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VAL GREENFIELD : 1947 ORIGINAL POST WORLD WAR II MANUSCRIPT DIARY OF A CHARMING AND BRILLIANT BROOKLYN NEW YORK TEENAGE JEWISH GIRL

16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. On offer is a charming, original 1947 manuscript diary handwritten by Miss 'Val Greenfield Age 14-15' an active, hardworking student, sister and daughter who details her life and that of her brother Stuart and her parents in Brooklyn New York just after World War II. Val is a very dedicated diarist, using her page-a-day diary daily save for a break from late April through late June, and again the last week in August through the first week of September. Her life is a never ending carousel of work: at school she is an 'A' student rarely getting any marks below 90 in French, Latin and a host of other subjects - at one point she receives what she feels is a terrible mark of 80 in a subject. At home she and her brother work helping the parents, from washing floors, cleaning the bathroom etc. Her slightly older brother who she obviously adores suffers physically and has Grand Mal seizures but together they study and even work shovelling snow for extra money. Endearingly they write out business contracts and pledges for working together or sharing. She writes of going shopping and buying sugar, which is 'terribly scarce.' She also writes about school and her social life, attending Dodgers games, going to the movies, etc. One night when she and mom go to a show they leave "the house lights as 10 gangsters escaped from Bklyn jail." She is a brilliant student with high marks all around: 100% in biology, 100 in Physics, 95% in French, her description of pledging with a fraternity is wonderful, running out of oil in the winter and much, much more detailing a good but tough life in post War New York. Her folks are not without resources as Dad does inspections of some sort on fences, trucks, tires, knitting machines, etc. with 4 men working for him and some out of state so we can safely assume it is more technical and substantive than her basic observations. This girl is in many ways a typical Jewish-American girl but her ambition in school and her love of her family makes this diary a true testament to a spirited but level headed bright young woman. Researchers and historians of the era will find the sum and soul of this intriguing young lady in a simple quote from the diary: "We all got up late but dad who is as constant as the North Star." The 6 x 3½ inch diary is VG.. Book Condition: Very Good

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