Skip to main content

Curious “E” Symbol

Eames
Institute

    • Rebus Letter on Letterhead from St. John’s Seminary in Arkansas

    Charles Eames

    1935

    Lucia Eames, Charles’s only child, received this rebus letter from her father. A rebus uses simple images to string together sounds into a word or phrase. This game of coding and decoding letters carried on throughout Lucia’s childhood. Charles wrote this letter while working on one of the two churches he designed and built in Arkansas.

    The translation for this rebus is: Lucia, I am so sorry (saw + wreath) that I can not take you to school. Are you drinking milk like an angel? It rained all the way (weight) to Arkansas. XXX Daddy

    • Medium:Graphite on paper
    • Item:A.2019.2.004