Social Bodies in British Letters, 1680-1820

Thanks so much for joining us, Kristoff, it's wonderful to hear how much you enjoyed it. And we agree, the Baker letters definitely have an Austen ring to them!

What a lovely tribute to Garrick! Thanks so much for sharing, Chloe (and persisting with the handwriting!) 😊

Incredible news to round off the day! Thank you to everyone who joined us, we hope you had fun. And remember anyone can add transcriptions on our website at any time - just follow this link, select a letter under 'Transcribe', and enjoy! 📝
socialbodies.bham.ac.uk/database/let...

Our transcribathon generated 122 submissions. Thank you! Your transcriptions will be used by researchers and school children, adults learners, older people and archive users who we work with in our engagement projects. Special thanks to @earlymodernemma.bsky.social for such a superb day!

Thanks so much for joining us! We're really glad you enjoyed it, and your transcriptions will definitely be useful for both academic researchers and members of the public in future :)

Thanks Sam! Soap operas are very good analogy - dramatic letters like this are often the most fun (and sometimes tragic) to read

Our wrap-up Zoom starts in half an hour (4:30pm). If you've joined in with some transcription today, please come along to hear how everyone's done, share fun finds, and ask any final questions!

Thanks to Steph for this transcription!

Religion is a major theme of epistolary discussions about health. When Ann Tripp had a 'violent attack' of fever in 1808, a 'comfortable sence I had of the presence of God with me day & night greatly alleviated the complaint'. However, her shaky handwriting indicates her ongoing weakness ✍️ #letters

On 10 August 1794, David Anderson told his wife Christina of the 'Weariedness' he felt after travelling 34 miles in a day on a very well behaved but 'little rough' horse in Scotland 🐴 He added it 'will probably ensure me a good sleep'! Thanks to Philippa for this transcription #letters #18thcentury

More letters uploaded! If you're just joining us or have been going since morning and are ready for a new challenge, search 'Collet' (early 18th century) or 'Twining' (late 18th century) under the 'Transcribe' heading to view some newly-added letters for transcription... 🔍 #transcription #letters

Hi Stefania, we've just uploaded some letters from the Twining family, so search 'Twining' under the 'Transcribe' tab. More are on the way :)

Over 80 transcriptions submitted already! Thank you everyone for your staggering amount of work 📝 We're currently uploading more documents for transcription on the website - please bear with us (this is a time-taking process), but hopefully we'll have some new letters for you this afternoon! 👀

Thanks Philippa, we'll take that on board

There is no filter system - for now, I suggest you work on an already transcribed letter. This is still useful as it helps us correct mistakes/fill in gaps left by others. Thanks! (2/2)

Hi Philippa, we've had an unexpectedly huge amount of transcriptions this morning, which is great but does pose a problem! We're going to discuss this at the 1pm Zoom if you'd like to join (1/2)

As transcribed by Helena, Dorothea Blore writes in 1801 that her glimpse of Mr Longsdon was as 'short, & as evanescent, as a fine strain of music, which one recalls better from the memory, than one conceives while it's passing' 🎶📝 #transcription #letters

The transcriptions are rolling in! Our next Zoom check-in is at 1pm - we'll review what's been done this morning and help with some common difficulties #18thcentury #transcription #letters

Margaret Watt's letters to her father, the engineer and inventor James Watt, are a particular highlight of the collection. In one letter from 1791, transcribed by Daisy, Margaret assures her father, 'I shall not Marry any person without first consulting you and my worthy Aunts' #transcription

For anyone transcribing this morning, feel free to hop onto Zoom at 11am to share any questions, difficulties or interesting finds!

And we're off! We already have one transcription done - thank you to Sabrina for transcribing an undated letter from Edward Baker to his aunt, who has 'signified displeasure' at some of his behaviour and accused him of 'making mischief' in the family... 😬 #letters #eighteenthcentury #transcription

This is tomorrow! We can't wait to see you and read your transcriptions. There's still time to sign up if you're interested - see below 👇 If you've already registered, you should have received an email with information about the day. If not, just give us a shout here! ✍️📝🔍

Come join me @thelondonarchives.bsky.social on Mon 28th April for this free workshop with @socialbodiesuob.bsky.social.

We’ve got some incredible letters in our collections and this is a fantastic chance to explore them whilst contributing to a research project. #archives #LondonHistory

'A Time for Letters' - Archive Workshop MORNING SESSION Get up close with 18th and 19th-century letters from TLA's collections, explore their uses as historical sources and work on transcriptions.

Get up close to 18th & 19th century letters in our collections at a free workshop on Mon 28 April. You'll get to transcribe letters and learn palaeography tips whilst contributing to a research project on historical letters @socialbodiesuob.bsky.social

A handwritten letter. Letter begins Reverend Sir on the top left of the page. Address in the top right corner is Grendon near Atherstone, Warwickshire. April 20th 1763. Beneath this is the text of the correspondence in one paragraph.

Following on from the success of this week’s A Time For Letters workshop, why not sign up for Birmingham University’s 18th century letters Transcribathon on 25th April and do what you can: tinyurl.com/socialbodies... Image Ref: Manuscripts I/2 (297846) #LibraryofBham @socialbodiesuob.bsky.social

Thank you to @theironroom.bsky.social and all attendees for a great discussion of the Watt family letters on Monday!

If you're in the Matlock area (or beyon), please do join us to read and transcribe some fascinating letters! The link for free sign-ups is available on @derbyshiredro.bsky.social's blog ⬇️ ✉️

Fantastic, welcome! It sounds like you're already very well-equipped to deal with some of the *interesting* handwriting in the letters!

This sounds like a great citizen science opportunity in the humanities/history/paleography!