1854 Diary of a New Yorker Who Collected Life Lessons and Wrote Simply of Life in 19th Century NYC
11071AOn offer is an interesting diary/notebook dating from mid 19th century New York City. Nearly one half of the book is devoted to what the diarist refers to as “Maxims” - a collection of sayings and reflections that he feels are important enough to write down. The balance of the entries are brief daily notations.
The writer is unknown. His name appears on the cover but it is smudged. From context, we can determine that he lived in New York City. He references moving into Crook’s Hotel which the New York Historical Society identifies as being on Chatham Street in the city.
Many of his daily notations are simple notes about the weather but he does mention places and notable incidents that occurred:
“Evening went to Lecture B Way [Broadway] Tabernacle by Rev L.P. Thompson…” [Mar 16].
[Historical Note: The Broadway Tabernacle that the writer mentions a number of times was the site of a major antislavery speech in February 1854 by the noted abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison].
“News of loss of ship Powhattan by the [ ] storm on 15th & 16th with 200 lives lost…” [Apr 20].
[Historical Note: The Powhattan was a United States - flagged emigrant transport ship that is best remembered as one of the New Jersey shipwrecks with the greatest loss of life].
The other half of this diary, the author’s “Maxims” include the following:
“It is a consolation for all right minded young men in this country that though they may not be able to command as much pecuniary capital as they would wish to begin business with yet there is a moral capital they can have that will weigh as much as money with people whose opinion is worth having. And it does not take long to accumulate a respectable amount of this capital. It consists of truth, honesty, and integrity…” [on Jan 1].
For a social historian, this little pocket notebook/diary offers an interesting glimpse into life in New York City in the middle of the 19th century.
This little pocketbook measures 4.75 inches by 3.0 inches and contains 122 pages. It is about 60% complete. The cover is missing from the book. The binding however is intact and the pages are in good condition. The handwriting is reasonably legible.
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