Nightingale (Florence)
Three page manuscript letter from Florence Nightingale at Barrack Hospital, Scutari, dated November 25th, 1855, to the mother of Ellis Jackson. The letter gives comforting details of Mr Jackson's final hours, his death and burial.
[Ellis Jackson (b. 1830) a Merchant Navy purser on HMST Alice Jackson, died of Dysentery on the 14th or 18th October, in the General Hospital, Balaclava],
Written on London Superfine paper, the signature of Florence Nightingale is suspect, given that the surname has a spelling error and the 'F' is reversed. However, the handwriting compares favourably with other letters sent from Scutari Hospital under her name which are held institutionally (though not with other later letters examined). Was she too tired to spell her name correctly? - did her lamp run out? - did she have an assistant at Scutari to whom she dictated her letters? Or were letters of this nature routinely written in her name by another member of staff? A speculative lot sold without warranty