. Couche and a Looking Glafs
37. Item In ye Smoking Roome a Table Seven Chairs 6
38. Buket and a ??? ffire Shovelle
39. It: on ye Stair Case a Cloth
40. It In ye kitchen Chamber a feather Bed & Hangings
41. 1 Chest of drawers two prefses one Table a Looking Glafs one
42. ??? ??? Six Chairs
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And this is the second page. Here only three words are illegible while 6 others, in red, need confirmation.
43. Thirty P(ai)rs of Sheets ffifteen P(ai)rs of Pillowberes three diap :
44. Table Cloths Eight Huckaback Table Cloths Six doz: and
45. Six Napkins Ten Courfse Table Cloths Twenty nine Towells
46. One Silver Tankard One Silver Cupp one Sivr tumbler
47. ffour Silver Salts two Silver Spoones ffive teaspoones
48. ffifteen Large Silver Spoones
49. Item In ye Hall Chamber a Bed w(i)th Hangings two
50. Chairs one Table one Looking glafs four window ???
51. Item In ye Parlour Chamber a Bed w(i)th the furniture
52. of the Roome
53. It: In ye Withdrawing Chamber a Bed and the
54. ffurniture of the Roome
55. Item In ye Chamber ov(e)r ye Smoking Roome a Bed
56. and the ffurniture of the Roome
57. It In ye milkhouse Chamber a Bed w(i)th ye ffurniture of
58. the Roome
59. It: In ye Maids Garrett a Bed and two Chairs
60. It: In ye other Garrett an Old Bedd
61. It: In ye Scullery Chamber Two Bedds
62. It: in ye Baking houfe Chamber 1 Bed a Table & five Chairs
63. It Six Hundred and twenty nine Sheep and Lambes
64. Item Three Cows four yearing Steers two a year
65. old Early
66. Item Corne in the Barnes
67. Item money or Securitys
68. Item Rents and Book Debts
69. Item Husbandry Tackling
70. Item One Stack of Hay
71. Item Bridles and Sadles
72. Item Two Garden ???
73. Things forgott and unseen
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First page:
4: ...Rings Eight Candlesticks Six Pces of Trine...
In this case I would say it's Pces = Pieces.
Trine = Treen This one is not certain.
5: The last word may be guns. The previous word could be thre but I'm not certain.
6: Agree with Bacon Rack.
The other word here and in line 12 is a peculiar spelling of furnace - may be ffurnie.
8: ...driping Pann...
9: Trests - presumably meaning Trestles. Agree with Box and Stilliards.
10: Agree with ffender.
16: May be bunting hutch? Probably Sope.
21 & 23: Tunnell - possibly a variant of Funnel?
26: Either spelled Jutt or Intt.
30. Agree.
32: Agree.
38: ...Coale ffire Hearth
42: ...Cold still...
ADDED:
Re the word in line 9 - does anyone else think it could possibly be Tres(er)ts?
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Re the word in line 9 - does anyone else think it could possibly be Tres(er)ts?
The Dialect Dictionary gives Trest as:
As trestle: the frame or support of a table; a strong bench or table; a form; a butcher's block.
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Thank you Jen, that is what I thought most likely. The wiggle in the long-s must just be an errant pen stroke.
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43 diapers - (I guess in the old sense of a particular type of cloth)
45 course (you have 2 's's)
46 agree
55 agree
62 house
67 money on security
69 agree
72 Roulers?
With reference to 'house' above, I see you have several words, especially in the first section, where you have transcribed the 2 's's in the middle of the word as 'fs'.
The first one is the classic 'long 's', so they should be transcribed as 'ss'.
Such as 'dresser', 'glass', 'Brass', 'cheesepress', etc.
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Following up the remaining matters:
50: curtings
65: Agree
72: Agree with goldie - may mean rollers.
I read 43 as goldie has, except I think it is an adjective and therefore singular: three diap(er) Table Cloths
ADDED:
65: old Each
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Treen=small wooden items.
Stillages =wooden cradles to hold casks,
Window cushions=to fit a window recess.
Yearing=yearling.
Quite well off by the look of it! ;D
Skoosh.
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Lines 21 and 23 - could "tunnel" be "tunvril" - I have no idea what this might be, but I saw it in another inventory, located "in the chamber over the hall".
Line 16 - I presume that Sope = Soap
Line 26 - what is a Jutt/Intt
Line 42 - what is a Cold still
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Lines 21 and 23 - could "tunnel" be "tunvril" - I have no idea what this might be, but I saw it in another inventory, located "in the chamber over the hall".
The word is tunnell.
Dialect Dictionary (again):
turnel, tonnell, tunnell: a large oval tub, especially one used for salting meat or scalding pigs ( :o)
Line 42 - what is a Cold still
I wondered if the second word might be stile rather than still? The Dialect Dictionary has stile as a variant of the word steel. Which might make it a cold steel, although what that might be, apart from a weapon, I don't know.
Line 26 - what is a Jutt/Intt
The Dialect Dictionary for the word Jut says 'see Jet', and amongst the many definitions of jet we find:
To empty a cistern with a 'jet' or ladle
A huge ladle affixed to a long pole, used to empty a cistern or pond.
There is also this from an 1819 treatise on brewing, which is probably relevant as the item in question was in the brewhouse.
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Good morning all,
I have just got back to my PC to find your latest posts. Thanks so much for all your help and clarifications. It really has been an edifying experiance.
If we don't meet again before Christmas, have a good one.