EARLY 20TH CENTURY RELIC OF A TOWN AND FAMILY BEING A SCRAPBOOK OF NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, LETTERS, AND DRAWINGS PERTAINING TO THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE GILBERT FAMILY IN CHESTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

On offer is a unique and interesting book from the early part of the 20th century. The book is a combination of a student’s mathematics notebook, pages full of drawings and doodles, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, letters, and ephemera relating to the author’s hometown of Chester, Pennsylvania and his family. The book seems to have been put together by a man by the name of Edwin Gilbert. There are references to him in newspaper clippings and letters pasted in the book. The book seems to be a tribute to his family and their life in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The newspaper articles and clippings present a wide variety of topics throughout a number of years, as early as 1908 and as late as 1942, with most of the dates centering around the 1920s. The clippings include articles about Gilbert family members and friends, Sugartown Public School Association programs, poems, hymns, and articles of general interest concerning Chester County, Westchester, and other areas of Eastern Pennsylvania that the Gilbert family concerned itself with. The book that the articles and everything is pasted on may have been the mathematics book of Edwin Gilbert when he went to school. There are 38 pages of math and possible surveying numbers visible, and many, many pages where the articles and clippings have been pasted over the mathematics pages. One page of the mathematics part refers to Willistown in Chester County, Pa. likely from the 1800s or earlier. There are also 12 pages of pencil sketches, of houses, trees, bridges, fields, cemeteries, and other scenes, as well as doodles of animals and smaller scenes. The book is approximately 120 pages in length and measures 8.5" x 13.25”. The cover is marbled paper over binder’s board and shows some wear and tear. The spine is more affected, showing significant tearing, and missing its bottom quarter. The pages are overall good, showing some discoloration, especially where they have come in contact with newspaper. The handwriting for the mathematics portion is in good condition, with little fading or smudging. Many, if not most, of the pages have detached from the binding. This is an excellent original early family and town town genealogy. Overall: Fair.; Manuscript; Folio - over 12" - 15" tall; KEYWORD: HISTORY OF, CHESTER COUNTY, WESTCHESTER, PENNSYLVANIA, GILBERT FAMILY, EDWIN GILBERT, FAMILY GENEALOGY, TOWN SCRAPBOOK, SUGARTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOL ASSOCIATION, EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, WORLD WAR 1 ERA, INTERWAR PERIOD, MATHEMATICS BOOK, DIARY, DIARIES, JOURNAL, PERSONAL HISTORY, FIRST HAND ACCOUNT, FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT, AMERICANA, HAND