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PETER H. CHRISTIE : 1871 ORIGINAL FASCINATING PAIR OF MANUSCRIPTS: A HAND WRITTEN DIARY DETAILING A NEAR IDYLLIC LIFE BY THE MAN WHO PIONEERED TROUT FARMING IN AMERICA ALONG WITH A ONE PAGE TALE OF CIVIL WAR HORROR

4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. On offer is a fascinating combination including a diary from 1871 and a handwritten manuscript fragment referring to the American Civil War.This small diary measures 5 inches by 3 inches and the leather-bound volume is in good condition. It contains 365 pages plus memorandum pages and is about 53% complete. Entries are in ink until June 11 and subsequently pencil until August 29 when entries cease. There is a 2 week gap in May as well. The handwriting is small but legible. The manuscript is a single page of paper measuring about 10 inches by 8 inches. The handwriting is in pencil and covers both sides. From context, a reader can see that the manuscript page is part of a larger document as text simply continues on to it and then leaves again in mid-sentence. The handwriting is in pencil and is still legible. PH Christie is the author of the diary. He lives in or near the hamlet of Cove, in Dutchess County, NY. Peter Harrison Christie (1838-1925), was a one of the first farmers in the United States to experiment with the hatching of fish. His business is mentioned in U.S. Senate documents, New York State documents in 1870s and 1880s, and in book "American Fish Culture" published in 1874. There are tantalizing references to a PH Christie of Cove, Duchess County, NY in a 1916 article of the American Fern Journal mentioning a farm owned by one PH Christie and some magazine articles related to fishing and trout farming. He was a secretary of the Hudson River Association for the Protection of Game and Fish since 1860s and a member of the County Committee appointed in 1877 "to stock the waters of the county and enforce laws relative to the taking of fish". P.H. Christie is also mentioned as a teacher of an evening penmanship course at Bryant, Stratton, Spencer & Co Business College in Cove. In the diary, Christie appears to be a young man still living at home on the family farm. Entries focus around his work and describe many of the day-to-day tasks necessary to keep the farm running: "...worked all day about the house fixing the sausage machine, fixing the [ ] and hanging up the fresh [ ] and cut the sausage and got the work about done ... [Jan 8] "... got my sleigh shoes patter made ..." [Jan 10]. A number of entries refer to him raising chickens and the care of them: "... took care of my fowls and worked in the Hatching House with [ ] until 2 PM" [Apr 9]. Tucked between pages, are 2 interesting articles cut out of newspapers. One is an article referring to bottles tossed into the ocean containing messages. It is undated. The second is a longer article about the headstone of a young man who died far from home. The interesting aspect of this however, are the notations on the reverse. It is apparently an article extolling the virtues of some cough drops and contains dated testimonial comments. The notes are dated 1824, 1825 and 1826. There is no other identifying information. The manuscript page is gripping. It recounts a sharp argument between the writer and a woman named Mary. We don't know their relationship but context indicates they are very close. She is determined to set off on an unspecified mission and he is adamant that she stay. She goes anyways, promising to return by evening. When she does not return, the writer goes out to find her. He approaches a nearby village where he discovers a patrol of Negro soldiers, part of the Union army. He describes a scene of destruction and drunkenness and saw a woman her naked body lay(ing) face down on the ground. That however is not Mary and the page ends with him slipping away from the scene. This is an absolutely fascinating primary historical document. This is as close to real-life as any reader will get to the raw feelings of worry and fear that exist the ugly small encounters in a bloody war. Academic to readers - utterly real to this man. The diary offers a very ordinary, almost bucolic picture of farming in 19th century America as Mr. Christie goes about his chores, meets his friends and family and visits with neighbours. The manuscript recalls the horrors and naked violence of a war ended a mere 6 years earlier that cost 2/3 of a million lives. The contrast is stark. These documents would be valuable to a historian interested either in the Civil War or in rural life in America.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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