1919 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY THE SON OF A PROMINENT BETHESDA MARYLAND FAMILY WHO WOULD ONE DAY CHALLENGE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC TICKET IN THE SENATE RACE

On offer is a charming, original 1919 manuscript diary handwritten by Alden A. Potter of Bethesda, Maryland. Alden is a dedicated diarist having entries almost every single day of the year providing a rich and detailed picture of his life and times. Alden seems active in small commercial and finance and as the bio notes below from the obituary of his brother it is evident that Alden was part of a very large, prominent extended Maryland family. While Alden may not have shone as brightly as Zenas, we understand Alden did run for the State Senate of Maryland on the Democratic ticket and he was outspoken on a number of controversial subjects: he considered himself a segregationist and opposed the Supreme Court's ruling on school integration. He was also interested in science and on one public occasion brought several homemade geometric figures with him to the State House. Potter said one he made them of about 20 green and white ping pong bails glued together with which he tried to disprove of a prominent scientist's theory of molecular structure. He also had radical views on hydrogen bombs, atomic theory etc. Overall G+. BIO NOTES POTTER FAMILY: The Monterey County Herald: Zenas Potter of Carmel Dead After Long Illness Zenas L. Potter, prominent in many phases of national and Peninsula life during a long, varied and distinguished career, died yesterday in a local hospital. The end came peacefully at 5:15 p.m. following an illness of many months, during which his keen, alert, mind never lost its grasp on world and domestic problems. The Peninsula has lost a unique personality. Since 1938, when Mr. Potter and his author wife, Miriam Clark Potter established their home in La Loma terrace, Carmel, his influence has been felt in many fields. Early in World War II he served as deputy coordinator of civilian defense in Carmel and as vice chairman of the Carmel Chapter, American Red Cross. He played an active part in the Carmel High School bond campaign and gave valuable assistance to the building and remodeling plans of the Carmel Art Assn., which he served as an officer and member of the board of directors. His voice has been heard on many occasions, via radio as he addressed the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, and in local talks sponsored by the Peninsula World Affairs Council, as he shared his convictions about the national defense program, foreign policy and other political and economic problems. Zenas Potter was born Nov. 17, 1886, in Minneapolis, Minn., the son of Alden Howland Potter and Jane Howe Bliss Potter. He attended public schools in Minneapolis before taking his A.B. degree at the University of Minnesota in 1909 and his M.A. degree the following year at Columbia University. Prior to his service in World War I he was called in turn to be field secretary for the New York Child Labor Committee, director of cannery investigation for the N.Y. Factory Investigating Committee, and from 1912 through 1916 was associated with the national Cash Register Co. of Dayton, Ohio, as educational director, welfare director and then advertising manager. As a major in the U.S. Army, Mr. Potter in 1917 was appointed to the Central Bureau of Planning and Statistics, preparing weekly confidential reports for President Wilson and Bernard Baruch on the progress of all war activities. For three years following the war he was vice president and business manager of the New York Evening Post. In 1922 he established and headed for the next eight years the Z.L. Potter Advertising Co. in Syracuse, N.Y., and New York City. For the succeeding seven years he was in turn advisor to the managing director, vice president and president of the Erwin Wasey Co., Ltd., of London, England, with offices in 12 European countries. For the latter part of this time, he maintained headquarters in Chicago, Ill., meanwhile serving as chairman of the board of the Western Council of the American Association of Advertising Agencies. In 1937, Mr. Potter was made vice president of Benton & Bowles advertising agency of New York City. Following a serious illness in that year, he retired to recuperate in Taxco, Mexico. Painting had long been his hobby, and following his recovery, he came to live in Carmel and become a serious artist. Twice his career as a painter was interrupted for long periods. Mr. Potter was called to Washington, D.C., during World War II, to serve in turn as a member of the Industry Council, Office of Price Administration, in charge of consumer rubber programs for the War Production Board, and as director of Congressional Information with OPA, preparing all chart presentations used by Chester Bowles and Paul Porter before Congress. After continuing his landscape painting on a fourth extended period of European travel with Mrs. Potter, during which he was accorded one-man shows in Florence, Italy, and Cagnes-sur-Mer in France, he was called to India in 1953 for service under Ambassador Chester Bowles as press officer at the American Embassy in New Delhi. One man shows of his works have been held locally at the Carmel Art Assn. His marriage to Miriam Clark, daughter of Prof. John Sinclair Clark of the University of Minnesota and Hattie Benton Clark, took place Dec. 27, 1910. Mr. Potter collaborated with his wife in the illustrations for many of her long series of children's books, and was himself author of many articles and brochures. In addition to his wife, he leaves three daughters, Jean (Mrs. Anatole Chelnov) of Summit, N.J., Margaret (Mrs. Philip Halliday Smith) of Carmel, and Constance (Mrs. Alan Bruce) of Berkeley; a sister, Mrs. James F. Johnson of Los Altos; a brother, Alden Potter of Bethesda, Md., and seven grandchildren. ; Manuscript; 48mo - over 3" - 4" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, ALDEN A. 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