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EDWARD EVERETT LOVEJOY : 1860s SUPER, ORIGINAL PAIR OF MANUSCRIPT DIARIES HANDWRITTEN BY A DEDICATED STUDENT OF THE NOTED NEWTON ENGLISH AND CLASSICAL SCHOOL

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. On offer is an outstanding pair of journals written at the outbreak of the American Civil War. Each volume measures 8 inches by 6 1/2 inches and contains 144 pages, essentially 100% complete. The journals run from April, 1861 through December, 1862. They are hard cover and the pages are intact and in good condition. The handwriting is clear and legible. The author is Edward Everett Lovejoy. Research shows that he was born in 1845 in Boston MA and died at age 70 in Bangor ME in 1915. At the time of writing, Lovejoy was a student at the well-known West Newton English and Classical School.( An Illustrated Biographical Catalogue of the Principals, Teachers, and Students of the West Newton English and Classical School, West Newton, Mass , p118) . This school was established by Nathaniel Topliff Allen and he was assisted by his brother, George. Both of these men and their brothers and wives were noted educators. Nathaniel Bell, George Bell and his wife are mentioned in the journals. To quote from historical notes associated with the Allen Papers: "The school was progressive in every way, providing equal educational opportunities for girls as well as boys in racially mixed classes. The inclusion of gymnastics as part of the educational offering along with a pure kindergarten, were also educational firsts. Allen required student's to keep daily journals that were critiqued every two weeks. ..." Lovejoy's diaries are certainly part of these daily journals. Not only are they scrupulously maintained, they are also evaluated and his teachers notes can be found in the margins. Most of the entries naturally refer to school life activities. He notes class presentations, assignments and daily interactions with staff and friends. He studied English, Grammar, Spelling, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Geography, Music and French as well as taking part in sports such as cricket, swimming and baseball. He was also elected 2nd Lieutenant for the schools cadet corps. "Mr. William read my name this morning to be in the first class in [ ]. I have been in Mr. James Allen's class ... but now I have to speak up here before the school and recite today in spelling. Mr. N.T. Allen gives us words from the dictionary and we write them in the little books and hand them in to him and he corrects them."[Apr 26, 1861] The margin note from his teacher reads: "Well begun in many respects. Sorry to see so many words misspelled". Today I recited in Botany then in Geography then in Grammar then in Natural Philosophy. We had a very hard [time] in Natural Philosophy. There were so many engines to explain about and explain all about the different pieces of machinery and their use" [May 22, 1861. He mentions a visit to the Boston Aquarial and Zoological Gardens and seeing a white whale (Beluga) [June 6] Slipped into that page is a printed excerpt from the Boston Journal describing the exhibit. By far the most interesting entry is dated April 21, 1861: "I heard that yesterday that a man on State Street Boston was discussing with another and one said something about secession and the other man drew a pistol and shot the other down but did not kill him..." [Apr 21, 1861] He goes on to describe a subsequent riot by a mob in Baltimore. This riot, known as the Baltimore Riot of 1861 or the Pratt Street Massacre took place when a mob of Confederate sympathizers set upon a column of Union soldiers passing through to Washington. It resulted in the first Union deaths of the Civil War: "... while the troops were marching along, one man snatched a musket from one of the troop and shot him through the back and killed him ..." [Apr 21, 1861]. The Civil War came to his door when his parents visited him at school to tell him that an acquaintance who worked for his father had died from exposure on duty. [May 26, 1862]. Records indicate that after graduating, he went into business, apparently trading in lumber and stocks. These two journals are an outstanding resource for a historian studying American education in the mid19th century. They provide a fascinating glimpse into the efforts during this time of turmoil to provide a classical education to young people. They could also form the basis for an interesting comparison to education efforts today.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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