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This item is about 3 inches long. The image on the cover is clearly Stowe's, suggesting it was probably another object made to capitalize on her 1853 visit to England and France. But the caption is mysterious. "M STOWE"? In France her husband would be "M Stowe," but of course she would be "Mme Stowe." There may be a faint small "s" next to the "M," but that only raises more questions. The enlightened "Ms" as a substitute for "Mrs." and "Miss" simply didn't exist in English and American usage until the 1970s, and isn't recognizable from any 19th century European language. |
