| Description | General diary entries on weather, gardening, reading, family movements and activities, and guests. The period of the diary covers the family's move from Collingwood to Slough. Entries commence on 1 January 1888, with a list of sixteen family members 'Assembled at Collingwood to keep New Year's Eve', for dinner and events including the reading of the 'Telescope Song' Cataloguing of the contents of Colliingwood, commencing with books and minerals. Observatory House at Slough is inspected on 11 February by John Herschel, with packing bebinning in earnest by March. On 9 March the author is 'surprised & delighted with the old house'; noting [10 March] that it was 'so strange sleeping in one of the little old rooms (Mama's dressing room)'. There are various notes on sorting the papers of Sir John Frederick William Herschel. By 8 June, 'Came to Observatory House - I and Alick together - for good'. Work at Collingwood continues afterwards, but by 31 December 'What a contrast to last New Year's Eve & what a year this has been'.
The latter part of the volume has some personal cash accounts, with notes such as: 'Worked Pinafore from Mrs Tarrant for bazaar', indicating a female author.
The diary has a printed title page: 'Charles Letts's improved handy diary and note book for 1888' (London, Charles Letts & Co., 1888). |