This blog was devoted to the publication of Edward Lear's Diaries from 1 January 1858 to 12 May 1862. From January 2009 each was posted exactly 150 years after it was written and the project came to an end on 12 May 2012, the bicentenary of Lear's birth. The text is as exact as possible a transcript of Houghton Library MS Eng. 797.3. You can keep following the diaries at the new blog.

Blencowe, John George and Mrs.

23.xi.58, 9.iii.59, 20.v.59, 23.v.59, 24.v.59, 26.v.59, 27.v.59, 28.v.59, 29.v.59, 30.v.59, 31.v.59, 5.viii.59, 9.viii.59, 13.viii.59, 3.xii.59, 7.vii.60, 25.vii.60, 11.ix.60, 26.ii.61, 17.iii.61, 19.v.61, 22.v.61, 24.v.61.

Macbean, Messrs. Alexander (and Co.)

Bankers to the British Mission in Rome.

13.xi.58, 22.xii.58, 28.xii.58, 1.i.59, 3.i.59, 4.i.59, 5.i.59, 15.i.59, 17.i.59, 21.i.59, 31.i.59, 7.ii.59, 8.ii.59, 10.ii.59, 12.ii.59, 13.ii.59, 16.ii.59, 21.ii.59, 25.ii.59, 24.iii.59, 29.iii.59, 4.iv.59, 9.iv.59, 13.iv.59, 21.iv.59, 27.iv.59, 5.v.59, 7.v.59, 9.v.59, 10.v.59, 11.v.59, 12.v.59, 13.v.59, 14.v.59, 4.vi.59, 8.vi.59, 20.vi.59, 21.vii.59, 25.vii.59, 13.viii.59, 25.viii.59, 25.ix.59, 13.x.59, 19.x.59, 8.xi.59, 20.xi.59, 28.xii.59, 29.xii.59, 30.xii.59, 31.xii.59, 2.i.60, 3.i.60, 5.i.60, 10.i.60, 12.i.60, 14.i.60, 15.i.60, 22.i.60, 26.i.60, 27.i.60, 30.i.60, 31.i.60, 3.ii.60, 5.ii.60, 6.ii.60, 8.ii.60, 9.ii.60, 12.ii.60, 14.ii.60, 20.ii.60, 26.ii.60, 1.iii.60, 3.iii.60, 4.iii.60, 5.iii.60, 6.iii.60, 7.iii.60, 8.iii.60, 9.iii.60, 10.iii.60, 12.iii.60, 13.iii.60, 14.iii.60, 15.iii.60, 16.iii.60, 17.iii.60, 18.iii.60, 19.iii.60, 20.iii.60, 21.iii.60, 22.iii.60, 23.iii.60, 24.iii.60, 25.iii.60, 26.iii.60, 27.iii.60, 28.iii.60, 29.iii.60, 30.iii.60, 31.iii.60, 2.iv.60, 4.iv.60, 5.iv.60, 9.iv.60, 10.iv.60, 11.iv.60, 12.iv.60, 13.iv.60, 14.iv.60, 16.iv.60, 17.iv.60, 18.iv.60, 19.iv.60, 20.iv.60, 21.iv.60, 22.iv.60, 23.iv.60, 24.iv.60, 25.iv.60, 26.iv.60, 27.iv.60, 28.iv.60, 30.iv.60, 1.v.60, 2.v.60, 4.v.60, 5.v.60, 7.v.60, 8.v.6021.viii.60, 23.ix.60, 8.x.60, 16.x.60, 24.x.60, 24.i.61, 6.vi.61, 29.vi.61, 7.x.61.

Bethell, Richard (1st Baron Westbury)

1800-1873.

Wikipedia.

10.xi.58, 16.xi.58, 21.xi.58, 27.vi.59, 9.vii.59, 10.vii.59, 11.vii.59, 7.xi.59, 25.xi.59, 1.iv.60, 5.vi.60, 19.vi.60, 24.vi.60, 16.vii.60, 11.viii.60, 12.viii.60, 20.xi.60, 3.ii.61, 11.ii.61, 17.iii.61, 13.iv.61, 14.iv.61, 25.iv.61, 27.iv.61, 24.v.61, 27.vi.61, 4.vii.61, 16.vii.61.

