Two Of Us (Very Scarce Novel About Independent Female Woodworker)

New York: G. W. Carleton & Co., 1879. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good. Viii, 9-217 + 6 Pp Carleton Catalog At End, Dated 1879. Brown Cloth, Stamped In Black, Light Blue Endpapers. Inscribed By The Author To Her Grandfather, Rev. Herman Halsey, Also With Ownership Signature Of Minnie Halsey At Top Of Preliminary Blank. Semi-Autobiographical Midwestern Novel About Two Young Women Who, Like The Author, Eventually Make Their Living Working In Wood. Scarce; Worldcat Shows Only Four Institutional Holdings. Very Clean, No Fading, Wear At Corners With A Few Tiny Frays At Lower Corners, Hinges Tight, No Stains, No Other Marks. Per Wikipedia: Calista Halsey Patchin (1845 -1920) Was A Journalist And Artist Based In Washington, D.C. And Des Moines, Iowa. Patchin Was The First Woman Reporter Hired By The Washington Post Newspaper In 1878. She Was The Daughter Of Samuel Halsey, A Newspaper Man. Patchin Was Educated In Ohio And Albany, New York. She Studied Wood Carving At The Cincinnati School Of Design. She Taught Woodworking In St. Louis, Missouri. She Began Her Career As A Journalist Covering The Mardi Gras And Writing Articles For Many Newspapers. Soon After, She Was Hired In 1878 By The Washington Post Newspaper To Become Their First Woman Reporter. She Was Described As A Lively Writer And Was Assigned To "Women'S News." On The Post, She Was In No Sense Limited To Articles, Supposedly Appealing Especially To Women. She Wrote Editorials, Reported Notable Public Events, Interviewed Statesmen, Author, Actors, And Actresses, Painters, Etc." In 2018, As Part Of Its 141 Anniversary, An Illustrated Graphic Strip Of Her Life Was Published In The Post. Before Her Marriage, She Wrote A Novel Called Two Of Us, About Two Young Women Who Were Wood Artists. She Also Wrote Several Short Stories. One, "The Professor", Is Included In Prairie Gold, A Collection Of Writings By Iowa Authors.Following Her Marriage In 1880 To Robert Azor Patchin, She Moved To Des Moines With Her Husband And Devoted Herself To Developing Arts And Culture In Des Moines. Patchin Was A Charter Member Of The Des Moines Women'S Club. She Was The Primary Mover In Developing The Art Collection Of The Des Moines Women'S Club Instructing Members In Fine Arts And Helping With The Interior Decorating Of The Clubhouse. This Collection Became The First Public Art Collection In The City. The Club Built A Gallery Room In The Club House, Hoyt Sherman Place. The Gallery Room Made The Collection Available For Public Viewing. Patchin Wrote: "No Other Women'S Club In This Country Achieved Such Success In 'Upbuilding' Of Its Art Holdings."