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First edition. Quarter cloth and paper over boards with printed label on front board. A trifle soiled, very near fine. A presentation copy from the proprietor of the school: "For Mr. & Mrs. DeWitt Wallace with appreciation from Theodate Pope Riddle." The Wallace's were publishers, philanthropists, and founders of the *Reader's Digest.* An anthology of articles from various sources including William Allen White, Harry Emerson Fosdick, "The Yellow Man's Burden" by Matsumoto, Archibald Rutledge, Nicholas Murray Butler, etc., as well as the inclusion of the oft-reprinted "A Message to Garcia," written by Elbert Hubbard, a fellow passenger of Pope's on the Lusitania, and who was one of the more than a thousand casualties. One of the most fascinating survivors of the Lusitania disaster was an Ohio-born, middle-aged American female self-taught architect named Theodate Pope (later Riddle) who was with a friend on her way to England for a Spiritualist conference. The Lusitania sank in 18 minutes and the crew was unable to stop the ship because the steering mechanism was jammed, thus very few boats were launched and most survivors went into the water including Theodate Pope. Her maid, and her traveling companion, Edwin Friend, were both lost in the sinking but Pope managed to survive several hours in the water, although for much of that time she was unconscious. She later published her own very vivid account of the sinking in small editions - we've searched and never found either in over thirty years. Attending Miss Porter's School for Young Ladies in Farmington, Connecticut, she became enamored of this city's architecture. Despite being self-taught she received several important commissions, mostly for schools and private residences including Hop Brook School and Highfield (now Highfield Golf course) in Middlebury, Connecticut. Perhaps her proudest achievement was the founding of the Avon School in Connecticut, and aside from a hiatus during World War II when it served as a convalescent center for blind veterans, is still going strong today, nearly 70 years after her death. She also designed the buildings around the school, and is considered one of the first important women architects in America. More information is available about her at the website of the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the hall of fame in 1994. This is the first signed copy of any book by her that we've seen.
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