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ROY B. KOCH : 1912 - 1921 ORIGINAL, FASCINATING PAIR OF DENSELY WRITTEN MANUSCRIPT DIARIES DETAILING THE LIFE OF A ST. LOUIS MAN FROM CHASING GIRLS TO WARFARE IN THE TRENCHES

16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. On offer is a very interesting, comprehensive pair [2] of 1912 through 1921 manuscript diaries handwritten by Roy B. Koch [b. Oct. 5th 1892] of St. Louis Missouri as identified at the end of 'Book 1' of the pair. [These two largish 8 x 4 inch flip style notebooks are numbered 1 and 3 and though number 2 and 4 are mentioned they are absent.] Very fully written on nearly every page front and back Roy is a dedicated diarist and meticulous with his writing, using red ink to write the day and date, and black, or blue ink to write the day's events. Book 1 begins September 13th 1912 until January 31st 1914. Book 3 is dated September 3 1917 through May 1921. Just 19 years old at the beginning of Book 1 historians, researchers and collectors will be enthralled with this amazing diarist who even writes the whole time he is in the trenches in battle during his service in World War I. Observing this young man's evolution from typical American teenager to hardened soldier he begins typically: him working, hanging out with friends and girls until all hours of the night, going to the YMCA a lot, canoeing and camping out. He pays careful attention to the money he spends and loans to friends; what he owes them and what they owe him. He's not satisfied with his job so he finds another one and quits, and then seems to be on a constant search for the right one. Interestingly especially for his age, he goes to the doctor and gets circumcised, and mentions the doctor having a helper that day, and that the next day he had cocaine coming out of his organ. He joins some sort of Cavalry troop, with permission from his father and whose signature he requires. They horseback ride and fight mock battles. Finally he joins the army, and goes to war. He writes every day and describes his war experience in detail. At the end of the war by saying that it was "a restless night of joy" and that the German and American soldiers came out of their trenches and exchanged rations, and the Americans gave the Germans cigarettes. Overall these books are VG.. Book Condition: Very Good

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