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Elizabeth, I can't wait to work with this collection, Gail Desler "Elizabeth L. Brown" wrote: > ---------------------- Information from the mail header ----------------------- > Sender: American Memory Fellows <[log in to unmask]> > Poster: "Elizabeth L. Brown" <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Additional of George Washington Diaries to the American Memory > online > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > This announcement is being sent to a number of lists. Please accept our > apologies for any duplicate postings. > > The National Digital Library Program and the Manuscript Division at the > Library of Congress and the University Press of Virginia are pleased to > announce the release of the documentary edition The Diaries of George > Washington on the American Memory Collections Web site at > <http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/> The Diaries are the work of the > editors of The Papers of George Washington at the University of > Virginia. Also included in this release is the remainder of Series 4, > General Correspondence, completing the online presentation of the George > Washington Papers at the Library of Congress. > > George Washington's diaries (1748-1799) offer a unique window into the > daily life of the most celebrated founder of the United States. Unlike > Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and Benjamin Franklin, > Washington kept a daily diary for much of his life, from his first > surveying trip in 1748 until December 13, 1799, the day before his > death. The Library of Congress holds thirty-seven of fifty-one known > diary volumes and diary fragments. The published documentary edition, > The Diaries of George Washington, edited by Donald Jackson and Dorothy > Twohig, includes all fifty-one diaries and diary fragments. This release > makes all these materials available to the public as searchable text and > as bitonal and grayscale page images. The Diaries are one of six series > in the documentary edition The Papers of George Washington > (http://www.virginia.edu/gwpapers/) published by the University Press of > Virginia (http://www.upress.virginia.edu/index.html). > > The documentary edition provides diary introductions and annotations > that identify all persons mentioned in the texts, explain their > relationship to Washington and his activities, and are often accompanied > by portrait reproductions. The editors have identified the slaves and > white artisans Washington employed on his farms, as well as the plants, > crops, implements, and mechanical devices with which he experimented. > Historical background about major events in Washington's life clarifies > and enriches the significance of the diary texts. The volumes feature a > variety of maps and illustrations. > > During the course of his life Washington kept many different kinds of > diaries: travel diaries; diaries devoted to specific events; and most > consistently daily diaries of weather, work, and events at Mount Vernon > and his various farms. He kept diaries during his visit to Barbados in > 1751-52 with his half-brother Lawrence who was seeking to recover his > health; and for his expeditions to the Ohio River region in 1753-54, > during the preliminary phases of the French and Indian (or Seven Year) > War. He began his Revolutionary War diary at Yorktown in 1781, lamenting > "not having attempted it from the commencement of the War, . . . ." At > the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, Washington sent > to Mount Vernon for his current diary volume so he could maintain it > while he presided over the convention's proceedings. Significant diaries > for Washington's presidency from 1789-1796 survive in the form of > journals of presidential tours of New England in 1789 and of the South > in 1791. > > Washington began keeping daily diaries of his life at Mount Vernon by > 1760. Mount Vernon became his property in 1758, and eventually it > consisted of five separate farms. Washington was devoted to its > expansion and development, and the "diaries are a monument to that > concern," as the editors of the documentary edition note (vol. I, p. > xxvi). Often kept in the blank pages of published Virginia almanacs, > Washington's entries record family, neighborhood, and local events; > weather; and most importantly his transition from planter to farmer, > from his early frustrating efforts with the cash crop tobacco to a > commitment to diversification and production for a domestic market and > his abiding interest in experimentation with the latest agricultural > methods. Shortly before his death, Washington was drafting yet another > plan for crop rotation and new farming operations. > > The definitive transcriptions, introductory essays, and rich annotation > provided by The Diaries of George Washington offer a unique opportunity > to explore the thoughts, activities, and historical world of one of our > nation's essential founders. The online presentation of these materials > now makes them available to a much wider audience than ever before. > > Please direct all questions to [log in to unmask] > _________________________________________________________ > > Elizabeth L. Brown > Automated Reference Services Librarian > National Digital Library Program, LIBN/NDL/LC(1330) > Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540-1330 > [log in to unmask] telephone: 202/707-2235 > > Library of Congress American Memory Home Page: > http://memory.loc.gov/ > _________________________________________________________