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     MANUSCRIPTS and ARCHIVAL MATERIAL

Chestnuts manuscript newspaper

 Collection — Box: BW 51, Folder: 1
Identifier: MSS 16743

Content Description

This collection consists of 26 handwritten amateur newspapers titled "Chestnuts,"by a group of ten girls calling themselves "WG's," the Woodfords Girls, who lived in the Woodfords neighborhood of Portland, Maine. It is likely they attended Deering High School, as the initials DHS appear several times.

The newspapers contain original poetry, personals, advertisements, and editorials. Some include several small ink sketches. A few of the issues include riddles, local crime and fake police activity, and local business activity. The back page of each issue features a series of advertisements, with a focus on "medicinal" products reminiscent of printed newspapers of the day.

There are ten issues of "Chestnuts," volumes 1-10, plus ten supplements. The girls later renamed the newspaper "Hawthorne" and the run includes volumes 1-3 of this paper, plus three supplements. The newspapers are four pages and are laid into a hand decorated wrapper titled "Chestnuts Vol I, " also listing the names of the ten girls who contributed to the newspaper.

Dates

  • Creation: 1888-1889

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Extent

0.03 Cubic Feet (1 letter-size folder)

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was purchased from Caroliniana by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on August 24, 2020.

Genre / Form

Title
Chestnuts manuscript newspaper
Status
Completed
Author
Ellen Welch
Date
2023-02-17
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library Repository

Contact:
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
P.O. Box 400110
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22904-4110 United States