Tag Archives: Travelers’ writings

Sir Henry Holland papers, 1805-1868

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handwritten text

Eight manuscript volumes: Essays on various subjects written at Univesity while at Glasgow, 1805-1806; copies of letters from Portugal 1812; Journal in Spain 1813; Journal in Lombardy, Austria, Prussia 1815; Sketchbook 1815; Journal in the north of Italy and France 1816; Journal to Spain1818; Diary 1830-1843. Also with two copies of Holland’s publication, General view of the agriculture of Cheshire (1808) and two issues of his Recollections of past life (1868).

  • Author: Holland, Henry, Sir, 1788-1873, author.
  • Title: Sir Henry Holland papers, 1805-1868 (bulk 1812-1843).

Catalog Record

LWL MSS 41

Acquired September 2021

A short account of my travels from Riga through Germany, Italy etc…

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hand written title page

A journal that details John Thornton’s Grand Tour, which began in Riga and took him through Prussia, Italy, and back to England through France, Flanders, and the Netherlands.

 

  • Author: Thornton, John, 1720-1790.
  • Title: A short account of my travels from Riga through Germany, Italy etc. to England : with what is curious to be seen at each place, begun at Riga the 26th July 1742 N.S. or O.S. the 15th July 1742, with also the tour of England, Scotland and Ireland : manuscript / the whole finished this by John Thornton.
  • Production: London, circa 1742.

Catalog Record

LWL Mss Vol. 258

Acquired November 2020

Journal of a tour in the year 1745

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description below

An anonymous journal of a tour that begins on May 14th in Warrington, Lancashire and passes through Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincoln, Leicester, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Northampton, Buckingham, Oxon, Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Gloucester, Worcester, Staffs, Salop and Cheshire, finishing on July 5th in Chester — a total of 703 miles.

 

  • Title: Journal of a tour in the year 1745 : manuscript.
  • Production: Liverpool?, England, circa 1745.

Catalog Record

LWL Mss Vol. 257

Acquired February 2020

Journal of a tour through France and Italy

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page from journalHolograph diary of the author’s trip to France and Italy in a single hand describing the author’s Grand Tour two years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars : The hallmarks of a half pay British officer in the midst of a rather hopeless feeling peace. Clearly an admirer of classical architecture, he makes careful note of remaining classical elements in towns like Avignon and Lyon (“The town of Lyon is by no means handsome. The houses are much crowded and the streets narrow, and dirtier if possible than those of Paris”), and appears very much more affectionate towards what was there, rather than what is. He is nevertheless much struck by the wonders of Florence as he travels towards what his conspicuous classical education clearly regards as the ultimate destination: the city of Rome. In a rather pleasing exhibition of mingled scholarship and military professionalism, he spends a lot of time discussing the historical strategic qualities and shortfalls of many of his stopping points. The journal is erudite, vigorous and detailed.

  • Title: Journal of a tour through France and Italy / by an officer stationed with Wellington’s Army of Occupation at St. Pol, Pas de Calais : manuscript.
  • Production: France and Italy, 1817.

Catalog Record 

LWL Mss Vol. 251

Acquired October 2019

James Lucas’s tour to Paris in 1816

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handwritten title pageHolograph diary transcribed by Charles Lucas from memorandum written by his cousin James Lucas during a tour to France in 1816.

  • Author: Lucas, James.
  • Title: James Lucas’s tour to Paris in 1816 : manuscript.
  • Production: France, 1816.

Catalog Record 

LWL Mss Vol. 249

Acquired October 2019

 

Tabular details of a journey from Geneva to Florence

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see description below

An account detailing posts and times for each section of the journey, with notes on inns, conditions of roads, places of note and numerous personal observations; quality of gardens, vegetations and art, the prevalence of goitres in one particular area, the need to obtain the correct paperwork to avoid one’s baggage being rummaged through, and the need to have luggage “plumbed” upon departure from Florence. Clearly written in the hand of Thomas Martyn, this particular tour can be found mentioned in Martyn’s entry in DNB: starting in 1778 he was accompanying his young charge, Edward Hartopp, on his two year continental tour, part of which was later published and made it into his “Gentleman’s Guide in his Tour Through Italy” in 1787 and “Sketch of a Tour Through Switzerland” of the same year.

  • Author: Martyn, Thomas, 1735-1825.
  • Title: Tabular details of a journey from Geneva to Florence : manuscript.
  • Production: Switzerland and Italy, 1779.

