[Manuscript]: Miscellaneous Essays. Teaching English to German Children. Thesis submitted to the State Board of Examiners at the Keystone State Normal School. May 31, 1877 (with additional material)

[Kutztown], Pennsylvania: Keystone State Normal School, 1877. Hardcover. Near Fine. Manuscript text of a thesis on *Teaching English to German Children* with additional essays, lesson plans, and detailed financial accounts by a female language teacher. Contained in three contemporary blank books. Although not clearly identified the name "Caterina Rocquerina" (about whom we can find nothing) appears in the hand of the author, although it may also refer to a friend, or could be a nickname.

Three manuscript volumes as follows.

1. *Miscellaneous Essays. Teaching English to German Children. Thesis submitted to the State Board of Examiners at the Keystone State Normal School. May 31, 1877.* Quarto. Red half calf gilt and textured papercovered boards. Title page detached but present, light rubbing, near fine. The title essay or thesis consists of 68 pages. Neatly handwritten and easily readable, it contains approximately 18,000 words, with chapters and sections clearly delineated. There are additional essays covering 54 pages and comprising an additional approximately 14,000 words (for a total of 122 pages and approximately 32,000 words). The secondary essays cover a variety of subjects including *The Learned Profession, The Art of Pleasing, Saying No, It Takes Two to Quarrel, A Habit of Meditation* and others.

2. Financial Notes [1]. Small quarto. Red quarter calf and marbled paper covered boards. Slight rubbing, the final flyleaf has been trimmed and both that page and the rear pastedown have been used by someone else (a young male, likely) to trace his hand and the hand of his girlfriend, else near fine. Contains very detailed financial notes from 1876 to 1891 by the same person who wrote the essays, detailing pretty much every penny she spent and earned. The locations of her bank accounts seem to be from around Allentown, Pennsylvania, and many of her expenditures were for school supplies. Among her other expenditures are clothing that included dresses, silk, lace and other textiles.

3. Financial Notes [2]. Small quarto. Black quarter calf and marbled paper covered boards. Slight rubbing, the final flyleaf and last leaf of text (likely blank) have been removed, near fine. A few additional leaves have been laid in. Curiously, the white portions of the marbled paper have been filled with hard-to-decipher pencil notations, some possibly in Latin. Roughly the first half of the volume consists of 46 pages of lesson plans handwritten by the same person in French (except for the headers which are in English) comprising approximately 12,000 words. The second half of the volume again comprises very detailed financial notes from 1895 and 1896. In addition to her monthly expenses, there are pages for home improvements and gifts and contributions. Near the end are the names and addresses of two friends.

A small but interesting archive of material created by a female teacher in Pennsylvania.