Early American Woman’s Family Poetry and Prayer Journal, 1820–1830

19th c. Journal Poetry and Poems

Manuscripts & Autographs

Tuckerman, H. P. Poetry and prayer journal, 1820–1830, documents early nineteenth-century manuscript album culture within Anglo-American Protestant communities, with particular attention to women’s devotional writing, moral instruction, and shared literary practices. The volume supports research into gendered authorship, religious education, and the circulation of poetic and didactic texts in the early republic, where handwritten albums functioned as spaces for communal inscription. The presence of multiple hands across dated entries demonstrates a participatory literary culture structured around kinship and social networks, while recurring themes of childhood piety, mortality, and moral virtue situate the text within contemporary evangelical and didactic traditions.
Tuckerman, H. P. Poetry and prayer journal. Circa 1820–1830. Manuscript volume with 53 handwritten entries by multiple contributors, including poems, hymns, and devotional reflections. Entries include a hymn composed for the British and Foreign School Society, emphasizing education and moral uplift through the metaphor “Oh stream of knowledge when thy tides…Forget not then the flowers,” alongside gendered moral instruction concluding “woman’s Happiest destiny, Is only — to be good.” Biblical passages, including references to Luke 2, appear throughout, accompanied by original prayers such as an 1827 entry: “Heaven sees no sight so fair As happy childhood bowed in prayer.” Several texts address mortality and impermanence, including reflections such as “Life is but a scanty ledge…suspended o’er a fathomless abyss,” and a memorial poem introduced as written by a young man shortly before death from consumption, invoking Romantic-era associations with illness and artistic sensibility. Additional entries focus on natural landscapes, including “Spring Mountain” (1828), which situates spiritual reflection within pastoral imagery. The volume includes an original drawing of a mother and child signed “S. Tuckerman,” as well as two pencil drawings of forest scenes, reinforcing the integration of visual and literary expression within album practices.
This manuscript emerges from a period in which evangelical Protestantism, moral education movements, and literary cultivation intersected within domestic and semi-public spheres, particularly among women and youth. The reference to the British and Foreign School Society situates the volume within transatlantic educational reform efforts emphasizing literacy and moral discipline. The collaborative nature of the entries aligns with early nineteenth-century album traditions, where social exchange and authorship were intertwined. Such materials provide insight into how religious belief, gender norms, and literary expression were internalized and reproduced within everyday practice. Original red half morocco binding with owner’s name “H. P. Tuckerman” in gilt on front cover; approximately 120 pages, with writing on 76 pages; includes three original drawings; measures 9 x 7 1/2 inches. Light toning and minimal foxing throughout; very good condition. A substantive example of early American manuscript culture linking devotional life, gendered authorship, and communal literary exchange.

Item #16585

Price: $485.00