One of two penmanship notebooks today from members of the Crouse family of Oppenheim, Montgomery County, NY, this one the work of young Nancy (b. 1817), sister of Peter, whose notebook is listed separately. This one is shorter, completed one year earlier, and contains some gems; I would have bought it for the first page shown here alone. "Honour Your Parents," "Evil communication corrupts good manners," and "Man is made to mourn," too. I've become aware that there is a relative lack of scholarship out there about American penmanship practice, especially pre-Spencerian, which makes each example like this feel notable and worthy of study, and of course they speak very directly of the values being instilled in children at particular moments in time, which tells us so much about the period in which they were written.--and seem now as if speaking pointedly to us anew, many of the phrases very pertinent to the present moment.
7 5/8" x 6 1/4", 12 pp filled (2 of those partially, as shown) plus one mostly torn out page. All pages documented. Ink clear and strong and totally readable throughout.
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