Ruth's autograph book
Emma and Fiona Cullen-Ward have a battered album that we would call an autograph book. It is 11 x 14.5cm and contains signatures and sketches both on its pages and as loose additions. There are also loose photos tucked into the album. I have put the names of those who signed in bold for easier identification.
The best indication of its owner is the following page: It reads: 'To Ruth. I love you. Not because your face is fair/And sweet & gentle too. But because you are yourself/So good & kind and true. Jo [or Lo?] Collingridge. “St Cloud” Ryde 11th Feb. 1901.“ This declaration narrows the ownership to Ruth and almost certainly to Ruth Murray-Prior. It is also a reminder that we can be more inhibited than our forebears because our society is more sexualised. So this open and quite public declaration of love could be lesbian (at a time when homosexuality was illegal and considered deviant), but more likely referred an openly loving friendship. The little book has another contribution by Jo [Lo?] Collingridge - this drawing of a Japanese musician:
The Collingridge family who lived at St Cloud were Arthur and his wife Margaret and their 12 surviving children. The identity of the person is unclear. My assumption is that a young man would not write such a declaration unless they were family or engaged/married. That leaves 4 possibilities as Arthur and Margaret only had 4 daughters: Maud b.1874; Louisa b.1875 (known in the family as Googs); Mary b. 1877 (known in the family as Bobbie); and Anne b. 1880 (known in the family as Darkie.1) The most likely of these is Louisa signing herself as 'Lo' - her nickname Googs was perhaps just for her family to use.
That there are so many sketches in this small album indicates how art was valued by Ruth, her family and friends including the Collingridge family- see Ryde Library. It is not known if Ruth herself drew or whether she concentrated her talents on writing. This album are not about masterpieces nor professional artists; rather it indicates the enjoyment amateur artists and others gained from creating and treasuring art.
These charming paintings are by Emily Susan Paterson, Ruth's first cousin who was a talented amateur artist.2)
These paintings are by Sarah Kate (Kitty) Barton, another of Ruth's first cousins, and the daughter of Henry Francis (Frank) Barton and Sarah Kate nee Macansh. They lived at Nyrangie, Linsley Street, Gladesville. The painting of a boat is done on roughly cut, uneven paper.
The next painting is of the harbourside suburb of Balmoral by Archie Broughton. Does anyone have information about him?
This painting is signed EJ Smith 1902. The 1902 date is not clear, but the autograph on the previous facing page is Dora Gordon 18 November 1901.
There are three paintings of boats as if the artist was trying out the best way to depict them - the first one in the book, the others loose. The loose ones are on roughly cut, uneven thick paper. The opposite page to the painting in the book has the autograph Mabel D Mackenzie but it is unlikely to be the artist as it is in the far corner from the painting. There is no date to the paintings or autograph. The next two are loose in the album:
;
There is a photo of a similar boat on what looks to be the Parramatta River in papers keep with the album.
No image I'm capable of taking can do this leaf justice. It's damaged but still exquisite. At first glance it appears to be a pressed leaf complete with all the veins and marks of a real leaf. But pick it up and it feels like the finest silk. It's a burnished gold colour. Was it a souvenir Ruth kept to remind her of Australia during (what turned out to be) the decades she lived overseas?
Lucy A. Peele signed this drawing on 27 May 1901. She added a quote from a poem by Adelaide Procter (1825-64) called 'The Warning' (“Glorious it is to wear the Crown/ of a deserved & pure success:-/ He who knows how to fail has worn/ A Crown whose lustre is not less.”) A curious choice - was Lucy Peele referring to a particular fail by Ruth?
These are two paintings look to be by the same artist, but not signed nor dated:
An unsigned, undated sketch of a woman in Edwardian evening dress:
Painting of a girl with (selling?) flowers signed (in now very faint pencil) Warsaw[?] 1935
This partly painted-in drawing may also be by the same artist. The autograph on the facing page is S. Ruline Sydney-Jones, perhaps one of the seven children of physician/surgeon Sir Philip Sydney-Jones, a son of David Jones who founded the famous Sydney department store of that name.
Ruth majored in French at Sydney University, so it is not surprising that one page is in French:. Historian Hamish Graham has identified them as three aphorisms. The first one purports to be by the great tragedian, Pierre Corneille (although we haven't been able to confirm this). Hamish's translation is: “May the just heavens, pleased with my rhyme, fill Ruth Blondine with happiness and days (i.e. a long life).” The next two aphorisms, Hamish identifies as quotations from Pierre Nicole, a prolific moralist and publicist for Jansenism. A translation by Charlie Shailer and Sarah Godden is: “Be gentle and forgiving to all; but not to yourself (Nicole)/ You have to make yourself loved because men are only fair to those they love (Nicole)”. It is signed Laura Bosker, 21 May 1901.
