Acorns in a tin

Acorns in a tin?? Yes, we have some rather odd items in the Archive! These belonged to Mary Isabel Salt, daughter of Titus Salt Junior and granddaughter of Sir Titus. She travelled frequently to Europe, both before and after World War One, and on one occasion brought back a collection of acorns. These arrived at the archive, very well preserved, in an old throat pastille tin with a note stating:

Autumn 191

These were picked up by M.I.Salt in the grounds of the Palace at Doorn Aumerungen (Holland) where the Ex Kaiser was then living.

“Doorn” had been altered to “Aumerungen” (Isabel’s spelling).

It’s all rather mysterious though…and raises a number of questions:

Did Isabel really travel to mainland Europe in Autumn 1918, so soon after the end of hostilities? Would this have been possible?

Why was she uncertain about where she picked up the acorns, changing Doorn to Amerongen? Kaiser Wilhelm II did indeed go into exile in Holland, leaving Germany by train on 10 November 1918. He first lived in Amerongen, before  moving to Doorn in 1920 – but surely Isabel would have known where she picked up the acorns, and not needed to correct it later? And would she have been allowed to walk in the grounds of the “Palace” while he was still in residence?

We also have Isabel’s passport, issued in 1919 (she very probably didn’t have a passport until then) showing she visited Holland in 1919, 1921 and 1926. Could she have picked up the acorns on one of these visits?

Further investigation is needed!

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