1910 - 1930 ORIGINAL GROUP OF 12 MANUSCRIPT DIARIES DETAILING 19 YEARS IN THE LIFE: FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO HOBOKEN AND ENGINEERING STUDENT TO ENSIGN IN THE US NAVY

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On offer is a fascinating, original collection of 12 manuscript diaries spanning a 19 year period of time in early 20th Century America.1910 diary measures 5.5' x 3.5', has 52 page s plus extensive memoranda, and is 90% complete; 1911 diary is 5.0' x 3.5', has 122 pages and 100% complete; 1912 - 5.0' x 3.0', has 122 pages plus extensive memoranda, and 100% complete; 1916 -6.0' x 3.25', has 122 pages plus extensive memoranda, and 90% complete; 1918 -5.0' x 3.0', has 122 pages plus extensive memoranda, and 100% complete; ; 1919 -5.0' x 3.0', has 365 pages plus extensive memoranda, and 80% complete; 1920 -6.0' x 3.0', has 365 pages plus extensive memoranda, and 60% complete; 1921 - 4.5' x 2.75', has 73 pages plus memoranda, and 100% complete; 1922 -4.75' x 3.25', has 183 pages plus memoranda, and 75% complete; 1927 - 5.5' x 3.0', has 52 pages, and 75% complete; 1928 - 6.0' x 3.5', has 183 pages, and 65% complete; 1929 - 6.0' x 3.0', has 365 pages, and 100% complete; all diaries are in good condition, the covers of the 1910 and 1918 diaries are in fair condition. These diaries belonged to Frank S. Cummings who lived most of his life in California. Cummings was born July 24th 1894. The 1910 and 1911 diaries were written when he was in high school - ages 16 and 17. It is full of the day-to-day experiences of a high school-aged boy: "School again. Aud. Call in 5th period. Prof Galey talks to boys. But tickets at [ ]. Finish riding 300 miles on my bicycle" [Apr 28, 1910]; "Lecture on Liquid Air in Aud. the 4th period. After lesson, walk to [ ] and hunt for music book. Cannot find it. Finish studying early. [June 13, 1910]; "Rain. Aud call 4th period. Man talks on Lincoln. Excused for rest of the day. ... No lesson." [Feb 13, 1911]; "Spring vacation this week. Work on wheel. Take bath. Leave 3:00 for Mrs. Bierlich's. Home early. Go to Ms. Aston's after supper. Home 10:35." [Apr 10, 1911]. While there are references to his mother and aunts and uncles, there is no reference to his father or to siblings. He graduates in 1912 and enrolls in the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. Stevens is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely dedicated to mechanical engineering and the diary for 1916 covers some his experiences there as a student. "Computation exercise in Elect. Labs. Study some with Boards 4:15 home go to show "Mary Page" [Apr 6, 1916]; "Commencement 10:30 Go over early. Assemble in "P Lab" ... go up to Castle stay there all afternoon ..." [Jun 6, 1916]. For some entries, context suggests that while in College, he enrolled in the U.S. armed forces reserves, specifically the U.S. Naval Reserve Force: "Lecture by General Wood on 'Preparedness' 12:00 - 1:00. 2:03 home. Go down town. Concert at Women's Club, East Orange. Met [ ]. Home 12:00." [Feb 16, 1916]; "Lecture by Capt. Steward 5th Infantry on Organization of the Army ..." [Feb 23, 1916]. In Sept, 1916, he returned to Stevens to both study as well as to teach as an instructor in the Electrical Department. In 1918, it is clear that he has enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve Force and has been commissioned an Ensign. Entries on what are obviously pages from a military note book indicate that he was engaged in recruiting activities: "FROM: F.S.C. Ensign USNRF TO: Lieutenant Com. F.L. Pryor SUBJECT: Report 1. The enrollment in the naval sections of the S.A.T.C. at both the Univ of Calif and Stanford was less than that desired, Instead of a unit of 500 at U of C, there were only about 350 enrolled on Oct 4; of these only about 100 were engineers, instead of 300. At Stanford out of a desired unit of 100 engineers there were enrolled about 85, of which about 50 were engineers. ..." [Oct 8, 1918]; "Got promotion to Lieutenant j.g. ..." [Jan. 16, 1919]. On Apr 19th 1919, he received orders to report to the USS DeKalb in Newport News. USS DeKalb was a converted German navy commerce raider that had been interned by US Customs for overstaying her time in a neutral port. When the United States entered the war, she was seized and turned over to the US Navy. On Apr 28th, he sailed with her to France where she picked up troops to return home from the war. They returned to the United States on May 23rd. He was released from active service May 26th, 1919. He immediately returned to California and began to look for work. He was successful and began working July 9th at the rate of 40¢ / hour. His diaries for the following years detail his work at various firms in the electro-mechanical field. There are many references to social activities and people he shares time with. Most diaries contain extensive lists of expenses and, in the war years, additional notes of his recruiting efforts. Although there is no other biographical information on Cummings, the diaries paint a very good picture of his life over this 19 year period. Indeed, a social historian would see they could serve as a wider picture of daily life in these early years of the 20th century. An economic researcher or an economist would appreciate the wealth of detail in his extensive records of daily expenses on a wide range of items over this near-two decade period of time; Manuscript; 24mo - over 5" - 5¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF; UNITED STATES; CALIFORNIA; FRANK S. CUMMINGS; STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY; HOBOKEN, NJ. 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