Illustrated manuscript token of remembrance, friendship, and hedged professions of love

Two leaves, 7.75 x 5 inches. Pinhole to the upper center of each leaf. Panels have offsetting and a dark stain toward the upper corner visible on both sides of the panel. Some crazing to the thicker passages of paint and varnish. Undated, ca. 1860. Written to an anonymous subject; from a Lancaster, Pa. collection. Currently floated in double-sided 8 x 10 conservation mats, displayed in vintage metal folding frame (a loose fit that can be secured if desired for longer-term display).

The outer drawings offer traditional Fraktur motifs. The inner panels, with lilting flower garlands, encase English proverbs and Irish poetry--among other sentiments commonly penned in the increasingly ubiquitous friendship albums of the period. One panel has been signed in two places by Frank, who’s commanded the bulk of space to copy (unattributed) two poems by Thomas Moore, conveying the sentiments of I'd like to be more than friends, but if you just want to be friends, that’s cool, we should probably just be friends, unless you want to be more than friends, then let’s, like, try it out, but if not, no worries. Signed, “Friends shall we ever be. -Frank”

The other panel has writing in two or three different hands. The main compartment offers a run of aphorisms signed by Daniel (“Live not to eat but eat to live, Say what is well and do what is better, Make not your sail too large for your ship, Step by step one goes a long way…”) and, from Fred: “He that will steal a kiss will steal a bigger thing. Hasty climbers have sudden falls.” The perimeter is also stuffed with more instructorly proverbs: “Amendment is repentance. Threatened folks live long. One is not so soon healed as hurt. Youth is the time for improvement. Happy be who happy thinks. Cheer up, God is where he was.” And, a couple iterations of “Be what you seem to be.”