Young Women Handwritten Friendship album - 1825-1894
Handwritten Journal
[19th cent Women ] Friendship album with poems and inscriptions written in many hands, to a New England young lady. 1825-1830. Original paper boards. 7.5 x 6 in. 92 pages of handwritten inscriptions from numerous different individuals. Entries dated from 1825-1894. Friends included their location when they made the entry, listing cities and towns from all over New England, including Boston, Amherst, and Burlington (VT). Mary Newton, a young lady. Many of the entries are title “To a Friend” or “To Miss Newton.” “Joy cannot claim a purer bliss, Nor griefs den from stain more dear, Than female friendship’s meeting kiss, Than female friendship’s parting tear”. Some, such as “Song” are rhyming lines of poetry: “It is not for your eagle eye, Though bright it glance may be, It is not for your sunny smile, That, Mary, I love thee—“. The poems were usually not original, but would have heavy themes of memory and sentimentality. “I looked and behold! A dark cloud met my sight, But soon its thick mantle was blended with light, For the sun’s glorious ray, had now shone from on high, And light was the hue of the once clouded sky; So may all they hopes, when with sorrow o’ercast, Shine bright, when the cloud of affliction has past, Till thy spirit, shall sick a pure mansion on high, Where sorrow, worn wanderer, never heave a sigh.”One entry hints at the different jobs which may lead female friends to part ways. “Farewell my dear Mary the time is at hand, That we must be parted from this social band, Our several employments now call us away, Our parting is needful and we must obey.” She also writes on the ways in which women and men have equal rights and needs in a marriage. “I have always admired that receipt for making a good husband which enjoins, that the wife should always greet him at this own door with smile. These smiles are cheap things; but when they spring from benign temper, and an affectionate heart, they penetrate all the hidden and primary sources of action—wives are also entitled to the greetings of their husbands. Women hold the keys of affection.” Some of the poems had cheeky messages that could only be shared between close friends: “Says the rosebud to the bee, ‘Pray bee what does want of me”? Blushing charmer ‘May I help it?’ ‘Do and welcome says the rose’, And protest it as it flows’ So the rose had bud and the bee, Sealed a […] of amity, But a worm without a wing, Enjoying then so sweet a thing, Slyly unsuspecting stole, And ate the rose bud to the soul.” With a note below that “Bees are Husbands, worms are Beaus.” Light even toning, heavier on first few pages. Some entries quite faded, yet still legible. Original paper boards worn, separated from sheets. Good condition.
Item #16731
Price: $340.00
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