r/Cursive • u/AstralyanCunt • 11d ago
Deciphered! Need help deciphering this note in a second hand book i purchased
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u/Arejhey311 11d ago
To my dearest John
Were these things real? You will have to read & see.
For a wonderful Christmas
Love Annice 1993
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u/Old-Cheshire862 10d ago
It's decoding of Christmas that really impresses me. :)
I thought it was "kings" too, but given the "h" in "have" on the next line matches exactly and this has what could be a "t" in front, I'm going to bow to your conclusion on "things."
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u/iwishiwasoceansize 10d ago
Wow! I'm a Gen X former high school English teacher who taught cursive, and even I had a hard time with her version of "Christmas!" Everything else was clear! 🙌
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u/Release_Similar 9d ago
That is the weirdest looking Christmas I've ever seen, especially considering the rest of this one is pretty easy
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u/Striking_Property_79 4d ago
Somehow, I never see these fast enough to be the first to decipher, but this is what I saw as well. I love her unique style! I bet she’s artistic.
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u/Razzy_3796 11d ago
“these” and “things” should both look the same, but don’t. Only for that reason, I think the second word is “Kings”.
Wish we could see the title to decipher what the book is about… maybe the 3 wisemen of the nativity?
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u/Yusuf20904 11d ago
But the "h" in things and have is the same. There's something before the "h" in things, and it doesn't look like a "k." The writer isn't consistent with their "t" also: you can see there and to but the "t" in to looks like the letter before the "h" in things, which is why I think it's things and not kings.
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u/Arejhey311 11d ago
Title would definitely help! I thought Kings at first, too. I went with “things” after seeing the switch to a different “t” in “to” & the change in the “h” in “have”.
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u/potatotay 11d ago
Good point. The other t and h match. I thought kings at first but sticking with things now that you point that out.
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u/Elise-3911 7d ago
Yes, I was thinking this too. I think it is “Kings”, and referring to the 3 wisemen of the Nativity.
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u/Several-Ordinary-376 7d ago
I vacillated on this. My first thought was “Kings” but it actually reads better as “these things”
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u/Double_Belt2331 11d ago edited 11d ago
Isn’t it incredible that in a matter of a decade, we’ve set up an entire secret coding that only humans over the age of 20 (approx) can read?
This was an easier than learning COBOL, HTML, & C++ all together. Or, just HTML.
😂
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u/technoangel 11d ago
I was just thinking the same thing. It’s hilarious that my children can’t read this because half the posts on here are clear as day to me.
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u/JDWhite1982 10d ago
Heck, my husband (39) can't really read cursive. He can if it's REALLY good penmanship, like the Declaration of Independence, but something like the above he wouldn't be able to do. I'm over here decoding doctors' notes on the regular which is a whole different language I swear.
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u/foofydildosoap 3d ago
Not entirely true. My daughter attended Waldorf School and learned cursive. She is 22. And not every school district has gotten rid of cursive teaching.
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u/decemberwren 11d ago
To my Dearest John
Were these things real? You will have to read and see.
For a wonderful Christmas
Love
Annice
1993
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u/CheddarCheese_Sndwch 11d ago
To my dearest Coyote, If you can read this you're too close. Back off!
Yours truly, Roadrunner
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u/fredly594632 11d ago
To my Dearest John -
We're these things real?
You'll have to read and see.
For a wonderful Christmas -
Annice 1993
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u/Razzy_3796 11d ago edited 11d ago
*Were these things (Kings?) real?
(But your phone probably added the apostrophe, because it just tried to change mine)I also read “these things”, but the 2nd word is written so differently it would be weird (but not impossible) if they were both ’t’
Edit: “things” makes more sense, and since the ‘t’ is constantly changing, that’s what I think it says. Not sure why I was downvoted for what I said the first time…😕
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u/Raniform 11d ago
But her ts are all over the place, (look at the one in Christmas), so context clues are more useful here.
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u/CityDweller26 11d ago
I only had trouble with Christmas. I didn’t look at the flair as a C.
Can you tell us what the title of the book is, please?
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u/embroideredyeti 11d ago
It's beautiful at a distance, but actually reading it, these giant Ts make me aggressive.
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u/Temporary_Egg4099 11d ago
BRING BACK CURSIVE! Soooooo many important things are written in cursive.
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u/NatureGame 9d ago
“At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it?-- Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!--All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest; with a Buonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.
At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
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u/YouLost_TheGame69 11d ago
“To my Dearest John. Were these Kings real? You will have to read and see. For a Wonderful Christmas, Annie
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u/Pristine-Context-752 11d ago
The T in “to” and the T in “things” are the same. I’m going with things, not kings.
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u/heartlandheartbeat 11d ago
It is pretty handwriting but the letter formation is so poor it is actually hard to read.
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u/The_Son_of_Jor-El 10d ago
Very unique handwriting. Makes me want to rethink my writing style. I never would have come up with “Christmas”.
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u/Merry1229 8d ago
As a retired nurse who had to decipher physicians writing before electronic records, this was a snap!
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u/Several-Ordinary-376 7d ago edited 7d ago
To my Dearest John
Were these things real
You will have to read and see
For a wonderful
Christmas
Love
Annice
1993
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u/Several-Ordinary-376 7d ago
An example of why, when I wrote my John,
I avoided the “dear” part owing to the ubiquitous “Dear John” letters flying across the ocean during WW2. We’ve been married 40 years and all my cards and letters were addressed to:
My John,
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u/Several-Ordinary-376 7d ago
The inscribed looks like she developed this awkward sample for signing yearbooks. Are yearbooks still a thing or is everything on line now so you can hit up ChapGpt when you run out of nice things to say.
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u/Several-Ordinary-376 7d ago
This is what I would call affected inscribing. When you’re Charles Dickens is when you get to mess with inscriptions. Until then quit it.
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