Sweet handwritten inscription from a boy to his mom found in a used book from 1948
Aw, Henry was a sweetheart.
Old books hold all kinds of treasures.
Used books contain all kinds of treasures, from timeless tales to old illustrations to personalized elements that tell a story of their own. One of those stories posted to Reddit has people wondering about the details and creating their own backstories for a sweet boy and his mother.
A user posted a photo of a handwritten inscription in a book they found at a Boston thrift store—"an uplifting Christmas message from a son to his mother"—that reads:
"To my own and very dear mother I present this book on Christmas Day December, 1948 as one of my tokens of appreciation for all the love and kindnesses you have rendered unto me. Your son, Henry."
from FoundPaper
The poster added an additional note about the book that contained the note:
"Found in the book 'Milton Cross's Complete Stories of the Great Operas'—the front of the book actually has the owner's full name and home address in it, but unfortunately it's a very common name and an address in a major city, and I was not able to find out what happened to her or Henry."
People in the comments began creating their own stories about who Henry and his mom were and why he wrote the note the way he did:
"I know we don’t know how old Henry was, but to me this looks like an older child’s handwriting and reads like a tween trying his hardest to impress his mother with his poetic language and now I’m tearing up at work. 🥹"
"Could be, but it was also popular in the era to ironically use overly flowery language to comic effect, since old people of the time often did genuinely speak like that. which, if he's being playful with his wording, i think it's still just as endearing. she was probably one of few people in his life who knew him well enough to tell which one it was, lol."
"It’s reading, mom I’ve been working on my penmanship. Did I do good? Lol"
"Henry obviously broke a vase and doesn’t want to be punished!"
People also found themselves moved by Henry's thoughtfulness and how seeing his note all these decades later connects us all through time.
"Somehow when I started to read this I thought it was fairly recent, like a kid practicing their cursive the way my elementary did, but once I reached the year something in me, idk, sunk? Hit me? Gets weirder realizing it’s almost 80 years ago. Feels bittersweet and weirdly metaphorical that the act of love transcends the span of life."
"So beautiful that Henry’s love from 1948 reached out into the world again and we all felt it in 2024."
"When giving someone a book, it's also a gift to the world to write a fond note in it. Good job Henry and Henry's mom."
"Aww he loves his mama. It's really touching."
"I would cry if my kids gave me such a note attached to a gift, so simple and sweet."
In the digital age, handwritten notes have become rarer and rarer, which makes finding an inscription like this all the more special. Texts and emails are fine, but receiving a heartfelt message in someone's unique handwriting just hits on a whole other level. And when it's left in a book that someone chose especially for you, it's even more moving because it may touch others in the future the way Henry's note is touching people nearly 80 year later.
It's also so heartening to see such a sweet sentiment expressed so eloquently, especially from a boy at an age when a mother's love and kindness might easily go overlooked. Well done, Henry. Perhaps your note will inspire others to share their own gratitude to a loved one. (And as someone in the comments wrote, "Render Kindness" would make an awesome bumper sticker.)
