A Letter Gets Left Behind

As George Wombwell junior struggled on towards the turn of the twentieth century, it occurred to him, perhaps even as a result of the interest of The Daily Mail, that there might be some money to be made if he were to put some of his numerous stories to paper. It is one of these stories that made its way in the original into Harold Eldridge’s box file, and must have come down the family line through Hetty Jane Owen and before that through her Bradley and Robinson ancestors. 

At a guess, George must have been dropping by the homes of his relatives, perhaps to avail himself of their hospitality, but probably also to seek help in writing up some of his anecdotes. For although the letter we have is clearly signed off in his name, there is every chance that it was actually put to paper by a more literate relative, and then somehow got left behind, to be filed away and passed down the family line. George, it should be remembered, was adopted by his famous uncle at the age of ten, and from then on would have been on the road with the menagerie, receiving a unique schooling in life, but not very much of a formal education. 

Anyway, the letter George junior left behind in his relative's house tells the tale of Peto the Elephant, and as the opening lines make clear, he was evidently hopeful that this reminiscences would be published.

Page 1 of George's Peto the Elephant Letter.