This red and gold leather book, “The Tender Thought,” was used by Emma Jane Breckinridge to record her friends’ thoughts from the 1860s. She was the daughter of General James and Ann Breckinridge. The book was published by Leavitt & Allen in New York and has beautiful engraved illustrations by W.E. Tucker. The Breckinridges passed it down from their family to Alice Crowder, who donated it to the Botetourt County Museum. Every thought or letter is in cursive. One letter to Emma from W. Bowyer says, “To think thine eye may wander in some future year and memory breathe a passing sigh… to tell I lived and died.” What emoji will speak for you in 150 years?
