Forget-Me-Not

Hi Everyone!
I hope your weekend is going well. I'm still living and breathing computers lately. Recently, after purchasing a new desktop computer, I discovered my beloved laptop that I've been using for the last three years (that was going to be my "back-up" computer) had an evil "replicating" virus that had totally filled up the hard drive. No matter how many programs or photos I took off my computer, in no time at all the hard drive would completely fill up again even though I had not added a thing to it. :(

So today, the wonderful guys at Richard's Computers in Sandy Springs, Georgia helped me take it back to the bare bones...just like the day I brought it home. I had already taken all my photos and documents, etc... off, so I was cool with that.

Since all that happened, I've discovered that AVG, the virus protector I was using, might not have been the best choice. A local computer store and two computer repair shops recommended I download Microsoft Securities Essentials, anti-virus protection available free at Microsoft's website. If you haven't done that yet, I highly recommend it. Another free download that was very much recommended is Malwarebytes. Apparently, it will protect your computer from malicious malware. Just sharing so you can learn from my experience! :)


Forget-Me-Not:

In the midst of all my computer "stuff", I've been acutely aware of what today is...a day we will not soon forget. So today I'm sharing a beautiful book that's over 100 years old and is ALL about not forgetting.




Cornelia, whose beautiful tablescape was featured last Tablescape Thursday, recently came across an amazing find...a Forget-Me-Not book.




Have you ever seen or heard of a Forget-Me-Not book? I had not and had lots of questions for Cornelia. She graciously shared many of the beautiful pages from this special book along with information regarding the inscriptions found inside.




Cornelia told me, "A "forget me not" book is a kind of friendship book. This one had a pious quotation for every day. The friend would put his name and his year of birth on the date of his birthday, so you will never forget your friend's birthday. The one I bought must have been made between 1903 till 1910, because 1903 is the latest date I found."




Cornelia told me that the pages are goldplated or gilded. How wonderful! You don't find many books like that in this day and time.




Cornelia said, "Unfortunately the name of the original owner is not mentioned in the book. But I can trace it back due to the names of the people which have signed where this lady must have lived (There are several names of prominent families of the small town where the Lady lived and where her home was).

These are pictures of the small town where the owner of the Forget Me Not book had lived. It is near Schaffhausen."




Cornelia continued, "There are also signatures from young ladies who remarked that they were at Neuchâtel at the time of signing. This means that the owner was a young lady who belonged to family with a certain social and financial background otherwise they would not have been able to send their daughter to a College in the French Part of Switzerland. It was very common among the middle and upper class to send young Swiss-German speaking girls to boarding school in the French part of Switzerland so they could accomplish their French."




Let's take a peek inside. I'll let Cornelia tell you all about the beautiful inscriptions...the following comments are all from Cornelia...






This is from her former Teacher:
Dein ehemaliger Lehrer (your former teacher)
1854. Joh. Meyer (Johann=John Meyer), 26.V.1900




This is the Signature of her Teacher:
It says: A. Kissling, Lehrer (Teacher), 1881, Langendorf. Langendorf is a small village in the canton of Solothurn, in the western part of Switzerland.




This means: Your Godfather, Wilhelm Wildberger, born 1847




This says:
Lydia Meyer von Schleitheim
1879
Schleitheim is a village in the canton of Schaffhausen near the German border




This entrance says Elsa Müller, Bamberg (Germany), 1883
It was made on the 10th of August 1902!




There was a piece of paper in the book which I have discovered just now. It
says: Oberofficials Tochter! What does this mean? Internetresearch helped
me: This must have been the daughter of a member of the k.u.k (kaiserlich
und könglich; imperial and royal) army of Austria/Hungary !
That is really amazing!




The signature of her cousin:
Clara Probst, 1885



What I forgot to mention is that some of the entrances are written in the old German font. This is very difficult to read. The changed this type of writing after the First world war. My great grandmother used to write like this.









This entrance shows that the owner was in Neuchâtel in the year of 1903. The young lady who signed comes from Buochs, a village at the lake of Lucerne, the central part of Switzerland.
It says:
Maria Risi Buochs 1884
Neuchâtel 1903

According to the first name and the place of origin the young Lady must have
been catholic. A protestant girl would have been christened Marie but never
Maria. This was a catholic name at this time.










Cornelia, thanks so much for sharing this beautiful Forget-Me-Not book. It is especially poignant to view its pages today as we remember all those who were lost on this date nine years ago. Forget me not. We pledge we will remember, we promise we will not forget...not today, not ever.