Rare 1868 Antique Leather "Physician's Day-Book"

Updated September 10, 2026

Lot number123
CategoryAntiques & Furniture
AuctionESTATE OF JUDITH HARRISON ADDIS
DateSeptember 24, 2026 at 6:00 PM EDT
Auction houseHeadley's Auctions
LocationWinchester, Virginia

Turned Custom Scrapbook / Paper Doll House Book – Philadelphia Provenance (McCall & Tyson Family Links) This is an incredibly unique and fascinating piece of 19th-century Americana. It began its life as an authentic, blank 1868 "Physician’s Day-Book, Quarterly Journal, Ledger and Cash Book", published in Philadelphia by S. A. O'Connor.Instead of being used by a doctor, the heavy leather-bound volume was creatively repurposed as a personal scrapbook and paper doll house book spanning from the late 1890s through the mid-20th century. The top right corner of the title page bears the elegant owner signature of "Helen C. McCall." The "Paper Doll House" Layout (Pages 146-147): A stunning, vibrant, hand-colored double-page spread transformed into a dollhouse room. It features a hand-painted pink/red background with meticulously cut-out and pasted Victorian furniture graphics, window treatments, architectural details, and a paper maid figure serving at a table. High-Society Genealogy & Ephemera: Multiple pages are dedicated to late-Victorian and early-Edwardian Philadelphia society events. Includes original, crisp wedding invitations and newspaper clippings featuring prominent families such as Tyson, Bond, McCall, Smith, and Harrison. Notable dates include June 10, 1896, and December 3, 1904. Historical & Mid-Century Clippings: Later pages feature pasted historical newspaper articles, including a June 1942 Philadelphia Inquirer photo piece on World War II Red Cross women driving ambulances from Detroit, and articles on local Pennsylvania land grant farms. Victorian Advice Columns: Features full-page pasted columns from the late 1800s giving moral and social advice to young women, including "The Debutante: Advice to a Young Lady Who is About to Enter Society" and "An American Girl's Bureau."

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