Manuscripts

Edward King diary of a trip to Japan and China

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Description: In his diary, King writes about his travels across Japan and China beginning with his departure from Shanghai to Nagasaki in March 1859. He writes in detail about his journey including the food on board, Japanese officials, local customs, the difficulty of changing money, and his visits to Nagasaki and Dejima. King's diary also covers his travel to Ningbo, China where he also writes in detail about the people and culture. The diary also includes a 2-page list of English-Japanese vocabulary, a fold-out map of Nagasaki, a Japan treasury certificate, and 25 pages of Japanese colored woodblock prints.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Production date: 1859.
Call number: mssHM 84029
Creator: King, Edward (approximately 1817-1875)(Opens in new tab)

Wilson Keys diary

Manuscripts

Wilson Keys writes in detail about his troops' movements, and his experience in Johnson Island, Ohio, and the Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia. With the diary is a memo book belonging to Milt Kemble of Ohio with scattered entries from 1861 to 1876.

mssHM 29057

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Photograph album of China, Korea, and Japan

Visual Materials

A photograph album containing 263 photographs of China, Korea, and Japan, dating from the time of the Boxer Uprising in China to the Russo-Japanese War, 1901 to 1905. The photographs are primarily unique images, along with some commercial photographs and foldout panoramas, and many have handwritten captions. The album's inside cover is inscribed: "John Rory Macey / H.M.S. Blenheim / China Station / Vol. II / Jan 1st 1901 - July 18th, 1905"; Macey was a naval engineer in the British Admiralty and most likely took some of the photographs, particularly naval-related scenes, and images of British servicemen. Photographic subjects in China include navy ships in the port of Weihaiwei, street scenes in Peking (Beijing) and other cities, Chinese residents, monuments (including the Forbidden Palace under foreign occupation), palaces, gardens, and temples. A number of photographs focus on the aftermath of the Boxer Uprising, including ruined buildings. The second portion of the album depicts scenes in Korea during the Russo-Japanese War; these include Korean people in daily activities, street scenes, commercial images of Chemulpo, and the palace grounds in Seoul. The third portion of the album contains amateur and commercial photographs of Japan, including the port cities of Maizuru and Yokohama, Japanese residents, tea ceremonies, the hot spring resort of Tonosawa, and panoramic images of the Osaka Exhibition of 1903. At the back of the album are 17 large, hand-colored photographs of Japan, including images of landscapes, street vendors, and Japanese women in genre scenes.

photCL 632

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Diary and documents of Edward Lewis Baker

Manuscripts

The small group of items includes a 1865 diary by Baker, two programs, one letter, a bill for expenses at Shurtleff College, and a high school commencement speech given by him in 1876. In his diary, which only covers January to April 1865 and is written from Springfield, Illinois, Baker writes on Friday, April 14 "Assassination of Mr. Lincoln." On the 15th he writes "The city draped in mourning and horror stricken at the terrible news. Meeting of citizen, etc. Mr. Johnson sworn into office." On Sunday the 16th he writes "Heard Hubbard preach on death of Lincoln - 2nd Baptist Church. General gloom." And on Monday the 17th he writes "Meeting to make arrangements for Lincoln's funeral." The letter was written by Baron Lionel Sackville-West while Baker was in Buenos Aires. There is also a program for an event to raise money for the "Liverpool Seamen's Orphan Institution" (1888).

mssHM 75683-75687

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Edward W. Syle diary

Manuscripts

Edward W. Syle began writing this diary in April 1851 after six years of missionary work in China, though he still expressed shock at cultural differences. When he moved to San Francisco, he seemed distressed to find the Chinese so ragged and impoverished, and disappointed by the widespread discrimination they faced. He also commented on the circumstances of various Gold Rush mining camps. After he left San Francisco, the closing months of this diary were written back in Shanghai in October 1856.

mssHM 83407

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Charles Merz diary of trip around the world

Manuscripts

This wide-ranging travel diary--London, Paris, Rome, Egypt, Jerusalem, India, China, Japan, and much more--was kept by Charles Andrew Merz during his trip around the world from January 20 to August 14, 1921. Merz experienced far more than a typical tourist; he arrived with sheaves of letters of introduction, and met with a wide variety of important diplomats, industrialists, and authors during his various stops. He had a particular interest in nationalist movements. As a professional writer, he described all with a keen eye. On his travels he met with Colonel T. E. Lawrence, George Bernard Shaw, Henrietta Szold, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Sir Herbert Samuel, John Dewey, Bertrand Russell, and Viscount Shibusawa Eiichi. He also witnessed Winston Churchill's arrival in Cairo.

mssHM 82432

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James Hoyt diary

Manuscripts

Reverend James Hoyt kept this diary while living in Washington, D.C. right after the end of the American Civil War. He writes in detail about his work with the United States Christian Commission including visiting hospitalized soldiers and handing out supplies. Hoyt also writes about attending a memorial service for President Abraham Lincoln, visiting Mary Surratt's house, where she and John Wilkes Booth and conspirators had met, and going to the courthouse during their trial and seeing Surratt in the courtroom. He describes in detail two encounters he had with angry, drunk soldiers. On June 6, a group of soldiers from the 75th Indiana stormed the supply tent accusing Hoyt and his fellow ministers of giving preferential treatment to African American soldiers. On June 8, Hoyt and the ministers were harassed by a group of soldiers from the 17th Ohio with the same complaint. One soldier had a club and struck the tent, and one minister was thrown to the ground. The last few pages of the volume contain notes on specific soldiers Hoyt ministered to, inscriptions by his fellow chaplains, and notes on the history and organization of William Tecumseh Sherman's army. With a complete typed transcript and index. Includes 18 printed pages. The diary contains racist language.

mssHM 84018

Edward King diary of a trip to Japan and China

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Wilson Keys diary

Photograph album of China, Korea, and Japan

Diary and documents of Edward Lewis Baker

Edward W. Syle diary

Charles Merz diary of trip around the world

James Hoyt diary