20th Century Diary from Katz Fine Manuscripts Inc.

Reading, Pennsylvania, PA. Fair with no dust jacket. 1929. Softcover. On offer is a rare deep dive into the mind of a teenage boy in the interwar years through the jam-packed Boy Scouts of America diary kept by 15-year-old Martin William Popkin (1914-2008). Popkin was a 15 year old boy who was born in New York and… Read more about this item

Topeka, Ottawa, Kansas. Good with no dust jacket. Softcover. On offer is a terrific archive of four diaries spanning over four years in the life of a busy, politically engaged and descriptive young Kansas woman named Stella May Durbin (later Brown) (1909-1977) [SEE BIO NOTES AT END OF LISTING]. Stella was a proud Republican and member of… Read more about this item

Toronto, Ontario Canada. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1901. Non-Book. On offer is a manuscript letter connected to the early 20th century Ontario public education system. The letter, dated May 14, 1901 on Toronto Normal School letterhead, is written by principal William Scott to Mrs. I. H. Thompson. Scott writes to ask that Thompson, "...be present...to… Read more about this item

Lenoir, North Carolina, NC. Good with no dust jacket. 1939. Softcover. On offer is a diary that describes life in rural North Carolina in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the years immediately preceding WWII. The diary was written by Mary Annie Elizabeth (Estes) Shearer (1862-1955). Shearer was born in Lenoir, Caldwell County, North Carolina… Read more about this item

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania PA. Good with no dust jacket. 1921. Hardcover. On offer is the small yet interesting diary of Reverend Howard Dawson Hetrich (sometimes Hetrick) (1889-1953) [SEE BIO NOTES AT END OF LISTING]. At the time he kept this diary, Hetrich was 32-years-old, single, living in Philadelphia, working in sales and as a Pastor. He discusses his… Read more about this item

Rutland Vermont VT: Late 1800s Early 1900s. Fair with no dust jacket. Softcover. On offer is a small pocket music book lovingly transcribed and well-used by a Rutland, Vermont clarinetist. Titled in our clarinetist’s hand, “Jigs Copied by A. J. Burdick”, the book contains dozens of songs, some of which seem to be original compositions, transcribed for… Read more about this item

Erin, New York: Farming Life in Rural New York, Retiring Farmer. Good with no dust jacket. Softcover. On offer is an archive of three diaries covering the years 1909, 1910 and 1920, that very clearly describe life of an aging farmer in rural New York at the turn of the 20th century. The author of these diaries is… Read more about this item

San Francisco, California, Notre Dame High School. Good with no dust jacket. Softcover. On offer is an interesting journal kept by a motivated and organized young woman attending the all-girls Notre Dame High School in San Francisco, California in the early 20th century. The diary is written by a high school student mainly during her freshman and sophomore years. Research… Read more about this item

Cornell University, Grenoble, London, Paris, Italy. Good with no dust jacket. 1924. Hardcover. On offer is a terrific journal covering the travel and studies abroad of an American college student who would go on to graduate from Cornell University, open up a dairy farm, and die before his 40th birthday. The journal belonged to Richard Everard Williams… Read more about this item

Wilmington, Delaware. Fair with no dust jacket. Hardcover. On offer is an interesting diary detailing the daily life of a young woman in wartime America. The diary belonged to Norma Tyson Bowen (1921-1997). Norma was born to Daniel Franklin and Lula White (Tyson) Bowen in Delaware. In 1944, Norma married William Woodrow Snyder of Madrid, New … Read more about this item

Marion, Ohio, Cleveland: Coming of Age Diary Cleveland To Marion Ohio High School Student. Good with no dust jacket. 1928. Hardcover. On offer is the chatty, energetic diary of a boy crazy Ohio high school freshman and sophomore in 1928. This is the diary of Jean Witt (1914-2014) , a teenage girl living in Cleveland who moves to… Read more about this item

Weymouth, Massachusetts. Good with no dust jacket. Hardcover. On offer are the detailed minutes of 14 years’ worth of club meetings from a group of women collaborating to improve their church and community in 20th century New England. This minute book belonged to the Ever Ready Guild in Weymouth Massachusetts, which was founded in 1928. Newspaper … Read more about this item

Ohio. Fair with no dust jacket. 1907. Softcover. On offer is an interesting diary kept by a young mid-western American woman during the last years of WWI, in the months leading up to her first marriage. The author of this diary was Lois Vereen Leslie (1889-1986) of Ohio. She was married to William Andrew Scott (1889-1952) in… Read more about this item

Queechee, Vermont. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1915. Softcover. On offer is a lovely glimpse at the upper middle class life of a newlywed in eastern Vermont in the early 20th century. The author of this diary and travelogue is Mabel Hannah Keller (nee Preston) (1878-1960). The daughter of Nathan and Electa (Tenney) Preston, she was… Read more about this item

Hampton, England, Britain: The Blitz Bombing England War Effort Farmer Woman. Good with no dust jacket. 1940. Hardcover. On offer is a superb, first-hand account of ‘the Blitz’ - the bombing of southern England in the early days of World War Two, combined with a journal of a young entrepreneurial woman engaged in the family farming business.… Read more about this item

Milwaukee, WI: Police Officer Log Book Inner City Wisconsin 1960s. Very Good with no dust jacket. Hardcover. On offer is a fine collection of patrol notebooks kept by a Milwaukee, Wisconsin police officer during a tumultuous time in American society. The notebooks belonged to Robert F Neufuss (1926-2010). After serving in the US Navy, Neufuss spent 32… Read more about this item

Union, Missouri: Teen Journal Academic Notebook Missouri Student Junior High. Fair with no dust jacket. 1910. Softcover. On offer is a delightful notebook which is at once a journal and academic notebook of a young teenager in Union, Missouri, in the early 20th century. This book belonged to Florence (Flora) Schiller (1897-1993) who was born in Union,… Read more about this item

Ithica, New York. Very Good in Good dust jacket. 1951. Hardcover. On offer is the outstanding personal copy of George Achilles Theodorson’s (1924-2010) 1951 Cornell University Master’s sociology thesis and associated ephemera on the topic of small group development. After completing his Master’s degree, Theodorson would go on to earn his PhD at Cornell (with his… Read more about this item

Lubbock, Texas. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1944. Leather. On offer is the 1944 diary of 17-year-old Frances Arline Farmer (b. Sept 18, 1926 - d. March 6, 2017) , a senior at Lubbock High School. Arline plays piano and fiddle. She is best friends with a girl named Pody. However, much of her writing centres… Read more about this item

New York, Usa. Fair with no dust jacket. 1941. Binder. On offer is a manuscript journal that doubles as a study of infant care practices in 1941-1942. It is a meticulously kept record of the first 15 months of Michigan musician, conductor and radio personality, Charles Greenwell (1941-2020). The book was kept by parents, both Juilliard … Read more about this item