ANNA WEIMAR 1918 - 1919 HANDWRITTEN MANUSCRIPT WORLD WAR I DIARY OF A CHICAGO RED CROSS WORKER WITNESSING THE FINAL YEAR OF WORLD WAR ONE WHILE SHE SERVES IN NANTES FRANCE NANTES FRANCE 1918
16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall Manuscript On offer is the remarkable handwritten manuscript World War I diary authored by Red Cross worker, Anna Weimar, during the incredible final throes of the European conflict and from a front row seat being at a Naval Base in Nantes France. This 5.75" x 4.5" diary, page a day, is written from June 28, 1918 to June 27, 1919, the dates of Anna Weimar's service and time in France on assignment with the American Red Cross, Chicago Branch. Anna was born in 1869 [making her 49 years old] was a clerical worker at the Red Cross in Chicago, and served at a base hospital. Anna had clerical duties, but it is her involvement with patients at the hospital that is the essence of this diary as a World War I relic; she details visiting, writing letters for them, making them fudge, taking flowers to their graves, writing to their mothers when they died, and of course she does touristy things to going on tours to other cities and countries. She is a very dedicated diarist and writes fully and sometimes overwrites the page. Here are snippets: August 9, 1918: 2nd day out (sailing to France) Another beautiful day & a smooth sea-all eat three square meals a day-since lunch it has become very foggy and our convoys, which completely circled us is out of sight, altho they are only a short distance away- We all became very excited when we saw a white-cap, which never broke, following one of our convoys- thinking it was a sub- but found it was a fog-buoy- all boats trail them in a fog. We practiced life boat drill every day---the fog is lifting. Nov. 20, 1918: Last night the mess kitchen in #38 burned to the ground in ab't 10 min. It was a good thing it was the last bldg on the row and the wind blew in the right direction. I visited the isolation ward for the first time tonight and gave them tobacco. Its a dismal place. Harry Herman is getting on fine. Miss Anderson got a letter from home today, telling the death of her mother. My heart aches for her…." G. Good+
$C3385
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