Stayed in all after noon. Shampooed my hair with orris root and went down street. I was in the library and Tom came up. We came up home and talked and sang until 9:30. Mama had such a headache she had to retire."
found photograph
from The Delineator, October 1908, page 532
from The Delineator, October 1908, page 533
(The Delineator was a women’s fashion magazine published by the Butterick Publishing Company from 1873 to 1937. It featured fashion illustrations and sewing patterns for women, children and dolls. The magazine also included articles on household management, recipes, etiquette, fiction, etc.)
Had Algebra this morning. Flunked, I know. Didn't have to go to school this afternoon. Went down to see Lelia. Had some peanuts and a lot of fun. Saw Tom a good many times. Went to the Basket Ball game this evening. Marietta beat S.H.S. good game though."
Tom (a page from Richard Carlton Dumas' school composition book)
Had zoology this morning. American Lit. this afternoon. Lelia and I went up to the Tuberculosis display this evening and then to the nickelodeon with Tom. Tom went around to Aunt L. with me and Cecil C. was there. Mama came around after the lecture and we all came home."
Exams to morrow! Zoology in the morning and Am. Lit. in the afternoon. Flunk in Am. Lit. sure. Saw Tom at noon. Went down street this evening. Down to Jones; then to Spencers; then to show, got some soda water and came home. Papa went to Middlebourne this morning."
found photograph
Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favorite authors. Right now I'm reading her novel, The Gravedigger's Daughter.
Here's an excerpt from the book to tempt and tease you:
"She was calling, "Ma? Ma--" childish and pleading.
Somehow she'd entered the stone house. Knowing perhaps she should not, there was danger here. A woman, a stranger, had called at her, to warn her. Rebecca had not listened, and Rebecca had not clearly seen the wounded man lying on the ground, in the cemetery.
She had not! She would claim she had not, afterward.
What she did remember was: laundry flapping on the clothesline.
Her belated realization, Ma would be mad as hell at her. For Rebecca should have helped with the laundry as always.
Yet: It can't happen, today is washday.
In the kitchen something blocked her way, and this was a wrong thing: a chair, sprawled on its back. Rebecca collided with the chair like a blind girl, wincing with pain.
"Ma?"
Calling for her mother but her voice came so faint, Anna Schwart could not have heard had Anna Schwart been capable of hearing.
Then she called for her father--"Pa? Pa?"--reasoning even in this moment of terror He would want me to acknowledge him, to respect him.
She was in the kitchen of the old stone house, and hearing the sound of struggle in one of the back rooms. Her parents' bedroom?
She was panting, covered in a film of cold sweat. Her heart was beating erratically as a wounded bird beating its wings. All that she knew, she was forgetting. Laundry? Washday? She was forgetting. Already she'd forgotten the unknown woman crying Don't go in there!--stop her! She'd forgotten having heard gunshots; she could not have said how many shots she'd heard. And so she would not have thought He has reloaded. He is prepared. For it is an important distinction in such matters: if a man acts impulsively, or with premeditation."
In the video below, Oates talks about creating characters and the main character from The Gravedigger's Daughter, Rebecca Schwart.
"January 24 - Went to school. My side hurt me so this afternoon I had to come home and take my corset off. We (orchestra) are going to have a concert the 18 of Feb. 10 cent admission. Hope it will be a success."
found photograph from my collection
I prefer to spend as much time as possible in pajamas and boxer shorts, however, Clara's diary mentioned corsets... I found these beautiful corsets and corset-related artworks below on Etsy. Please visit the shops by clicking on their links!
Hi! I'm a mixed media and beadwork artist from Savannah, GA. My work is inspired by mourning art and explores the themes of love, loss and grief. If you have any questions or are interested in purchasing my artwork, please contact me by email. Thanks for stopping by and visiting my art blog and website!
found photograph
from The Delineator, October 1908, page 532
from The Delineator, October 1908, page 533
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