Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas
Notebook
[1925]
Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas Papers

Throughout her writing life, Gertrude Stein filled a great many notebooks with rough drafts, word lists, and ideas. These notebooks were not, however, used only for Stein’s literary work; they are also full of shopping lists, phone numbers, appointments, and other daily notations. Among these are many personal notes between Stein and her partner, Alice B. Toklas. Like much of Stein’s published writings, the lines the women exchanged are rich with pun and wordplay. In these private exchanges, as is evident in this example, the two women referred to one another by pet names, including hubby, baby, and Mr. & Mrs. Cuddle-Wuddle.