As mentioned above, there are also a number of loose sketches tucked into the album. This one is signed M. Huntley . The artists was probably Ruth's first cousin Mary Huntley (nee Paterson). Mary's daughter Isabel has left us well-drawn portraits of Ruth and her sister Dorothy. see Nora and TLM-P's children. Two loose sketches are initialled MH (Mary Huntley?)
This drawing of a woman's head is signed Dorothy McMaster: .
This one has on it 'Dana Gibson (F.M.J.) 1905' - a sketch of Dana Gibson by F.M.J.? .
The following unsigned sketch on cardboard slightly bigger than the album is titled (on the back of the drawing) 'After the Battle': . Lines from Adam Lindsay Gordon's poem 'Visions in the Smoke' are also written on the back: 'And if man of all the Creator planned/ His noblest work is welcomed/ Of the work of his hand by sea & by land/ The horse may at least seem second. Lindsay Gordon'.
There is also a photo of an unknown woman - perhaps Ruth who also appeared in a group photo: .
Other photos are taken during 1927-28 indicating the excitement when it snowed in London. The information on the back of each is as follows:
Tanza[?] Rd NW3, 27 December 1927 (top) On Parliament Hill, 27 December 1927 and (bottom) Parliament Hill south side, 1 January 1928
; Nita on cycle [path?] 1 January 1928
; and From Spaniards Rd., Hampstead, 1 January 1928
.
There are also two unidentified and very faded photos: and
A luggage tag with the name Miss Queenie Wren and New Zealand city Dunedin crossed out. Table 1 A is written on it. On the reverse side is stamped Monowai (six times). Monowai was a P&O passenger ship and presumably Ruth kept it as a souvenir. As noted in Nora and TLM-P's children Ruth, her mother and sister Dorothy attended the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science congress in New Zealand in 1904.
As well as this visual feast, a lot of people signed their names, some of whom are mentioned above.In the below lists, each * indicates a new page. When people signed autograph books they did so on random pages so it is only when they added a date that we know when they signed. Sometimes groups signed on the same page, but not always. The first list is of autographs from Ruth's large extended family, many of whom lived in her local Ryde-Gladesville-Hunters Hill area. They comprised a dominant part of Ruth's social circle.
- The first page has two signatures: Cecilia Barton (nee Windeyer, another first cousin of Ruth's) and what is probably another Barton, possibly her husband Henry Francis (Frank).
- T.B. [Thomas Bertram] M.[urray]-Prior 25/5/01; Mollie[?] G. Graham, noted below.
- T.[Thomas] de M. Murray Prior (a first step-cousin of Ruth's) and his children Ethel Murray-Prior (signed 26 January 1903); Florette Murray-Prior; Phyllis C. Murray-Prior, Bertie (Thomas Bertram) Murray-Prior and Mabel Murray-Prior. Other autographs on this page are Standish Lightoller and Rose K. Jardine, maternal cousins of Thomas de M. Murray-Prior's. Rose Jardine co-authored a short story with Ruth which was published in The Lone Hand. Two other autographs on this page are Linda Teece and Maud[??] White (see below).
- L. Alice Bundock and her sister Mary Murray-Prior (nee Bundock). The Bundocks were family friends and Mary married Ruth's step-cousin Thomas de M. Murray-Prior.
- Hester B. Macansh (nee Paterson), a cousin.
- A. S.[?] Barton and Gwendoline Paterson, also Ruth's cousins.
Part of the allure of an autograph book was to collect signatures of prominent people, and this is evident in Ruth's album. As well, a number are of fellow students at the University of Sydney. Those attending university were a small, elite group so it is not surprising that some later became prominent.
- Emily M. Pearson, Lilly Tribe (both signed on 5 July 1901); and Muriel Finch 20 January 1904.
- Daisie Willis, Effie Burne, Margery Smithens (all signed on 2 November 1900); Freda Humphrey 24 April 1901; and Irene M. Morley 14 May 1903.
- Jennie B. Uther, a University of Sydney student.3)
- Matne[?] Palmer, Grace A. Horrocks[?] (both signed 14 December 1900); Ida. M. Mackenzie 31 May 1902.
