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WILLIAM FRANK KEITH : 1925 - 1939 HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT ARCHIVE OF 8 DIARIES BY AN OBSESSIVE WRITER, REPORTER AND TRIVIA ENTHUSIAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL AND WORLD AND LOCAL EVENTS

64mo - up to 3" tall. On offer are eight [8] original manuscript journals dated between 1925 -1939 handwritten by William Frank Keith of Louisiana, Missouri, born about 1903. The first journal, 151 pp., is autobiographic in nature detailing highlights of his childhood, such as teachers, where his family lived and so on. Overall this is a super post World War I, pre-Depression Era through the beginning of World War II archive. In depth and detailed to the point one imagines that William was obsessive compulsive in nature as he never failed to note the weather, record the river's height and temperature, baseball stats, aviation firsts and triumphs, railroad tragedies and in later years the news from Europe and any other scrap of information that crossed his radar screen - local collectors and historians plus Americana enthusiasts will be delighted at this picture of the times. Using ledger style notebooks with a margin William notes important information with a red underlined 'FLASH'. Other writings in these 1100+ pages tell of him and a few friends going on a road trip to Chicago, which took over 16 hours to go 300 miles; of their mishaps and sights seen, attending the General Encampment of the Modern Woodsman Foresters; election news; a train trip to Colorado and world and local news...."Ray Keech breaking the speed record, taking it from Capt. Campbell of England, world flight non-stop across the pacific landing in Hawaii", Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey last night in Chicago". Obviously a strident baseball fan he records not only World Series baseball news and statistics but also everyday stats too. Our writer has also littered the journals with news clippings. Here is a breakdown of the individual journals and some snippets: Book 2: April 1929 - April 1930, 100 pp., (Mississippi river depth and temperature readings start in this journal, as well as weather, has day to day entries, local and national news "Graf Zeppelin news" and lots and lots of baseball "Babe Ruth's 30th home run"); Book 3: April 1930 - April 1931, 100 pp., (River depths and temps, more baseball news and stats and some national news that caught my eye....Capture of Fred Killer Burke, notorious Chicago gangster in St. Joseph, Mo, and the last member of the gang who robbed the Lamar Colorado bank in May 1928 was captured in Branson, Mo.) Book 4: April 1931 - Jan. 1932, 100 pp., (River depths and temps, baseball stats!, local and national news...Post and Gatty flights, Thomas Edison's death); Book 5: Jan. 1932 - Oct. 1933, 200 pp., (River depths and temps, local happenings and national news...new president Roosevelt and the attempt on his life Wed. Feb. 15th, 1933, meteorite found in a field near by, and lots of baseball stats and news); Book 6: Oct. 1933 - Oct. 1934, 100 pages (River depths and temps, lots of baseball stats and news, local happenings and national news...Mr. and Mrs. Chas Lindberg flight, Nome, Alaska almost destroyed by fire, kidnapper of Chas. Lindberg Jr. in March 1932 believed to be caught); Book 7: Oct. 1934 - Jan. 1936, 96 pp., (Government Whitewash recipe and directions in the back, River readings, baseballs stats +, wrote 3 pages on the pony express on it's anniversary, the local happenings and national.....death of Bill Rodgers and Wiley Post in plane crash, has paper clippings included, Joe Lewis, negro heavyweight defeated Pauline Uzcudum of Spain); Book 8: Jan. 1936 - Oct. 1939, 298 pp., (River readings and temps, local news..."Russell Flansburg of Bowling Green has confessed to killing Goldie Fisher early Saturday morning, he beat her with his fists, near Frankford then called a taxi and took the body to BG." Lots of national news...."rescuers reached the wreckage of the twenty one passenger plane that wrecked on the top of Mt. Baldy" "England staged the worlds greatest show today. The coronation of George VI amd Elizabeth as king and queen of England" "Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan are down at sea" "two fifteen year old boys "cracked" the US Mint at San Francisco this morning. They climbed over a wall, crossed the court yard, shimmied up a drain pipe.) Overall VG.. Manuscript. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Cloth

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