Yes it is a very old word , but in my youth, when I first left school the head master wrote one for me and i suspect every teenager leaving school in those days had a similar one,
well when I first applied for a job in a wine factory the manager asked me if I had a testimonial which I produced , and once he had read it said iv got the job,
strangely enough some years later when I had completed my two year national service I too had a written testimonial written on the back of my then A.B 64 by the C.O written by the ( commanding officer of the barracks,)
to which I'm sure many forum members who did like wise would have had a similar report, whether it was because I was a corporal I'm not sure,
so I suppose it helped a future employer to see what the sort of person I was,
Q; for those of you who like wise did their national service, did you also have a written testimonial , itll make interesting reading