1908 - 1912 Diary Of Young Socialite MARJORIE O. WILSON - N. Y. Incl. European Tour
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:4284108 |
We are very pleased to offer a handwritten five-year diary (1908-1912) of a very active young socialite named Marjorie O. Wilson, who lived in the New York City/State area, but traveled extensively. Marjorie apparently graduated from the "Misses Masters' Boarding and Day School for Young Ladies" founded as an all-girls private school in 1877 by Eliza Bailey Masters, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Miss Masters was determined that her school would not be the typical “finishing s...chool.” Although her earliest students did not traditionally go on to college, they studied a liberal arts curriculum that included Latin, mathematics, and astronomy. Miss Masters instilled in her “girls” the need to live useful, orderly lives based on truthfulness, integrity, and responsibility. Marjorie Wilson would have been about 18 years old when she started the diary, and it describes the life of a privileged and very busy young woman of that period. Her life is a whirlwind of events; in the summertime, she would travel to the Connecticut shoreline (Old Saybrook, Madison, Clinton, Essex) where she spent her time playing tennis, baseball, sailing, swimming, etc. In the winter, there was skiing and skating. While in the New York area, she would attend the theater, concerts, opera, Hockey games (Yale, especially), dinners, movies, fancy dress balls. She mentions seeing Caruso, Pavlova, the Russian Ballet, and other famous performers of the day, and rates their performances. She walked extensively, and made as many as six social calls per day. A few of times a week, Marjorie had appointments to brush or wash her hair, which must have been quite long and needed to be professionally taken care of. She appears to have had many friends, and there are several descriptions of weddings she attended and was a part of. Around 1910 or 1911 she boarded a cruise ship for the "Grand Tour" of Europe, and describes her daily activities in England, France, Italy, etc. and the voyage back to New York. Also mentioned are trips to Chicago, Montreal/Ottawa, Princeton, California, Boston and other various locations. Her friend Elinor Meacham married Samuel Chester Hamilton in Chicago, and there are clippings of the bride and wedding. festivities. This diary is chock-full of first-hand accounts in the life of a young woman of upper-class status in the early 1900s. We think that because of the restrictions placed on young women of the day (like the constrictive clothing, excessive morality, etc.) they weren't as active or free-thinking as Marjorie appears to have been. This was probably a result of Miss Master's educational philosophy for young girls, which pushed them to do more with their lives than was expected at that time. The diary is in very good condition, with a strong binding and no missing pages, tears, stains, etc. It's absolutely complete, with no blank areas. Entertaining, informative and well-written!
The winning bidder pays shipping costs. Good luck, and thanks for looking!
On Aug-07-19 at 09:29:37 PDT, seller added the following information:Here is some extra information I found in my research:
Marjorie Otis Wilson Fisher was born on September 10 1887.
Marjorie married Edward Fisher.
Marjorie passed away on March 13 1965, at age 77.
She was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Farmington, Connecticut, United States.
Edward Fisher Jr. was born on August 21, 1920 in Stamford, Ct., son of the late Edward Fisher and Marjorie Otis Wilson Fisher.
00089
The winning bidder pays shipping costs. Good luck, and thanks for looking!
On Aug-07-19 at 09:29:37 PDT, seller added the following information:Here is some extra information I found in my research:
Marjorie Otis Wilson Fisher was born on September 10 1887.
Marjorie married Edward Fisher.
Marjorie passed away on March 13 1965, at age 77.
She was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Farmington, Connecticut, United States.
Edward Fisher Jr. was born on August 21, 1920 in Stamford, Ct., son of the late Edward Fisher and Marjorie Otis Wilson Fisher.
00089
