1870.12.31 English
copenhagen december thirtyfirst eigtheenhundred and seventy[1]
dearest mother and dearest brothers
my heartfelt thanks dear brothers for your latest dear letters and heartfelt thank you to you and to dear mother for the delightful and most welcome christmas gifts mother’s lovely mittens were used yesterday when strolling at langelinie[2] the two oldest had been kept indoors for a couple of days because of a slight cold and now they were so pleased to get out and grandmother’s mittens warmed so nicelylittle emma is happy about her watering cans and mother kathrine has put little sarah’s cheek against her new nice-looking scarf the ashtray and the paperweight are both extremely tasteful they look decorative and are useful thank you so much for these things and for everything dear mother and brothers everything arrived in good condition the box hasn’t been damaged at all by the transport we are all thank god in excellent health and are very pleased that you liked our christmas box
the last writing ball letter has just like this one been typed around the cylinder[3] it is part of my attempts to start and finish the lines vertically just like it is done when printing a book particularly the latter which the printers call to close up[4] is supposed to be difficult however i take it that my machines will be able to perform this feat as well you are asking dear brother johan rather it was probably brother jørgen if i have received any orders i could very well have and even many judging from the fact that several people have expressed their wish to have a writing ball but i have always dismissed them by saying that it wasn’t yet finished and not yet on the market and hence i didn’t even know how much it would cost there are at present twelve machines being manufactured by my mecanic out of which some will be sent abroad but some will go on the market here they will hardly be finished before a month time or so
it is bitterly cold here how dreadful for the poor creatures in france what a christmas for them and their loved ones[5] a huge bag full of greetings from all of us big and small to all of you dear ones thank you so much for all your love during the past year and may god give you and us a happy new year
your deeply devoted
R. Malling Hansen (signed)
P.S. the letter has a handwritten P.S. which is not dated and illegible. It may or may not have been added to the letter much later
[1] RMH wrote this letter using an early version of the writing ball. He used no digits, no punctuation marks and all letters are lower-case. Occasionally he does increase the space between words, presumably to indicate a slight pause; such spaces have been kept in the translation.
[2] An area just north of the center of Copenhagen, adjacent to the sea, much used even today for recreation. The Royal Institute for the deaf-mutes, where tha Malling-Hansen family lived, was only a few hundred meters away.
[3] On the 1870 model of the writing ball, the paper was attached to a cylinder inside the wooden box.
[4] I don't know if this is the proper term - needs further investigation. JMC
[5] RMH is probably referring to the ongoing war between Germany and France
- A close up of the cylinder to which the paper was attached on the model this letter was written on. Photo: Dieter Eberwein
- Malling-Hansen's first wife, Cathrine Georgia Heiberg(1841-1876). Photo: Private
- Malling-Hansen's daughter, Emma(1869-1954), who is mentioned in the letter. On this picture she is four years old. Photo: Private
