• Have you found an old diary? Here are some practical, step-by-step pointers suggesting what to do with a diary you have found.

• 18th-century handwriting isn't always easy for our eyes to decipher. Here are some pointers on How to Read 18th-Century British-American Handwriting that can help you read old diaries.

• All 27 years of Martha Ballard's diary, 1785-1812, are available for reading and/or searching.

• Some pages from Henry Sewall's diary, 1776-1842, are available in the Archive.

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