Crake, Edward

7.xi.58, 27.vi.59 (?), 28.vi.59, 6.vii.59, 7.vii.59, 17.vii.59, 6.xi.59, 19.vi.60, 27.i.61, 19.ii.61, 28.ii.61, 17.iii.61, 24.iii.61, 15.iv.61, 10.v.61, 3.ix.61, 24.ix.61, 25.ix.61, 26.ix.61, 27.ix.61.

Hay, Robert

The leading member of an archeological expedition to Egypt, 1826-32. His forty-nine volumes of drawings were purchased by the British Museum.

1.xi.58, 26.xii.58, 28.xii.58, 1.i.59, 8.i.59, 13.i.59, 18.i.59, 19.i.59, 24.i.59, 27.i.59, 4.ii.59, 17.ii.59, 19.ii.59, 4.iii.59, 10.iii.59, 31.iii.59, 12.iv.59, 2.ix.60, 9.x.60, 24.x.60, 26.x.60, 29.x.60, 31.x.60, 5.xi.60, 17.xi.60, 2.xii.60, 22.v.61.

Scrivens, Mr. and Mrs. George

Mrs. Scrivens was the daughter of Sir Thomas Potter, founder of the Manchester Guardian (SL, 309).

31.x.58, 4.xi.58, 20.v.59, 23.v.59, 24.v.59, 14.vii.59, 23.vii.59, 24.vii.59, 3.viii.59, 4.viii.59, 8.viii.59, 11.viii.59, 1.ix.59, 4.ix.59, 9.ix.59, 16.ix.59, 18.ix.59, 22.ix.59, 25.ix.59, 7.x.59, 11.x.59, 12.x.59, 16.x.59, 19.x.59, 23.x.59, 24.x.59, 25.x.59, 26.x.59, 27.x.59, 28.x.59, 29.x.59, 31.x.59, 2.xii.59, 5.xii.59, 29.i.60., 8.iii.60, 21.vii.60, 22.vii.60, 23.vii.60, 30.vii.60, 21.viii.60, 16.xi.60, 25.xi.60, 30.xi.60, 9.xii.60, 22.xii.60, 23.xii.60, 4.ii.61, 5.ii.61, 17.iii.61, 24.v.61, 27.v.61, 16.vi.61, 25.vi.61, 30.vi.61, 16.vii.61, 19.vii.61, 24.vii.61, 7.viii.61, 25.viii.61, 4.ix.61, 9.ix.61, 11.ix.61, 12.ix.61, 15.ix.61, 17.ix.61, 20.ix.61, 21.ix.61, 23.ix.61, 24.ix.61, 26.ix.61, 27.ix.61, 29.ix.61, 5.x.61, 11.x.61, 14.x.6124.x.6125.x.61, 3.xi.61, 2.xii.61, 3.xii.61, 29.xii.61, 18.i.62.

Baring, William Bingham (2nd Baron Ashburton)

He married his first wife, Lady Harriet Mary Montagu on 12 April 1823, and she died on 4 May 1857. Baring remarried Louisa Caroline Stewart-MacKenzie on 17 November 1858. Full Wikipedia article.

29.x.58, 8.iv.61.

Uwins, James

Nephew of Thomas Uwins, RA, Lear had known him since at least 1838 (SL, 41).

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Vigors, Nicholas Aylward

1785-1840.

Secretary of the Zoological Society of London. Lear used some of his parrots as models when preparing The Family of Parrots (SL, 291). Wikipedia article.

20.x.58, 3.v.61.

Fairbairn, Thomas

1823-1891.

Eldest son of Sir William Fairbairn, he was an important patron of the arts, and commissioned three paintings from Lear, among which Petra. The Great Cliff (1859) (SL, 304).

20.x.58, 31.x.58, 18.xi.58, 18.iv.59, 29.iv.59, 10.ix.59, 18.ix.59, 14.x.59, 6.xi.59, 14.xi.59, 16.xi.59, 23.xi.59, 24.xi.59, 25.xi.59, 24.ii.61, 8.iv.61, 14.iv.61, 20.iv.61, 28.iv.61, 9.v.61, 16.v.61, 23.vii.61, 1.ix.61, 24.ix.61, 5.x.61, 6.x.61, 7.x.61, 10.x.61, 17.x.61, 20.x.6125.x.61, 27.x.61, 3.xi.61, 4.xi.61, 26.xi.61, 3.xii.61, 17.xii.61.