Richard S. Ellis Jr. exercise book

Content Description

This collection contains an exercise book of Richard S. Ellis, Jr. ( 1825-1867) of Richmond, Virginia, from 1843, when he was a student at the University of Virginia. The notebook was then repurposed into a book of recipes by his sister-in-law, Katherine Merry Perkins. This book was originally used by Robert S. Ellis when he was a student at the University of Virginia, 1843-1844. Written in Ellis' neat hand with hand-drawn rule at the head and margins of each page and with flourished titles, "French exercises," "Spanish exercises," and "Notes on Junior French." On the final page, Ellis signs, "End of French exercises for Sess. 1843-44, Richard Shelton Ellis, Jr. July '44." Ellis married Anne Frances Perkins, who was known as Nannie. The title page includes Ellis’ name as well as the signature “ K.M. Perkins, Solitude, 1849.” Katherine was Anne’s older sister, and they were both raised at "Solitude," the Perkins homestead. Katherine used every blank page for her recipes, and in many cases, she pasted the clippings over Ellis' exercises. The album is filled with dozens of recipes, measurement conversions, cooking and baking instructions, and ingredient substitutions, written on nearly every available blank space. Printed and clipped recipes, as well as hand-written recipes, are laid in, and many are pasted in over Ellis' "French exercises," and "Spanish exercises." At least one recipe is sewn in with simple stitches.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased from Jerry Showalter, 29 April 2026.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No