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UNIDENTIFED : 1923 UNUSUAL, ORIGINAL SPANISH LANGUAGE TRAVEL DIARY DETAILING A PAIR OF FRIENDS DRIVING A MODEL T FORD FROM ST. LOUIS TO COLUMIBIA MISSOURI

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is a fascinating journal written by a young man describing an auto trip shortly after WWI. This small journal / notebook measures 8 inches by 6 inches and contains 16 pages and a number of clear, annotated black and white photographs. The pages are 100% complete. The cover and pages are in very good condition. The handwriting is neat and legible. It is written in Spanish. The journal is entitled Aventuras En Un Ford or Adventures in a Ford. The author is known only as Marcelino. There is no other information about him. Written in 1923, it describes a car trip he took with a friend in a Ford Model T automobile from St. Louis, MO to Columbia MO. The journal is illustrated with 7 black and white photographs depicting himself, his car, his friend and some other individuals. The photographs are annotated. They left St. Louis at 8 o'clock in the morning of March 18th. He writes with an evident sense of humour as the opening page has a picture of his car - named El Heroe Irracional (Irrational Hero). With some droll comments, he remarks on the weather (cold!) and accompanies the comments with a picture of himself bundled up in a parka, noting that the temperature is 2o F. Here are some excerpts translated from his journal. He has a delightful, self-deprecating sense of humour that brings both his trip and his personality alive. "El dia 18 de marzo de 1923, despues de haber trasladado com mi amigo Jeans a la ciudad de St. Louis con el fin de traer a esta, ciudad de Columbia un automivil Ford. Me hallaba en ese hermosa manana de Domingo dispuesto a emprender el viaje de regresso. El viaje nocturuo de ida que en la noche del Sabado hierera mis habia fatigado un tanto pero la novedad de la aventura que iba a corer durante el dia me mante nia despierto y activo. (On March 18, 1923, after having moved with my friend Jeans to the city of St. Louis in order to bring to the city of Columbia a Ford automobile. I was on that beautiful Sunday morning ready to undertake the return trip. The night trip on Saturday night had tired me somewhat but the novelty of the adventure that was going to run during the day kept me awake and active). In another place: "Media hora mas tarde, a eso a las ocho, haciamos nuestra entrada triumphal en el pueblito de jonesburg. Llegamos al hotel McClure. Nuestras aparineias eran dignas de ser pasadas a la historia. Half an hour later, at that time at eight o'clock, we made our triumphal entrance into the town of Jonesburg (We arrived at the McClure hotel. Our appearances were worthy of being passed down into history)". The remaining pages carry on in the same light-hearted vein. The front cover has a carefully-drawn map of their trip. In addition to photographs, most pages have some carefully drawn design patterns. This is a charming description of a trip that is well-written and illustrated. A historian would be attracted to not only some of the specifics he mentions but also by details shown in his photographs.. Spanish Language Manuscript. Book Condition: Good +

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