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MRS. GEORGE C. KING : 1920 - 1925 + 1940 - 1944: THREE [3] ORIGINAL HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT DIARIES OF THE LOVING AND DOMESTIC WIFE OF A CINCINNATI PLUMBING COMPANY OWNER, WHO HELPS HER HUSBAND AS MUCH AS SHE CAN AND LIVES AN ACTIVE SOCIAL LIFE ENTERTAINING GUESTS AT HOME

16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. On offer are three [3] diaries of the wife of George C. King, who with his brother Walter, owned and operated a plumbing company in Cincinnati, Ohio. The diaries present different parts of the wife of George King’s life. The first diary is for the year 1920, the next diary covers the year 1921 to 1925, and finally the third diary comes almost twenty years later, and covers the era of 1940 to 1945. 1st diary: 1920. Cincinnati. The diary consists of a combination of simple day-to-day activities (entertaining friends and guests at their home, going into town, seeing shows, etc.) and entries about her husband George and the goings on in his shop. Often these things are combined in single entries: “March 17, 1920. Mr. and Mrs. Cutler had me to dinner at the Metropole and to show at Kith’s. Mrs. C’s birthday. George has been half sick ____ days - did not go to store until noon today. Tonight he had tea and toast and couldn’t eat that.”; “May 9, 1920. Am starting home tonight for two weeks to be with father while he’s in with his eyes.”; “August 22, 1920. Had dinner at Emily’s - George and all of them went in bathing - I did not go.”; “December 26, 1920. Woke up this morning with Laryngitis. Had Dr. Shepherd in afternoon. Dr. Stary out of town. Can’t talk above whisper.” At the end of the book, the “Daily Expenses” pages have had their title crossed out and written in it’s place is Mrs. King’s handwriting that says, “We Entertained”. The page then lists the date they entertained, the people who came, and the time they arrived. For example: “Sat. Jan 15. Mr. (and) Mrs. Pearse. Turkey Dinner.”; “Thursday April 15 - Sunny Williamson - Arrived 11 a.m. Left 9 p.m.” There are over 30 of these short little entries. The book itself is in good shape. It’s cover states that it is “THE H. & S. POGUE CO. DIARY”. The year 1918 has been crossed out and 1920 has been written in its place. The cover is a pale green cloth, which shows some tearing on the front, back and especially the spine. The book is roughly 225 pages long of which at probably around 180-200 pages have writing in them. The next diary is a five year diary of the years 1921 to 1925. The book is similar to the previous one. The days are filled with observations of life, family, and the goings-on of her husband’s store. There are small bits of ephemera that are stuck in between pages. They are usually newspaper clippings, often of little poems or local interest news stories. Mrs. King spends the year of 1923 pregnant. The entries of December 28 and 29th have a newspaper clipping pasted over them, the title of which is “Knights Templar Initiate Largest Class in History of York rite in Cincinnati”. There is an arrow pointing to George C. King’s name. Excerpts: “May 27, 1921. Our 18th anniversary - We had dinner at the Gibson and went to the ‘Capitol’ afterwards - a fine time. ‘Auntie Patchill’ stayed with Dorothy”; “August 5, 1922. The first mail plane (carrying mail from N.Y. and Cleveland) came to Cinci today. Landed at Blue ash and carried 12 sailor's - Mail left NY. this a.m.”; February 14, 1923. George gave me a beautiful wrist watch for a valentine- Dorothy had about 30 valentines. - Awfully cold.”; “June 17, 1923. George and I went to ball game Brooklyn - Cinci - from 9 to 0. It was awful. Reds couldn’t even make a hit but once. Dorothy’s first Nat. League game.”; “July 23, 1923. Dorothy is six today - Mr. Pearse had her cake made with her name and had 6 pink candles.”; “August 2, 1923. Pres. Harding died very suddenly after a ___ illness in San Francisco hotel at 7:30 (Pacific Time) this evening.”; “August 3, 1923. Calvin Coolidge took the oath of Pes. at 2:47 a.m. at his ____house in Plymouth.”; “August 2, 1924. 10 years ago today Germany declared war on Russia. 2-days later on France. It doesn’t seem possible it could be so long ago.”; “January 7, 1925. Woke up at 4 a.m. awfully sick - George stayed home all-day with me - Head bursting.”; “September 14, 1925. Put in 10 tons Pure hemp at 7.50 + 50¢ to put in house - City Ice co. - Dorothy starts to school - 3rd grade - today.” The diary is roughly 370 pages long and almost every single page has at least one year’s entry written in it. Some years include all five, but 2 or 3 years of entries on a single page are most common. The book is in good condition. The cover is red hard leather. The spine reads “1921-1925” in handwritten black ink. The final book is a five-year diary of the years 1940 to 1944. The entries in the diary are fairly few and far between and dates with more than one year’s entry are rare. The entries are almost entirely simple, short statements about the weather or the author’s weight. The book is filled with a good deal of ephemera. There are four photographs (two of a cat & dog; two of the King family, one while standing and posing, and the other lounging around in a park), about a half dozen or so newspaper clippings of various local stories and two of a column that mentions Walter King, seemingly George’s brother. There are also a few small pieces of paper in which various salves for colds, boils, tick bites, and such. The book is in good condition. The cover is brown leather that shows very minimal wear. Throughout all three books, Mrs. King’s writing is very easy to read. All the diaries are roughly 4” x 7”. (Background: Mr. King came to Cincinnati from Carlisle, Ky., his birthplace, in 1905, and, with his brother, Walter, set up a plumbing concern a few years later).. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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