Autograph Collecting

Fourteen-year-old Morgan received this pocket diary as a Christmas gift from his father. In it, the young Morgan faithfully recorded his daily activities, including his early efforts to build an autograph collection. On 3 October 1851, he noted that he had “received some letters from distinguished men.” The next day, he secured the autographs of two of his grandfather’s acquaintances: Jared Sparks, president of Harvard College, and Edward Everett, a prominent educator and politician.