Prudence Wells's (Shelburne, MA) Lovely Early 19th Century Penmanship Notebook miniature beaver Under glass

Under glass

To cash in

or something else entirely

perhaps a priest (

and wear to the mounting plate from a good bit of knocking

Prudence Wells's (Shelburne, MA) Lovely Early 19th Century Penmanship Notebook miniature beaver Under glassI made a trip to my favorite antiquarian book seller in Maine this week and scooped up a few old paper things, this early penmanship notebook, the work of a Prudence Wells of Shelburne, Massachusetts among them. (And I believe I've placed her, born in 1799, in Shelburne, Franklin, MA, married to a Thomas Nims in 1825, and living until to the age of 90 in Greenfield, MA.) Based on that, and its content, I believe this notebook dates to the late 1810s