Childhood and Youth, c. 1880-91

Component identifier:

Series 1

Content Summary:

A series of childhood letters penned by Alexander Hore-Ruthven from about the age of seven until nineteen years old. Principally addressed to his mother, the correspondence includes weekly reports from Winton House school, Winchester College where he boarded from 1884 to 1885 and Eton College, Windsor, where his education continued from 1886 to 1888. His schooling finished prematurely when he was withdrawn from Eton due to eyesight problems, and was sent into business by his parents, to a tea merchant's office in Glasgow. Folder 13 contains some correspondence from India in 1891, where the young Gowrie subsequently worked on a tea plantation, together with two childhood letters from his brother Walter.

Immediate source of acquisition:

The papers were donated to the National Library in seven instalments: by Gowrie's grandson, the Honourable Malise Hore-Ruthven, in 1970, 1981 (two instalments), 1983, 1986 and 1993, and; in 1999 by Barbara Blanch, widow of Gowrie's biographer, John Blanch. In addition, in 1969 the Library received a collection of books acquired by Lord Gowrie, which had been housed at Australia House since 1955. Most of the volumes were presentation copies inscribed by the authors. Those books not already held were added to the Library's general book collection, whilst duplicate titles were offered to other libraries through the Clearing Centre.

Names:

Hore-Ruthven, Malise

Contents

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