- Constance H. Wilson; and (in now-faint pencil) Dorothy Vine Hall 28 August 1907. Dorothy Vine Hall was the daughter of marine surveyor Captain J. Vine-Hall. She was educated at SGCEGS (Sydney Church of England Grammar School) and graduated with a BA from the University of Sydney in 1907, the same year as Ruth.In 1906 she was appointed teacher at the (Anglican) Bishopthorpe High School in Goulburn.4)
- Mollie[?] G. Graham, 31 January 1902; T.B. M-Prior (see relatives list);
- Lilian Graham, no date. A total of five members of the Graham family have signed.
- Peri Macphail, Spider Storrock, Ruth Amos, and Lucy A. Peele (who also did one of the above drawings) all signed on 2 November 1900. Others choose this page to sign, which suggests a connection: Amy F. A. Paine, 31 January 1903; Mabel G. Green and Cara May (both on 20 November 1900); Margery M. Marr and Ettie Wallach (both on 24 April 1901).
- T.W.[Sir Tannatt William] **Edgeworth David** the famous geologist and Antarctic explorer, his wife Cara David, and daughter Margaret Edgeworth David, later McIntyre and the first woman elected to the Tasmanian Legislative Council); and Ethel Davies;
- Nona Dumolo. She was a teacher with expertise especially in French, and headmistress, including of SCEGS's day school at North Sydney. See ADB
- Jamie[?] E.[?]Graham.
- Two barristers who lived in Hunters Hill: V.[Victor] Le Gay Brereton[?signature unclear], 10 May 1903 and F.A.A. [Francis Alfred Allison] Russell;
- Joyce Graham.
- Isabel MacInnes 1903; Florence M. Holden 1903; Ettie Lyons 1903. These women were fellow students of Ruth's at the University of Sydney when they studied for a B.A. Isabel Mary MacInnes was the only daughter of the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Australia. In her final year of Arts at the University of Sydney, she won the medals for German and Geology.5) Florence Holden did French with Ruth, among other subjects.6) Ettie Lyons BA (1903) graduated in medicine (BM) in 1908, both degrees from the University of Sydney. She was Superintendent of the Sydney Medical Mission from 1910-17. The Mission provides free medical services to the inner-Sydney poor and was staffed only by women doctors. From 1917 Dr Lyons was a GP in Taralga, becoming the first female doctor in the southern tablelands. She had a successful practice for around 30 years, dying in 1972.7)
- Barbara Needham; Jessie Knox[?] Smith; A. Mica Smith.
- Mabyl[d'] Gordon [?] The Gunyah, Gladesville, 5 July 1901. I have been unable to find any clues about this person or place in the 1901 Sands Directory.
- Three autographs on a page with signatures of Murray-Prior relatives (see above) are Linda P. Teece 26 January 1902, R. Clive Teece, and Maud[?] White. Emma Linda (known as Linda) Palmer Teece, later Littlejohn (1883-1949) was a prominent feminist, journalist and radio commentator.8)
- Mabel D. Mackenzie.
- Violet M.? Campbell; Rose T. Campbell; Nora B. Campbell; Ellen S.[?] Campbell; Florence L. Brittan; and Rose Templer (for latter, see above in relatives list).
- E.S. Mackenzie, 31 May 1902.
- A.H. Jordan[?] 31 January 1903 and HR Brittan 15 August [no year].
- The next double-page of autographs features the symbol Q↑S and 2↑S and 2.S./↑. The autographs are: Evelyn Whitney; Hilda Humphery Q↑S Feb. 10th 1904; Emmie J. Bull Q↑S Feb. 10th 1904; H. Vera Bull 2↑S; “Edward Loreton” Q↑S ↑ Feb. 10th 1904; Jeanie Laxton Q↑S Feb. 10th 1904; [facing page] Joseph Campbell Q↑S Feb. 10th 1904; Steba.[?] C.[?] Campbell Q↑S; and Elsie M. Campbell - 2.S./↑. These entries with their symbols are a mystery - has anyone any clues?
- “Joram” and Isabel E. Langley 2.11.00. As with Edward Loreton above, it is unclear why Joram is in quote marks.
- Jennie B. Moser; J. F. Pourou[?]; Dorothy J. McMaster.
- Mollie Stuart Graham; Gladys M.B. Docker; Florence Ida Bourne. Mary (Mollie) Graham was a masseuse (physiotherapist) and daughter of a Queensland pastoralist. In 1913, she married Edward Milner Stephen, barrister, alderman and judge. Gladys Mary Brougham Docker's father was Judge Ernest Docker. In 1910, she married Francis Piddington. Florence Bourne was head of Maryborough Girls' High School (Queensland) for 39 years, retiring in 1948.