An Archive of Family Documents as Mobile Writing Station

Perhaps it is a result of doing all of my writing, sharing, communicating, reading, etc. on a laptop, but as soon as I opened this wooden case I thought of how it might've functioned for Jonathan in a similar way to a computer laptop. As the images depict, it opens up like a laptop, and inside there are two main "folders" or cubbies for storing of documents, separated by a felt desktop. In "front" of the desktop, where a keyboard would be, is an empty tray, presumably for writing utensils, as well as two empty jars that might've been used for ink. Lifting the top half of the felt top reveals the top folder/cubby, which contained a series of photos, most of which are identified as other Hostages in his family. Assuming that Jonathan Hostage stored the files in the way that they are currently positioned, we can see that he has separated his documents between photos of family and other types of photos, as well as written documents. In the attached photos I have taken, one can see the collection of family photos that he stored in the top folder of the "laptop." It is perhaps significant that these photos of family members are stashed in this folder, separated not only from letters and postcards written to his family, but also from other photos that do not include family members. In this sense, the top folder seems to be reserved for representations of the people that Jonathan holds close to his heart. Rather than allow these photos to be mixed in with the rest of his writings, photos, and writing materials, these photos are reserved for a special folder that may or may not be intended to be accessed often. It makes sense that the writing materials are located under the desktop, given that this is connected to the empty tray and empty jars. It would seem, then, that this would hold a function similar to Microsoft Word: he has stored numerous files here, as well as writing materials, including excess paper and wax for sealing letters.