1805 Sturbridge, Massachusetts School Girl Calligraphy Book
Item Details
An 1805 Sturbridge, Massachusetts school girl calligraphy book. This rare artifact is both historical document and early American folk art. Spanning from 1805 to 1806, the hand written book documents a year in the life of a New England school girl named Clara (Clarre, Clarissa) Marsh. Clara would have been sixteen years old at the time of writing, being born in 1789, in a young America. The book is handmade of bound laid paper, having a stitched binding and blue pulp paper cover. The contents feature pen and ink calligraphy, as well as, a hand painted theorem from a teacher, Matilda Allen. The theorem has painted fruit to top page and a hand written verse stating: ‘May virtue in your heart preside, May providence all your actions guide, May peace attend your future hours, May love attend your pathway with flowers and may you ever boast a friend true as the one by whom _____ are penned. This from your affectionate teacher, Matilda Allen Sept 21, 1817.’ The contents of book include written recitations, poetry, alphabets in assorted decorative scripts, along with warnings and admonishments of the time. Also of note are written practice receipts and mathematical exercises, subjects previously taught only to boys. The last page of the book is dated December 26, 1805 and contains a poem written in square format of intersecting text. The reverse side of page is dated February 1, 1806 and includes a listing of students, having boys to the left of page and girls to the right. To give a sense of historical context, in the year of writing, the US was comprised of eighteen states, Thomas Jefferson was beginning his second term as the country’s third President, Napoleon Bonaparte would be crowned King of Italy in 1805 and the US Marines would attack the shores of Tripoli. Clara Marsh’s family genealogy has been preserved in the Mormon Archives as a fifth generation descendant of John Marsh, arriving in this country from Birmingham England in 1660. Clara’s father, Silas Marsh, was a revolutionary War soldier. The Marsh genealogy can be viewed by clicking on the link below.
Condition
- there is extensive wear, staining and tearing to paper cover. Cover is coming loose at stitched spine, with some loss of material. There is foxing, toning and bleeding to pages, with corner bending and a 3.5" tear to first page. It is remarkable to find a book of this type intact. Genealogy information cannot be confirmed as completely accurate, being referenced only as an existing archive of which further investigation can be done.
Dimensions
Item #
16CIN039-101
Additional Information
