Sensational 1895-1903 Original Handwritten Diary Collection Rich with Detail about Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Years At Groton School from the Perspective of His Closest Friend

On offer is an extraordinary collection of diaries that give incredible insight into young Franklin Delano Roosevelts years at Groton--one of the most exclusive preparatory schools in the United States at the time--from the perspective of his closest schoolmate, James Lippincott Goodwin. In these six diaries, a young J. L. Goodwin chronicles his daily life from 1895 to 1898 and 1903, and features a cast of characters whose family legacies live on to this day. Classmates mentioned include Robert Rutherford "Colonel" McCormick, who went on to become owner and publisher of the Chicago Tribune; J. R. "Tadd" Roosevelt Jr. , nephew to both FDR and Colonel John Jacob "Jack" Astor IV; Lathrop "Jake" Brown, who was FDRs roommate at Harvard, and who would go on to become a member of the U. S. House of Representatives; and, most significantly, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who became 32nd president of the United States and who, along with Winston Churchill, would lead the free world through its darkest days in WWII. Goodwin himself was also part of a well-connected family. His father owned a railroad and two insurance companies, and was the cousin of American financier J. P. Morgan. Goodwins brother Philip was one of the architects of New Yorks Museum of Modern Art. J. L. Goodwin and FDR were both new to Groton School in 1896, and these outsiders became fast friends as they adjusted to student life. Both boys were prolific writers, and FDR mentions Goodwin in his letters home. Similarly, FDR appears often in Goodwins diary entries. For example: "Passed with Riggs and Franklin Roosevelt during our time after school but it was very disagreeable on account of the ground being so wet" (May 3, 1897). "This is a legal holiday being Lincolns Birthday. Mrs. Roosevelt is visiting, came up today" (February 12, 1898). "Franklin Roosevelt was down from Harvard. Saw him at the fence a while" (May 18, 1903). J. L. Goodwin graduated from Groton in 1900 and Yale in 1905. He later pursued a Masters in Forestry and was a noted conservationist and pioneering forester. Although the diaries do not bear his name, there are ample contextual clues to determine that they were indeed kept by Goodwin. His collected papers reside in the James L Goodwin collection at Yale University. In this archive there are six personal diaries of J. L. Goodwin: 1) 1895: 5.75" x 3.5", 122 pages, 100% complete, good condition. 2) 1896: 5.75" x 3.5", 183 pages, 80% complete, good condition. 3) 1897: 5.75" x 3.5", 183 pages, 70% complete, good condition. 4) 1897*: 8.75" x 4.5", 198 pages, 50% complete, fair condition. (*This diary was kept at the same time as the other 1897 diary. Some entries overlap, but it contains entries that were not entered in the 5.75" x 3.5" 1897 diary. ) 5) 1898: 5.75" x 3.5", 365 pages, 75% complete, good condition. 6) 1903: 5.75" x 3.5", 365 pages, 85% complete, good condition. Also included in this archive is a first edition copy of the 1947 book "F. D. R. His Personal Letters: Early Years." It is the first in a 3-volume series collated and published by FDR's son, Elliott. Many of these letters were written by FDR from Groton School, at the same time as J. L. Goodwin was writing his diaries, and the volumes are a wonderful complement to each other. This exceptional archive offers historians, scholars, and collectors valuable information about the formative years of F. D. Roosevelt, J. L. Goodwin, and many of their prestigious contemporaries who went on to shape the history of the United States. ; Manuscript; 5.75" x 3.75"; Keywords: J. L. Goodwin, FDR, History of, Groton, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, Pre World War I, Groton School, Yale, Robert R. McCormick, James Roosevelt Roosevelt, Tadd Roosevelt, Hyde Park, Eleanor Roosevelt, J. P. Morgan, Americana, handwritten, manuscript, autographed, authors, document, letter, autograph, keepsake, writer, hand written, documents, signed, letters, manuscripts, historical, holograph, writers, autographs, personal, memoir, memorial, personal history, archive, diary, diaries, journal, log, primary source, first hand account, social history, personal stories, living history, antiquit, contrat, vlin, document, manuscrit, papier antike, brief, pergament, dokument, manuskript, papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, papel, biography biographical autobiographical autobiography personal narratives