Uncle Joe’s Nonsense for Young and Old Children

1934

Mellor Papers

London: The Ceramic Society by Longmans, Green and Co.

Emma and Joseph Mellor never had children but Joseph regularly wrote to his nieces and nephews in Dunedin; the sons and daughters of his sister Agnes and her husband Arthur Ellis. Mellor’s letters always included cartoon drawings and this one appears in Mellor’s Uncle Joe’s Nonsense (1934). In the letter from the book, Mellor is telling his nephew (not named) a story of how a fellow bus traveller accused him of stealing his tie pin after stumbling into him while embarking. The man subsequently follows him to a bookshop. The story includes a trip to the police station, vindication for Mellor and the offer of ‘hush’ money from the top-hatted gentleman. The letter ends by Mellor saying he woke up with a start as he had missed his stop. It was all a dream!