VPRS 18159 Outward Letter Books

This series consists of books containing letterpress copies of outward correspondence relating to patients at Aradale Mental Hospital (VA 2841).Much of the correspondence is addressed to families or next of kin of the patients and includes the following types of information:Regular updates on the patient's conditionInformation on significant changes in the patient's conditionReturn of monies found in the patient's possessionArrangements for periods of trial leave for a patient.Refer to Administration Outward Letter Books (VPRS 18162) for correspondence related to administrative matters.The Outward Letter Books are in the form of small bound volumes. There is a gap in the date sequence which would presumably be filled by additional registers which have not yet been located. There is also an overlap in date range of the contents of some of the registers.By about 1912, the first typed entries appear, as do inked templates or stamps which have been letterpressed. These templates most often appear in the form of patient returns. These returns are regular reports detailing those patients received, discharged, absent on trial, escaped and returned from trial. They are addressed to the Master in Lunacy and signed by the Medical Superintendent of the hospital.In the case of much of the correspondence, the recipient is not known as the letter itself did not contain addressee details. These addressee details were thought to be on the mailing envelope only.