Dust Bowl Era Scrapbooks of Marguerite Dial/Ward, 1925–1936; Texas to California

Item #1530

Marguerite Dial/Ward: 4-Volume Journal & Scrapbook Set, 1925–1936. Texas Panhandle to California. Dust Bowl Migration, Movies, Popular Culture.

Four stuffed volumes documenting the life of Marguerite “Marge” Dial (later Ward), born c.1913 in the Texas Panhandle, following her from girlhood in Running Water to young married life in Brawley, California. A remarkable record of adolescence, friendship, courtship, and westward migration during the Depression and Dust Bowl years.

Albums contain photographs, postcards, clippings, chewing-gum wrappers, birthday cards, love notes, movie advertisements, wedding announcements, and extensive handwritten entries. Highlights include a 1935 real photo postcard of a Texas dust storm, birthday parties and automobiles of the 1920s, high school social life, cigarette and candy wrappers, letters, and Marguerite’s reflections on marriage and motherhood.

Several scraps of paper, later attached by a relative, identify particular photos and albums, strengthening provenance.

Condition: First two volumes on sturdy paper and well-preserved; last two on brittle newsprint with yellowing and detached leaves, though content remains rich and legible. A few items have fallen out or been removed, but these albums are chock full of mementos.

A fascinating, highly personal archive of Dust Bowl migration and Depression-era women’s culture.

Price: $1,400.00