After the paintings and the rather decadent rooms at the Foundling Museum in London, this small engraved disc brings the purpose of the institution into a much sharper and more emotional focus. It was left with a child entering the Foundling Hospital in 1759, and the pictures and letters spell out a message. An eye represents “I”, a W followed by an ant gives “want”, and “RE” followed by a leaf gives “relief”. Together, they spell out “I want relief”, with a small engraving of a baby in a cradle beneath. It’s a brief message, but there’s a great deal behind it and some considerable love has gone into this.
Tokens had a practical purpose, allowing a parent to identify their child if their circumstances improved and they were able to return to collect them. The sad reality is that most children were never collected. Children were given new names when they were admitted, so an object that a mother could describe, or match with a piece that she had retained, could help establish the connection between them. Our guide told us that mothers were told the tokens would be given to their children as keepsakes, but they were instead kept in the Hospital’s archive.
I don’t know the circumstances of the mother who left this particular token and there’s little to be gained by trying to guess. Much as mothers were doing what they thought was the right thing for the child, the separation must have been hugely painful. But the system allowed for a return, so there was hope for the mother. It’s a very powerful exhibit, and there are many other tokens with different designs, but I like that the mother’s message still exists.