Diaries, 1906-1912, 1928-1935, 1937-1944

This collection consists of twenty-three diaries written by Chapman J. French during the years of 1906-1912, 1928-1935, and 1937-1944. Each diary meticulously details Chapman's day-to-day life, including the weather, work projects, social outings, leisure activities, and travel information. In the back of each diary, there are cost accounts; addresses; major league baseball scores; births, deaths, and marriages lists; Christmas shopping lists; work notes and equations; and recipes, mostly of the alcoholic drink variety. Most diaries commence with a reward offer if the diary is lost, ranging from 50 cents to a dollar.

Some notable diary entries include lyrics to, "Starkle Starkle Little Twink" by Charlie Drake in a 1944 diary and a political advertisement depicting an elephant farting with the words, "Prosperity is in the air The G.O.P. Brand" in a 1932 diary. Although Chapman's journal entries usually relate just the facts of the day, he pens a strong opinion about golf in the back of a 1928 diary: "A useless game that needlessly prolongs the worthless lives of unnecessary citizens." In a 1911 diary, various word puzzles are scattered throughout the entries. In a January 4 entry of the same diary, Chapman writes, "Eat, drink, be merry, seize the present hour, know not the future holds a fairer flower. What is remembered dies, what is written lives. (Guess this won't die)."