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NOT IDENTIFIED : 1908 - 1911 ORIGINAL, CHATTY MANUSCRIPT DIARY HAND WRITTEN BY AN ERIE PENNSYLVANIA WOMAN WHO DOES A GREAT JOB DETAILING HER LIFE AND LOCAL EVENTS

16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. On offer is a chatty diary covering parts of 1908, 1909, 1910 and 1911. No one year is complete and entries often skip days or weeks. The front cover is missing and the back cover is only very loosely attached. The pages are sewn together. The righting is clear and legible. The writer lives in Erie, PA, an industrial manufacturing city that was a key link in the iron and steel industry on the Great Lakes. From context, the writer appears to be a woman living with her husband and family. Her second entry notes the arrival of the 8 hour work day for telegraphers. The tone is chatty and entries include references to business, personal and social life events: "The Erie strike has been declared settled and this is the day the old machinists were to return to work but none of them did. Dr. Burdette's class met tonight. Paul Huff has been taking treatment for increasing his speed in running a typewriter. This is Shrove Tues. Pancake social at Christ Church parish house this evening" [Mar 3, 1908]. The entry for Saturday, Nov 20th, 1909 is typical of the talkative, stream-of consciousness style of writing employed: "This was a fair day but not much sunshine. Didn't work this afternoon but Charlie and Lewie went back. In the afternoon I did a little varnishing work ... using FW Devoe and Co's Oil Dark Oak Stain ... the gasman came and read the meter ...Esther went to the matinee of the Chicago Stock 'Genesee of the Hills' ... Ma got a new hat today ... we had cornmeal pancakes for supper ... there were no turkeys on sale at the market ... Dr. William H Crawford, president of Allegheny College arrived from Europe this morning to straighten out the financial affairs of the College ... Mr. Crawford will return to Rome in a short while to join his family who are spending the winter in that city ... James Braggs was promoted from assistant baggagemaster to baggagemaster at the Erie station ...the annual bazaar of Zion Church was held ... mother and Mrs. Huff went to this sale and bought some german cookies ..." [Nov 20, 1909]. And so it goes. Factual event, thoughts and gossip fill the pages: "The engagement of Theodore Roosevelt Jr. to Elinor Alexander of New York was announced several days ago. Mrs. Roosevelt has left for Africa with her daughter to meet her husband and return with him to the United States. ..." [Feb 15, 1910]. "Over half of the employees of the Pennsylvania Rapid Transit Co of that city have gone out on strike and several small riots occurred ... " [Feb 21]. The entries end as abruptly as they began with an entry in July, 1911: "Mrs Glancy made her usual appearance this morning. The price or cotton and cotton fabric has risen considerable of late and the reason is that a cotton trust has been originated" [July 10, 1911]. A social historian would find this an interesting collection of facts and bits of corroborative information for life in this small Great Lakes industrial city in the years before WWI.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Fair

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