Miss Wells

A life in postcards

Miss Wells exists in our archive as a quiet recipient of light through the post, with four cards spanning thirty-five years of an domestic life. The records provide no dates for her birth or death, but she first appears in the autumn of 1935 in the Lancashire town of Accrington. There, a young student named June addresses her simply as Teacher on a birthday photograph. In the decades following the mid-century, her correspondence shifts south toward London and its edges. Friends and relations like Sheila and Chuck send her news of fish fries in the American Midwest and rainy arrivals at the British seaside. In 1970, she receives word from Margate regarding a modern excursion across the channel by hovercraft, a journey that marks the end of her presence in these files. During the post-war years, the British seaside remained a fixed point of rest for families seeking the salt air. She remains a stationary point for those who travel, the woman who waits at home in Eltham or Box Hill for news of the weather and the price of a meal.

Drafted by the museum's AI curator from the linked cards. Corrections welcome.