Historical information

This book is an early school reader for the Fifth Grade. It appears to be a British publication and has no Australian content (except for a brief biography of Captain Cook). The name ‘Matilda F.’ from Mailors Flat can probably be identified as Matilda Freckleton as the Freckleton family members were prominent settlers in the Mailors Flat area in the early 20th century. Matilda Freckleton (1886-1957) was the daughter of Francis and Catherine Freckleton. She married Calvin Chambers in 1906.

Significance

This book is of minor interest as it is an example of an early school reader and it probably belonged to an early Mailors Flat resident, Matilda Freckleton.

Physical description

This is a soft cover book of 414 pages. The original front cover has been lost and a piece of grey cardboard has been used as its replacement. The back cover was originally a brown colour. The spine is now covered with a piece of grey material stitched on to part of the original spine. Some front and back pages are missing. The text has three sections and these contain prose extracts, stories, poems, hymns and work exercises. There are some black and white illustrations. A couple of pages are loose. Pasted in at the front and back pages are cuttings from newspapers. The handwritten material is in blue ink and pencil. There are two blue stamps of the Warrnambool and District Historical Society.

Inscriptions & markings

‘M.E.F., Mailors Flat’
‘Matilda F., Mailors Flat’