A Place in My Chronicle: A New Edition of the Diary of Christopher Columbus Baldwin, 1829-1835

Written in diary form, Baldwin's work describes early life in Massachusetts through his daily excursions and observations of surroundings. Numerous illustrations and pictures expand the descriptions Baldwin gives readers in his entries. Additionally, Larkin and Sloat use footnotes to explain information, such as dates or places, that audiences may be unfamiliar with. Baldwin's entries detail a wide variety of subjects, including everyday occurrences, such as the weather and places he visited, as well as the obscure and unusual things that amused him. Also discussed are people Baldwin met, with an index in the back describing every person in detail, in addition to his feelings on important subjects, such as slavery and religion, and his passions for books and reading. Larkin and Sloat have restored Baldwin's diary to its most original form, including the format, style and language in which he wrote. Readers will have a thorough understanding of early Colonial life in Massachusetts after reading Baldwin's diary."The diaries of Christopher Columbus Baldwin have long been among the American Antiquarian Society's nineteenth-century treasures. Baldwin's 'chronicle' now has a modern edition worthy of its invaluable contents, richly illustrated and superbly annotated thanks to the labors of Jack Larkin and Caroline Sloat. In these pages, everyday life in central Massachusetts- courtship and death, career and travel- shares the stage with key national developments of the early republic, from party politics to temperance to phrenology. Through it all, Baldwin reveals the passion for reading and collecting books that made him AAS's ideal librarian at the time and a forebear to all the men and women who have built America's great research collections." - Scott Casper, professor of history, University of Nevada, Reno