Small quarto (7 1/2 x 10 in.) 212pp. Marbled boards, quarter leather (edge wear and areas of surface loss). Inside cover with manuscript identification to H.C. Stinson, Midshipman, USA. 

This personal manuscript book contains drawings and gothic letter inscriptions, including a gray watercolor frontispiece illustration of an anchor, some full page pencil sketches, and what is now rather obscure "middie" humor. Pages include song verses and poems, aspects of cadet life and teachers at the Academy. Approx. 15 pages feature classmate autographs, including future admirals such as Richard Wainwright. Scattered throughout are small pencil and/or ink drawings, some patriotic, and some that are comedic relevant to the manuscript text. 

Herbert Clarence Stinson was born in 1849 in Hallowell, Maine. He graduated with his Naval Academy Class of 1868 and was made ensign. In late 1871, while continuing to serve in the US Navy, Stinson died of disease in New York City.