“Read” a Red Pocket as Evidence

In our last Record and Evidence class, Jules Prown’s model from material culture theory has been introduced to “read” an intellectual object and decode its material evidence by three steps –

• Description: Internal evidence – what can be observed in the object itself?
• Deduction: Our sensory and intellectual engagement with the object
• Speculation: The framing of questions and hypotheses

In this blog post, I would like to read my valuable object and explore the link between the object and its owner (me) following Prown’s model.

My Object — Red Pocket

(Left: Front side; Right: Back side)

Description

We can see that the item is a red-coloured paper envelope, with patterns of golden fish on both sides. On the front side, it is printed with a golden geometric logo at the center, with texts of “HSBC” and “匯豐” (“HSBC” in Traditional Chinese) asides. On the backside, the handwritten inscription “平安大吉” (“Wishing you always safe and great fortune” in Traditional Chinese) in black ink can be found at the center, as well as “Issued by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited 由香港上海匯豐銀行有限公司刊發” printed at the very bottom edge. The pocket overall is in good condition without any tear or dirt, whereas creases on the body and the sealing can be observed.

Deduction

The evidence of use suggests the object is not new; the prints on both sides of the pocket suggest the object is a mass-produced commodity and was made or issued in Hong Kong. The creases at the sealing suggest the red pocket has been opened and stored things. The inscription written in Traditional Chinese suggests the owner or user could write or read Chinese easily. The good condition of it suggests the object has been used rarely or carefully. Although we are looking at the images of the object, we might deduce from its material that the object would be light, and easy to carry.

Speculation

The red pocket with words of blessing suggests the object has value to the owner, though we do not know whether the owner is the sender or recipient of the envelope. We might speculate that the pocket has been handled with great care and stored flat and dry for the long term. We might hypothesize that the item holds enough sentimental value as a symbol of amulet to have been kept rather than discarded.

By Nicole Lee