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JEAN COLEMAN : 1931 - 1935 HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT 5 YEAR DIARY FOLLOWING A DEPRESSION ERA 13 YEAR OLD AND SEEING HER BLOOM INTO A COLLEGE GOING YOUNG WOMAN

24mo - over 5" - 5¾" tall. On offer is a charming piece of Depression Era Americana being a handwritten manuscript 5-year diary authored by Jean Coleman, a young girl of 13 in 8th grade and following her into womanhood and her first semester of college. There are a number of interesting parts to this young girl's life and while this is a Depression Era diary the depression has no effect on her family when it comes to comings and goings. She has diligently filled the diary with a near obsessive quality only missing a few days in 1935. The diary bears out that she's an unusual charming girl from a loving and supporting extended family. Jean lived in the Boston, Massachusetts and with relatives in Canada and the many long family visits there makes for a fair bit of Canadiana in this journal. An active good student she records what she studied that day. She was also very active, belonging to girl scouts, attending Red Cross training, taking art and music classes, playing tennis, skiing, skating, swimming, hiking, going to numerous movies and plays, spending time in libraries and museums, acting in school productions, attending dances, and the like. She also aspired to be a writer, something she refers to at age 13 and at age 18. Here are snippets: 1931: 5/25--Went to school. Came home at 11:30 because 600 aeroplanes came. 7/4--Horrible parade! Mock Marriage. Side shows. Circus. Big show in evening. Watched rockets! 9/1--I wrote my first short novel. 9/16--Went to school. Came home. Studied. What else is there to do? 1932: 3/10--It is too bad that it should be Aunty Edna & Laura & Uncle Sandy got in today. Went to hospital. Grandma died at about two o'clock. It is awful. 3/11--Oh it is awful. Went in town with Aunty Edna and Aunty Ida. Went to Grandma's. Walked home. Went to see Grandma. She is beautiful. All the Aunties left for St. John with her [the family is from St. John, New Brunswick]. 3/13--My Birthday. I wish it wasn't. Grandma buried today. 5/8--I cut my finger. 5/9--Stayed home from school because of finger but went to leather class. Made pocketbook. 5/10--Went to school. Did not miss much I must say. 6/13 [feeling some adolescent angst]--Went to school per usual. Came home per usual. Didn't see anyone per usual. 7/12--Fainted at lunch so could not go to Aunt Edna's. Went to Orangemen's picnic and saw parachute jump in evening. 8/31--Saw eclipse. Real exciting. 9/24--Went to baseball game Friday afternoon. Babe Ruth. 10/18--Went to school. Came home. Did nothing as usual except the us 1933: 1/7--Went to Fortune Tellers. 1/10--My the snow is grand! Walked to store in snow. Rolled back. 2/2--The mid [exam] was long but easy. I studied all evening. Hearing the usual stroke of twelve and making mother sleep with me. 4/2--Took snaps [snapshots] in the afternoon. Had photos taken in evening. 4/8--Went with 6 scouts to Westin to Miss Dixon's Cabin to pass Pioneer test. Did we work or did we work? 5/7--Studied like nobody's business. 5/12--Went to school. Came home to find that Grace was coming up. My four leaf clover worked. O Baby! 6/5--Went to school. Came home. Practiced. Wrote diary. Heat heat terrible heat. Wrote diary. 8/11--Saw star shower. My it was exciting. 8/24--Went to town. Babe and I had fortunes told. 9/11--Went to school for first time. All the hullabaloo & baloney over. Studied late. 1934: 3/13 [Jean's 17th birthday]--Went to school. Came home. Gee I'm old. 7/22--Started out for walk in the morning. Went to Eastern Lake. Skirted beaver pond. Crossed Dead Creek. Saw skeleton of a moose. 10/4--Went to school. Came home. Always plenty to do in study line. 10/23--Tried to do some of Thursday's homework. Too excited about tomorrow. 10/24--Did not go to school. Went to Statler [Hotel] with bunch. Met Mrs. Roosevelt and Mrs. Hoover [dinner was in honor of Hoover]. 11/27--Went to school. Came home. Mailed letters. Studied. Wrote story. 1935: 1/24--16 inches of snow. I never saw so much. No school. Sid & dad could not get car out. 2/2--Went to play rehearsal. Fell down library stairs. Stiff neck. 3/6--Went to school and then to scouts. Those kids are nuts. 3/20--Went to school and then to scouts. Came home. Those kids are the limit. 4/6--Dad went looking for cars. I went to museum. Came home. Dad bought car. Cute blue Plymouth Coupe, rumble seat, cream wheels. 4/6--Dad brought car. She's sweet. We dusted her off. Too bad she had to stand in rain. 5/18--Left for Albany at 10:30. Saw bus of midgets. Beautiful drive. Up 2200 feet. 7/21--Cleaned car in morning. More hindrance than help to Daddy. 9/8--Walked over point. Took pictures. Got chased by cow. Let cow loose. 9/11--Went to college to register. 9/14--Had lecture and intelligence test. 9/15--Discovered that someone tried to steal our car. Broke locks. 10/16--Went to school. Had interview with Mrs. Mallock. She thinks if I develop I may be a find in writing something. Boy! 10/20--Wrote story. 11/9--Left at 10:30 a.m. [for Canada]. Drove steadily. Saw many deer on cars of hunters. In the memorandum section at the back of the diary Jean wrote four longer passages, one each commemorating her grandmother and grandfather [she died in 1932, he in 1935] and two passages about what the fortune teller told her on two different occasions. Diary measures 4.75" x 5.75". Cover scuffed and corners worn, but diary is intact and all the writing is very legible. VG. Manuscript. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Leather

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