1894 - 1913 ORIGINAL ARCHIVE OF 14 MANUSCRIPT DIARIES DETAILING A LIFE OF LEISURE AND CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION: LESSONS, LECTURES AND LIBRARIES, GLOBAL TRAVEL AND TAILORS

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On offer is a very interesting, rather intriguing archive of fourteen [14] original manuscript diaries dated 1894 through 1913 absent: 1896, 1898, 1899, 1905, 1906 and 1910]. Of pa rticular interest is the author, Robin, sometimes Robert, Adair who over the 20 years represented paints a broad picture of a British born Englishman, who lives in Brooklyn Heights New York, plays in Manhattan, London and Paris who travels with great ease back to Britain, through France, Germany and beyond to many exotic locales over the years. Adair also travels at ease in the upper echelons of the social order of the day writing of daily visitations to and from a multitude of named persons. No hint o f business it seems until one reads the 'financials' in the Memorandum and one finds a listing of seven or eight properties that produce a great deal of mortgage and rental income. Born April 28th 1857, thusly turning 36 years old in 1894, unmarried it seems but he does mention children but no 'Mrs.', his life is comprised of travel, notable lectures, theatrical entertainments, concerts and a marked interest in sports. He travels to Boston, 'hangs out' at Cambridge, Harvard, later in England, Oxford, with professors, doctors, and acquaintances. Besides the daily notations of his daily coming, goings and doings, each year he takes at least one extended vacation and most years he goes back to England too or as part of a larger tour: 1894 intra USA; 1902 England via Cuba; 1903 Europe, Greece, the Holy Land, Egypt and back to Paris and London; 1909 to Egypt, Arabia, India, Singapore plus much, much more. Some of the people, places and entries include: Prof. E. Ligeret, Stoddard travel lectures, Barnum's parade in Hartford, Prof. Marsh, Tombs of Edwin Booth, Butler Hospital, Swan Point Cemetery, Broadway Troupe Residences, Turkish baths, seeing Sarah Bernhardt in London [1895] and Paris [1897], at the Riding Academy for a lesson and was thrown off the 'cob' twice in 15 minutes, attended the Regatta, Folies Bergere, seeing his tailors in all three major cities and ordering suits, shoes etc., gypsies all over the Fair, witness to the Mafeking Celebration, Buffalo Bill Show Parade in Central Park, review of Indian Troops in Hyde Park, review of Colonial Troops at Buckingham Palace, seeing the Prince and Princess of Wales, a Watermelon Party, French lessons, automobile driving lessons, lecture by Rabbi Schulman on Marriage of Jew and Christian, Booker Washington, house hunting in Harlem, inspected the Manhattan Bridge and much more. Enigmatic numbers appear almost daily but seem to have no relevance to an outsider's eye plus he writes odd words, i.e., out of nowhere: 'Gotterdammerung'. Then this obvious mistake: 703 + 5 = 712. Another enigmatic entry: Dec 30th 1903: 'Glad of it' Iroquois Theatre fire in Chicago[600+ people died in that fire!]. The diaries are small format at 2"x 3" with 3 days per page, Mr. Adair is not given to wordiness and entries range from a terse 'Ill all day' to a day on a trip listing the 4 or 5 sites visited that day or a few sentences describing matters. Ephemera includes a tintype photo, we assume is Mr. Adair; there is also one of Mr. Adair's engraved calling cards; a receipt from a dentist. [Apparently Mr. Adair had some dental work done in 1914 in New York, where he may have been living at the time. He was billed $15 for a gold filling and $5 for a cap.] There is also a second, black bordered calling card of Mr. Adair's. On the back a minister has handwritten an introduction between Mr. Adair and his brother in Washington. Overall VG.; 64mo - up to 3" tall; KEYWORDS: BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NEW YORK, MANSION HOUSE, BROOKLYN, ADAIR, TRAVEL, GENDER STUDIES, MEN'S STUDIES, TURN OF THE CENTURY, Ephemera, Hand Written, Personal, Americana, Memoir, Handwritten, autograph, autographs, signed, letters, document, documents, manuscript, manuscripts, writers, writer, author, Holograph, personal, Ephemera, antiquité, contrat, vélin, document, manuscrit, papier Antike, Brief, Pergament, Dokument, Manuskript, Papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigüedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, Show more