Catalog Record 

LWL Mss File 149

Acquired April 2019

Frances Brooke journal of a trip to Paris

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Frances Brooke journal. Detailed description below

Firsthand account of the journey of Frances, the Parkers, and “Emily” (possibly a sister) as they set out from somewhere in Derbyshire (their post halts are Hilton, Buxton and Bakewell on the early part of the journey) on their way to Paris, via Dieppe and Rouen. Frances is clearly a wealthy and educated young woman, and the account is lively and observant, taking place as it does in a France that only a few years before was a land of war, enemies and an occupying army under Wellington: “The Bois [du Boulogne] consists now of low shrubs, as the Allies cut down all the trees, when they were in Paris, for fire wood … Dined at Very’s and went to the Tivoli – A fete. A man ascended in a Balloon, and tho’ he seemed to engage every one’s attention and interest, he was not thought of, two minutes after he was out of sight. – The Gardens were beautifully illuminated with colossal lamps. Walked home through some streets we had not been in before and were much stared at … I believe it was Harriet’s pretty figure & our Silk Gowns that attracted attention…” The valiant though ignored aeronaut in question, a quick glance at Galignani’s Messenger will show, was none other than M. Margat (who seems to have stepped into the gap caused by the death of Madame Blanchard a year earlier … and who bears the distinction of being one of the few aeronaut’s of the period who was expressly requested to take part in a war as a balloonist, ending up in Algiers in 1830 having nearly set a French navy ship on fire, and earning a medal for making a balloon ascent under heavy fire). Paris seems to have been replete with aeronauts at the time, there is another balloon ascent a day or so later in the Tuilleries. There are encounters with Royalty, visits to the Louvre and Notre Dame, numerous observations on the general superiority of England in all things (“All the prettiest women were English”), a keen eye is leveled at the dress, behaviour and conduct of the ladies of Paris, both for good and ill, plays, tableaux vivant and sundry entertainments are sampled and all is chronicled with agility and attention to detail. A two month excursion into a Georgette Heyer novel.

  • Author: Brooke, Frances.
  • Title: Frances Brooke journal of a trip to Paris, June and July 1821 : manuscript.
  • Production: France, 1821 June-July.

Catalog Record 

LWL Mss Vol. 246

Acquired April 2019

A tour from Northamptonshire to London

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  • Author: Lee, John, of Daventry.
  • Title: A tour from Northamptonshire to London : down the River Thames to the Isle of Thanet, from thence to Dover and the coast of France; interspersed with anecdote and sentiment; and an agricultural review of both countries, with observations on the cattle and the management of the soil / by John Lee.
  • Publication: London : Published by R. Carlile, Fleet Street, 1827.

Catalog Record 

63 827 L47

Acquired November 2017

Journey from Paris to Naples, 1769

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Journey from Paris to Naples, 1769 [Front cover]Bunbury, Henry William, 1750-1811

Journey from Paris to Naples, 1769.

LWL Mss Vol. 181

Manuscript, in a single hand, documenting Bunbury’s trip from Paris starting on 16 June 1759 to Auxerre and Dijon, continuing on through the Burgundy wine region to Geneva, making observations on the many smaller towns and sites he visited, commenting on the roads, the wine, the vineyards, the people, and the scenery. He quotes Addison’s description of the Rhone. He is very positively impressed with Marseilles, commenting at length both on the beauty of the city and the lively crowds of people of various nationalities. He records his impressions of the “happy” galley slaves. He writes at length about his impressions of the Roman ruins at Nimes as well as Marseilles, Nice, Monaco, Genoa. Though he remarks on the beauty of Genoa, he has a low opinion of the Genoese character. He describes the use of oxen in the city and the presence of the Jesuits who are not well-thought of but tolerated because so many of them come from the “very first families of the state.” He arrives in Florence in the evening of July 19. He is not impressed with the bridge of which he has heard so much noting that he thinks it is “inferior in size to our Thames Bridge” as well as in beauty. He writes about the cathedral and the Medici Mausoleum and concludes with a detailed description of the Uffizi sculpture and paintings “by the most celebrated painters.” He concludes with a list of a list of the works that most impressed him and rates the “gallery of Florence” as one of the “first curiosities in Italy.”

Journey from Paris to Naples, 1769 Subjects (Library of Congress): Bunbury, Henry William, 1750-1811; Travelers’ writings, English; France–Description and travel; Italy–Description and travel.

Lewis Walpole Library new acquisition: May, 2010