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MRS. RICHARD H. GOTT : 1963 - 1965 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT TRAVEL DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY YOUNG AMERICAN WOMAN AND HER 'FULBRIGHTER' HUSBAND BASED IN AUSTRIA SEEING THE SIGHTS OF CROATIA, SERBIA, GREECE AND THE BALKANS

16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. On offer is an interesting account of a young woman's travels through the Balkans and Greece in the early 1960's. The notebook holds 148 pages and is approximately 48% complete. Also included is very detailed account of a visit to her home two years later by a close friend. The notebook measures 6.25 inches by 3.5 inches. It is in good condition and all pages are intact. The handwriting is clear and legible. The author who is unidentified, is a young American woman living with presumably her husband, Dick in Lienz, Austria. Quite likely, he is there on a Fulbright Scholarship as she records meeting another "Fulbrighter" en route [Apr 10]. In notes made 2 years later, they are married and living in California. The 37 pages of entries detail a driving trip they took from Lienz to Athens in April of 1963. While Dick drove, she observed and made notes each day. Much of it reads as a typical travelogue but there are many interesting observations. Driving through then Yugoslavia, she notes: "... People were plowing fields, spreading fertilizer, sowing, washing clothes in ponds, etc. The oxen and horse carts look quite primitive. The road from Zagreb to Belgrade was concrete but very bumpy. Few cars, Russian-made trucks. The men wear blue berets or black square hats, the women long black clothes and scarves. ..." [Apr 6]. The road conditions certainly seem quite poor and at one point: "... finally took off over a bridge, thru a field, up the bank & and back to the Autoput to Skopje - good little car ..." [Apr 7]. They meet celebrities along the way and folks who have had experiences in America: "I took a bath while Dick went to the bar for a scotch. ... He talked with Richard Widmark who coincidentally we also saw at the Walterspiel in München in'60. ..." [Apr 6]. "Stopped at bar for a martini. ... Looked up next to us only to see Sidney Poitier. ..." [Apr 14]. "Our guide was good. He had been on David Brinkley's show a while back ..." [ Apr 9]. She provides detail on the places they visit. They booked several tours in Athens: "... We visited the Propylaea, Temple of Wingless Victory, Parthenon, Erechteum (sic), The Peropolis ... The whole trip was fascinating, the city be autiful, the people very friendly, the crafts and souvenirs tasteful. ... From there we went to the Theatre of Dionyseus, drove past the Agora & the Stoa..." [Apr 9]. In other towns in Greece, the entries are similar - account of drive, details of what they ate and a listing of places they see. They return to Lienz on Apr 16th and she ends with this comment: "Back in the old routine - classes for Dick at 8 and 9. Fini. "[Apr 17]. Two years later, in 1965, in another section of the notebook, she records a 7 week visit to their home in Berkeley CA. Her friend is simply identified as "Lillie". Dick by this time is working: "Got up with Dick at 6:30 & he left for work at College of Marin at 7.15. ..." [July 26]. The College of Marin is highly regarded 2-year college in Marin County, CA. Over the seven weeks, she describes shopping trips with her friend, details of meals they eat and places they visit: "Slept late. Had breakfast on sundeck - sausage, eggs, pancakes, cantelope. We then drove to Tilden Park, The Botanical Gardens and to Jack London Square & the Bret Harte Boardwalk. We returned home - sat on the sundeck and munched and drank. Then we cleaned up & went to S.F. for a Japanese dinner at our favorite place. Parked the car in a lot, rode the trolley to North Beach, had Irish Coffee at Enricos where we were almost shortchange $10, visited Keane Gallery and took in a show at the Moulin Rouge ... returned about 2:30 am." [July 31]. Travel writers and geographers would be interested the descriptions of life and surroundings in the Balkans of the early 1960's. Especially from a comparative perspective. Social historians and researchers would find her descriptions of suburban life in California valuable when looking at lifestyles in the mid-1960's - a time of tremendous cultural change in the United States.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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