"Baby Dear" -- Baby Book of Richard Elton Chalker (died at 7 mos.)
United States: 1929. A lovingly produced and heartbreaking baby book with hand-painted silk album cover for Richard Elton Chalker (1929-1930), a baby who died at the age of 7 months of bronchial pneumonia and whooping cough. The book includes: a two-page typewritten account of the baby's illness and subsequent death, in emotional and visceral detail; a family tree; height and weight measurements; a list of baby gifts; his birth flower and stone (Morning Glory, Sapphire); date of first automobile ride (at Landsdowne Airport); date of firth tooth; newspaper clippings with death announcements; a handwritten account of his ill health and death; a list of first Christmas gifts; and two photos of the infant, including a post-mortem image of him in his casket. Oblong 12mo album measures approx. 6" by 9.25"; approx. 50 unnumbered leaves, interleaves, most unused, secured in an album with watered silk cover, hand painted with floral design and the title "Baby Dear" Very good. Upper board split. Minor stains, wear to silk.
Price: $275.00
Item #23002904