When I entered the library to search for marginalia, I honestly thought it would be a quick process. I could get there after my last class, look through a few old books, find one with some really interesting writing in it, and arrive home long before dinner. Well, that’s not exactly how it played out. I got to the library and decided to just look through some random old books and sheet music. I found nothing. After about an hour, I decided to direct my focus toward the education section, because of my abnormal obsession with education systems. I looked at all of the call numbers I could find, then refined my search, then tried again.

After approximately two hours and sixteen minutes total, I found History of Education by Thomas Davidson. The book was published in 1900 by Charles Scribner’s Sons. Upon opening the book, I discovered that one of the pages before the book starts was filled halfway with handwritten notes. These notes are quotations that a girl named Louise Patricia O’Malley wrote down when she was attending Simmons College in 1917. There is one quote by Socrates, and two quotes by a “Sir Moore.” I did some research, and it seems that both quotes by “Sir Moore” are variations on quotes also by Socrates, which makes me wonder how she found them. They are all about education, which makes sense because of the book. I found the book for free on Google Books, and searched it to find these quotes, but they were not in the text. This means that either Louise had heard the quotes, liked them, and wrote them down, or perhaps she was instructed to do so. I also looked up the name Louise Patricia O’Malley, and found the Simmons College Bulletin that contains the Annual Catalogue, with Louise’s name in it. She is listed under “Degrees Conferred in 1917,” so I assume that was her year of graduation.

When I found the book, I was just relieved that I could finally go home and eat something. Now as I’m writing this, I’m actually incredibly fascinated by these traces. It’s pretty amazing how I could find out so much information from a few quotes someone wrote in her textbook 98 years ago.

You can see my Book Traces submission, here!