A while ago I found this beautiful little record of days gone by documented in an 1896 Excelsior Diary. Today I finally sat down with it and really absorbed the way of life and the people. It truly is a mini time travel as I clearly see the notes and details hand written. And the world of information before technology, television, and Amazon. The loss of the simpler life, the genuine beauty and artfulness of an era is what I see in this little book. No doubt there was ugliness too, every era has it’s share. And the appreciation for modern indoor plumbing holds balance on the loss and gain scales.
Lets just take acasual stroll through the beginning pages and move on.
It has details of populations of the major cities and/or counties in the states, travel routes, postage rates, interest rate table, a the wages table- “based on the usual calculation of a 10 hour day”. Also the phases of the moon, planetary details, tide tables and more.
The Nostalgia For Handwriting
Just for perspective this time period, this year of 1896 was 31 years after the Civil War in the United States. This particular Excelsior Diary was published for the West Coast of the United States - California Oregon and Washington. I found it an Oregon estate sale.
The scythe and hour glass symbols, and the map is an interesting contrast to today's maps.
Routes of Travel pages with Modes of Conveyance, Distances and Rates of Fare from San Francisco.
These pages bring a history of places and people to life in an authenticity that seems so lacking in modern school books. And to grasp that a family had this this first hand record of an ancestor tucked away for 130 years, three or four generations, and then...and then the family faded while the ink on the pages remains.
I put together some pages of downloadable PDF SIDE NOTES that share more of the history and insights from the diary.
History PDF #30325a History PDF 30325b History PDF 30325c.
