Handwritten Books by Alice Fairbank x1907

History

This lovely archive came from a descendent of Alice Fairbank x1907, cleaning out the attic. They are in great condition and very legible. They all date between 1903 and 1906, although none of them have physical dates on them except for the diary.

The Images

The covers of the books are available here, plus a little bit of a description for each.

• French Notebook (1899)
  
  • Looks like it may be a notebook of themes (homework)? Some small dates in red ink on some pages, all 1899. It must be from high school.
    

• Chemistry Notebook (1903)
  
  • From her high school (Bromfield School) - inscription on front end paper signed by her two instructors certifiying that she has completed her experiments according to their instructions
    

• Standard Diary (1903)
  
  • Signed on the front end paper.
    
  • Daily entries throughout the year. Arrived at Mount Holyoke on Sept 15.
    
  • Lists kept after the diary entries: financial records for the fall, street addresses for correspondence, books read, letters written
    
  • A few folded inserts: Christmas greetings, an ad for a Worcester conference, a carbon-paper duplicate of a list of socials (not her handwriting)
    

• Memo Book (1903)
  
  • Signed on the front cover
    
  • Notes from classes in the fall of 1903
    

• Memo Book (1904)
  
  • Signed with her address on the front cover
    
  • According to the MHC dorm directories, she lived in 10 Wilder in 1904-1905
    
  • Notes about assignments due between October and January
    

• Literature Notebook (1904-1905)
  
  • Signed with her address on the front cover
    
  • According to the MHC dorm directories, she lived in 10 Wilder in 1904-1905
    
  • Notes from her class; textbook appears to have been "English Literature from the Beguivilles [?] to the Norman Conquest" by Stofford Brooke
    
  • Three carbon copies of a chemistry assignment laid in; doesn't look like her handwriting, but since it's the same handwriting as the carbon in her diary
    

• Astronomy Notebook (1903-1905)
  
  • Her card is glued to the front cover
    
  • Numerous inserts related to the class laid in
    
  • Dated entries inside show entries from 1903, 1904, and 1905
    
  • Hand drawn star maps and sketches of planets and their satellites
    

• Notebook (undated, circa 1903-1905)
  
  • Stamped with her name on the cover
    
  • Cover includes many Mount Holyoke dormitory addresses in pencil and ink
    
  • Inside cover includes her weekly class schedule
    
  • Notebook is nearly empty; includes an intro to a French class, and then two pages on random subjects like "buy 13 stamps"
    
  • A rather fierce song, to the tune of "Way Down in my heart" - "Way down in my heart / I'd like to punch your face / And if you were here / I'd make your clothes into lace / If you say a word / I'll give the undertaker a case / Because I'd like to punch your face"
    

• Analytic Geometry Bluebook (1904)
  
  • Signed and identified on the front cover; she got a B- on the exam
    
  • Other bluebooks in this archive (not scanned):
    
    • French 5 (undated); corrected but ungraded
      
    • Astronomy II (May 22, 1905); she got a C+ on the exam
      
    • Astronomy II & III (undated); she got a C on the exam
      
    • Astronomy III (Mar 27, 1905); she got a B- on the exam
      
    • Literature (Dec 15); corrected but ungraded; a note from the grader on the last page read: "You are doing fair work. I wonder if it cant be a more vigorous, interested kind and much better? I'd be glad to talk the matter over with you. B.K.Y." The grader was Professor Bertha Kedzie Young.
      
    • Literature (Mar 14, 1905); corrected but ungraded; a note from the grader on the last page read: "Your last answer is fairly good, because you have kept to the point under discussion and have used particular proof instead of vague generalization. W. Smith." There is no faculty member or student named W. Smith, so I don't know who wrote this notation.
      
    • Literature (May 11, 1905); corrected but ungraded
      

• Latin Notebook (undated, circa 1903-1905)
  
  • "Notebook No. I"
    
  • Undated assignments, corrected in red ink
    

• Latin Notebook (undated, circa 1903-1905)
  
  • "Notebook No. 2"
    
  • Undated assignments, corrected in red ink
    

• "Plane Trigonometry Book I, p. 1-55" (undated, circa 1903-1905)
  
  • Undated assignments
    
  • Other notebooks from this class (not scanned):
    
    • Plane Trigonometry p. 55-83
      
    • Plane Trigonometry p. 83-109
      
    • Untitled, but similar contents and starts at page 109
      
  • The textbook for the class: Plane and Spherical Trigonometry by Ashton and Marsh
    

• Astronomy Notebook (1904-1905)
  
  • Notes from observations in 1904 and 1905; some corrections in red ink. The professor must have done the corrections; it's the same handwriting as the astronomy inserts in her literature notebook
    

• Latin Notebook (1904)
  
  • One entry dated Jan 16, 1904, but rest of the notebook appears to be undated
    
  • Address on the front cover does not coincide with any of her dorm directory listings