A small leather-bound diary of a middle-class housewife with short daily entries from to January 1904 to January 1905. Daily routine entries regarding housecleaning cooking tea clutches church going and weather. And etc. Although the writer doesn't give her name or location the provenance is known to be the Ottawa Valley probably Arnprior. Many names are mentioned in the diary presenting a challenge for identification of the writer
1905Best.-Nr. 43844Ottawa Valley. Manuscript 1905. A Very Good Copy. 24mo. 13.5cm circa 200 pages in manuscript black ink closely written fairly legible in full maroon limp fine grain calf typical diary type binding of the day french marbled endpapers and edges some slight edge wear rear inner paper over the hinge is broken this is common with diaries as they were opened flat and pressed down for writing in the text is clean and sound ~ all considered Middle-class women were not expected to write professionally in Victorian / Edwardian times. Diaries however gave these ladies an opportunity to express themselves in print. This fine example is probably part of a series of her output. Diaries of this era were more commonly done by the Upper classes describing vacation trips and scenery clippings chromo litho flora printing and cards poetry. Full length day to working day diaries are much less common even rare. Ottawa Valley. Manuscript unknown
