If we still kept friendship albums, perhaps we'd all feel a bit more grounded--two examples listed today divided by nearly 100 years, which to read now is to feel like the two young women who kept them were surrounded by people invested in their well being and future selves. This one, kept by a young Helen (sometimes Hellen) Pettit, given to her on the 8th birthday, is not at all full, but it's a sweet early one, 1830s, with an interesting mix of messages and an interesting mix of handwriting styles--this was before Spencerian writing became the norm--with much of that handwriting impossibly tiny! Mostly verses ("sweet flower, so young so fresh so fair"; "Down in a green and shady bed a modest violet grow.."; "Learn to dissemble wrongs, to smile at injuries...") and a proverb or two. But also a lovely, very quiet graphite drawing of a bird, and this sweet little sketch of blooming flowers from Sarah.

4 3/4" x 3 3/4". Approx 100 pages, 25+ entries in a mix of ink and graphite--a good number of them but not all documented. Some bold and easy to read, others require a bit of patience and a magnifier! Entries interspersed throughout. Good condition, hard, marbled cover with leather spine. Scattered light stains and toning spits as pictured.