1913 - 1940 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY AND JOURNAL OF A YOUNG WOMAN'S TRAGIC STORY OF HER MOTHER'S EARLY DEATH, A FATHER'S LOSS OF LOVE, A TREACHEROUS AUNT AND A CARNIVAL THAT LEADS TO COCAINE AND CRIMINALITY

On offer is an extraordinary, original manuscript journal detailing the beginning and up to the almost ending of a young 13 year old girl whose life turns so tragically with the death of her mother in early 1913, the loss of her father's love and the steady and not too slow descent into drugs and all manners of criminality. Using a 14.5 x 10.5 inch scrapbook our author, Mae McLouth [b. April 25th 1899], who inscribes the book with instructions for its delivery after her death to a friend. In all there 47 or so pages fully written with her story plus a few pages of genealogical notes and other writings pertinent to her family. The story of her life is all too tragic and certain: a mother's untimely death, a father unable to recover, older siblings with no care, a treacherous aunt who delivers her to a convent, an escape and then joining a carnival she escapes further. Soon after she is taking cocaine ['dope'], discussing needles ['hypos'] and within a few pages she is in prison. She does a short essay on the differences between cocaine and morphine and paints a real picture of early 20th Century drug culture and drug abuse and of course the consequences. Life continues along the same vein many years but then in the last entry dated 1940, written 3-4 years since the entry before [she was not great dating entries], where we read with some relief that she and her husband Joe are now settled, have a trucking and moving business and rent out rooms. She seems to have made up with some of her siblings too. A happy ending but very unexpected given the depth of her self abuse. The large folio book has covers detached, front cover present, back cover absent. The pages are brittle on the edges but so far there is no loss. Overall Fair.; Folio - over 12" - 15" tall; KEYWORDS: DRUGS, DRUG ABUSE, ADDICTION, ADDICTS, ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR, GETTING CLEAN, GOING COLD TURKEY, DRYING OUT, GOING STRAIGHT, SELF MEDICATION, MORPHINE, COCAINE, WOMEN'S STUDIES, GENDER STUDIES, SOCIAL STUDIES, HEROIN, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, DIARY, JOURNAL, LOG, KEEPSAKE, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, DIARIES, JOURNALS, LOGS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, PERSONAL HISTORY, AMERICANA, Als, antiquité, contrat, vélin, document, manuscrit, papier Antike, Brief, Pergament, Dokument, Manuskript, Papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigüedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, Papel,