Miss Ramsay Postcard

Log

Date	Event
2026-09-08	Public write-up recorded

Problem

A postcard mailed from Forres at 7.45 p.m. on 8 October 1903 is addressed to Miss Ramsay at Longmorn, near Elgin. Seven rows of short and long marks occupy the address side. Three further rows appear beside the printed picture caption, H.M.S. Resolution.

The full field contains 150 marks in 52 visibly spaced groups. In this source rendering, periods and hyphens distinguish the short and long marks; slashes separate recorded groups. The vertical bars in the last row represent taller overlay strokes rather than gaps. Both sides must be accounted for. What does the writer say?

Handwritten source rendering; line breaks and uncertainty retained

A01  ... / ---
A02  --. / .... / .- / -..
A03  -.-- / --- / ..-
A04  .- / .-. / . / --.
A05  ... / - / ..- / -.. / -.-- / ..
A06  -- / --- / .-. / ... / .
A07  -.-. / .--- / ..-.

P01  .-- / .- / ... / -... / .... / --- / -. / .
P02  ..- / .--. / .-- / ..- / ... / -..-. / . / ..-. / -...--.
P03  -. / . / .-.. / -.-. / .... | . | . | -

Miss Ramsay
Longmorn
Nr. Elgin
Co. Banff.

FORRES.
7.45 PM
OC 8
03

H.M.S. Resolution.
Marcus Ward's Series, No. 38.-“Our Defenders.”
M.W.Co.B.

Wide transcriptions scroll sideways within this box.

Resources

HCP1468: original postcard record, preserved online by the Historical Ciphers Portal
Historical Ciphers Portal collection
Crackciphers research corpus

Solutions

#	Solution	By	Status
1	Solution 161-1 A reading, written up in full	@offgramercy	ACCEPTED

Still open: One mark run has no visible internal separation; several boundaries need care on the original

Submit a source correction or a defensible reading of the remaining passage.