Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 949

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.1 linear_foot (2 volumes in 1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Mamie A. Jones autograph album and sketchbook, 1869-1901, Ms. Coll. 949, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1869-1901 (inclusive)

Creator:

Jones, Mamie A.

Form:

Autograph albums, Drawings (visual works), and Sketchbooks

Abstract:

Mamie A. Jones was a young woman from Philadelphia who was probably a Quaker. She created two volumes, an autograph album and a sketchbook, which document both her role in a fairly wide social circle as well as her substantial artistic talent.

The creator of these two volumes was a young woman from Philadelphia named Mamie A. Jones. It is presumed that Mamie was Quaker as she wrote Friends Central School, Philadelphia on the flyleaf of one of the volumes. Because it is a strong possibility that "Mamie" is a nickname for either Mary or Margaret, further information about her is difficult to obtain with certainty. It is probable, however, that Mamie Jones came from a fairly well-to-do family where education was considered important. Her artistic talent was almost certainly cultivated, and her handwriting is exquisitely precise. Further, Mamie appears to have enjoyed a wide social circle through her school and family.

This collection consists of two volumes kept by a Mamie A. Jones, who lived in Philadelphia during the 1870s and early 1880s. Volume 1 is an autograph album with decorative red-leather covers and the title "Album of Remembrance" embossed in gold on the front cover. It is inscribed on the endpaper "Mamie A. Jones from Rosie C. Hull, Christmas 1869." On the next leaf, Mamie wrote Friends Central School, Philadelphia. This volume contains short verses and/or quotations regarding friendship and signed by friends and family members, including Mamie's mother. The earliest autograph is dated 1873 and the latest is dated 1878. In addition, there are leaves with calligraphic ink drawings by Mamie. The entries and engravings in this volume are on the verso.

Volume 2 is a sketchbook with blue cloth covers embossed on the front with black and gold decorations and the title "Autographs." This volume contains eighteen leaves of pen-and-ink drawings and pencil sketches of animals and people signed by Mamie A. Jones and dating from 1880 to 1881. The drawings, many of which include captions, are technically superior and document humorous scenes, largely of a domestic nature. Sketches include: "Harmony and Discord," (a cat family), a ram at school, owls, "The Spring House Cleaning," "The Spring House Cleaning Continued," "A Song of Spring" (ducklings in a hat), "Caught in a Shower" (birds under a fern), a picnic, birds on a tree branch, "The early bird catches the worm," a mother and baby owl, "Use Green Conqueror," artistic lettering of the months of the year, and what appears to be an incomplete sketch of courting frogs on the end paper. The majority of the volume is blank.

In addition to the two volumes, there are several items that were probably originally laid into the volumes. There is an image of an owl painted on silk fabric, three small clippings, and a letter dated 1901 addressed to "Dear Idiot" and signed G. Y. Pyle.