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M. WHITE [nurse of THOMAS FREDERICK WATKINS] : 1907 HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT DIARY OF A NURSE AS SHE DOCUMENTS THE HORRIBLE SICKNESS OF A CHILD AFFLICTED WITH WHOOPING COUGH, THE TREATMENTS TO MAKE HIM WELL, AND HIS EVENTUAL RETURN TO HEALTH AND HAPPINESS

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is a very unique and curious diary of one nurse’s time caring for sick children in an English nursery around the turn of the 20th Century. The nurse’s name is M. White and her diary begins in the early days of 1907 while working at the Sesame House in Hampstead, London. Ms. White appears to be a nurse at the “Sesame House for Home-Life Training and for Training of Lady Nurses and Kindergartners,” an institute that sought to train young woman and nurses in the care of children, nature study, work in the flower and vegetable garden, household management, cooking, and infant care as part of a 3-month course of study. Optionally, the young woman could also be taught in the personal care and feeding of infants, under the direction of a nurse. Three babies lived at this nursery. It seems that Ms. White is a full-time nurse at the institute and not a young woman being trained. She seems to be in fully involved in the care of a young two year old child named Thomas Frederick Watkins. The first entry in the diary describes a young child who has “begun to feed himself. At first he used two hands and now he manages quite nicely with one...Tommy’s appetite is good and he likes to end his meals with a little piece of dry bread. He is sleeping very well, sleeping all night till about six without being taken up.” However, only three days later the sickness that would plague the young child for the whole of the diary begins: “Jan. 18th. Tommy started coughing.”; Jan. 19th. Cough troublesome.”; Jan. 20th. Tommy did not sleep in morning. Cough very troublesome especially at night.”; “Jan. 21. Tommy 2 years old. Tommy whooped. Cough very bad in evening and night. Started Cresolene lamp at night and rubbing check and back with Roche's Embrocation.” Tommy has whooping cough. It would be almost 30 years after this point that a vaccine for the cough would be produced. For a two year old child in the early 20th century, whooping cough was a serious and deadly disease. What follows after this are weeks of bad nights, troublesome coughing fits, and different treatments to help the young child. “Jan. 30. Out in morning and had long sleep. Still very sick. Gave him Benger’s for tea and supper but he was very sick after it. Have some very bad coughs.”; “Jan. 31. Tommy sick after every thing he takes especially in the evening...Tommy is very frightened every time he coughs and is very restless at bed time and feels a cough coming long before he actually coughs.”; “Feb. 4. Very bad night. Tried Tommy with milk only every hour, he was not so sick until the evening. Very constipated gave him an oil injection for morning. Started rubbing Tommy at night with Cod Liver Oil arms, legs, cheeks, stomach.”; “Feb. 12. Very sick all day and coughing a great deal. Seems very weak and does not care to play about but only cares to lie on our laps. Gave him 4 oz. Peptonized Milk every 1/2 hour. For many weeks, Tommy subsists on little more than Horlick’s Malted Milk. Ms. White cares for Tommy for the entirety of the diary, roughly six months. Treatments over the six months include Peptonized milk, Cresolene lamps, cod liver oil rubs, “pancreatic emulsion,” Milk of Magnesia, “Fair Child’s Panopepton,” and various diets discussed in the entries. Beginning in March, Tommy begins to get better, and Ms. White records his weight as it gets better and more healthy. As he begins to eat more, she also records his diet for the day. “March 4th. Tommy’s weight 23 lbs. He is decidedly better and coughs less frequently and is very seldom sick. He is still having Robinson’s prepared Barley, milk and a little fish some times, or onion minced up very fine. Semolina or purpose flour pudding. We found he could not manage anything like rice yet, or bread and butter. He enjoys having nursery meals again and behaves himself very well. He enjoys his afternoon walks and is very much interested in the dogs, horses, motors, etc. He is very lively and talks a great deal.” He also begins talking more, and Ms. White records new words and phrases that he can say as the days go on. The last entries are weekly, instead of daily, and just record that he is still doing well and learning more and more. The diary ends on July 2nd. Tommy has seemingly fully recovered. The diary is in very good condition. The cover is black paper over binder’s board. The spine is still in good shape both structurally and aesthetically. The pages within show little to no signs of wear or aging. The handwriting is clear and concise, with only minor fading that does not affect the legibility of the text. The book is roughly 200 pages long, in which 50 pages or so contain writing. The diary is a very interesting document of the time period, showing a detailed reality of disease in the early 20th century, as well as being a document of the Sesame House, which was part of the reformation of woman and young children’s education around the turn of the century. Overall: VG (Background: Sesame House was located in Hampstead, London, England and opened 1899. The general aim is to form a connecting link between the book-learning of the College or School, and the practical administrative work of womanhood. There is no age limit. The training is planned for gentlewomen and girls having for a first object their own development, whether they wish afterwards to use the knowledge and experience thus acquired in their own homes, in parish and settlement work, or for tile purpose of gaining a livelihood as lady nurses to children, kindergartners or nursery governesses. The work, both practical and theoretic, is so arranged as to centre round the education and nurture of children, and the internal management of a household in all its branches.). Manuscript. Book Condition: Very Good

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