The Lyon Archive

Browse Items (162 total)

  • death in the house of corrections.PNG

    Anne, a cook working for the Hart family murders a young child. She hides the pregnancy from the Hart family and died in the house of corrections soon after.
  • The_Careenage,_Bridgetown,_Barbados.jpg

    This image depicts a river town in Barbados close to the sea. Lyon lived in Barbados and sailed into its port many times.
  • Cruikshank_Pierce'_Egan's_Real_Life_-_Drury_Lane_Theatre_1821.jpg

    A digital image of a aquatint print illustration done by George and Robert Cruikshank for Pierce Egan's Real Life in London, a monthly publication exploring daily life from West End to East End, London. This print features Pierce Egan's titular characters, Tom and Bob, attending a play at the Drury Lane Theatre, where Lyon would have seen plays and other performances.
  • Abbotsford_Morris_edited.jpg

    A digital image of a coloured chromolithograph in the 1880 book Country Seats by Morris. Sir Walter Scott was successful enough to purchase Abbostford, although it consumed a great deal of his time and funds. Abbotsford attracted tourism while Scott was in residence, and continues to do so today.
  • Frontispiece,_Devonshire_Characters_and_Strange_Events (1).png

    Black and white digital image of a book plate featuring Maria Foote, British stage actress renowned for her beauty and musical talents. She later became the Countess of Harrington and left the stage. This illustration was done in 1824, two years before A.S. Lyon would've seen her perform as Virginia in the play Virginius at Drury Lane Theatre.
  • William_Charles_Macready_by_John_Jackson_crop_b&w.jpg

    This is a black and white digital image representing a painting of British stage actor William Charles Macready, painted by John Jackson, who died in 1831. Macready is credited with helping revive Shakespeare on the London stage and abroad.
  • Capture.PNG

    In his many travels, Lyon often visited Paris, where he would conduct a large portion of his business buying merchandise and negotiating prices. He sometimes complained about going to Paris, as the journey could easily be strained by bad weather ravaging his open carriage. Lyon also failed to fully grasp Parisian culture and the French language. This image of Paris reflects the state of the city as Lyon would have seen it.
  • NCCOF0291-C00000-M0000152-00010.jpg

    Lyon and James visit Plymouth on April 6, 1826 and meet their family friend Joseph. A. S. Lyon writes, "Out with James to the Fleet to see [A?] Joseph, a young man for whom we once had a great respect for, on account of the respectability of his family and a little service his father rendered [ ] brother James when down in Plymouth to bury poor David" (7).
  • Screen Shot 2016-11-22 at 12.40.00 PM.png

    The gravestone of A.S. Lyon is the end of two journeys. The journey of life and the journey he took around the world. Death, as much as love, holds the most emotional power. For Lyon, his life was full of love and adventure. In death, the people who knew him, and the future generations who come to know him learn of his leisures and travels. We connect with A. S. Lyon because of his passions, his aptitude for travel, and the life he led, Kingston's significance in Lyon's life is best illuminated in his obituary from the London Jewish Chronicle which says, "a resident for forty years on the Island, in which he filled several public offices. His successful services as Deputy Marshal for Surry, especially at the time of the riot, and as chief warden of the Lunatic Asylum – a post which … he filled with unlimited satisfaction to the public – are noticed in terms of deserved eulogium. He was followed to the grave by representatives of all classes of the community."
  • item3.jpg

    This painting perhaps demonstrates a Jewish wedding similar to what A.S. Lyon witnessed when his brother, James, married their longtime neighbor and friend, Miss Hart. This is a big family milestone and important to their Jewish family culture and history. Lyon states, "If they enjoyed all the happiness you wished upon them, they will be happy indeed!" (Transcription, 4)
  • George_Chambers_-_A_Brig_Leaving_Dover.jpg

    Lyon sails out of Dover to Paris and returns to England by the Dover Harbor, during his dealings with his brothers' business mistakes [diary entries from 12/5/26 to 4/16/29]. The diary does not record his years in Paris or time spent returning to London. Rather, a few entries contain his passage through Dover, and his feelings towards his brother and business.
  • Barbados.jpg

    A digital image of a map of Barbados created in June 1825 from a trigonometrical survey of the island conducted by Captain F. Barrallier of the 25th Light Dragoons. After leaving London but before settling in Jamaica, Lyon first settled in Barbados.
  • NCCOF0310-C00000-M0000044-00010.jpg

    A digital reproduction of a watercolor map depicting a plan for Richmond and Kew Gardens for King George III, circa 1800. The image has a drawing and references. This map is part of the King George III Topographical Collection, now housed in the British Library. While Richmond Park had existed since 1637 as Charles I's hunting grounds, the Botanical Gardens at Kew were established in the 1750s by Princess Augusta (King George III's mother). Today they are among the largest gardens in the world.
  • Doncaster_Racecourse00.jpg

    An engraving of a horse race at the Doncaster Racecourse.

  • A narrative and visual of Hume and Smollett's bestselling book, _A History of England_. On March 20, 1826 Lyon begins reading a book he calls, H. Eng or H. England, which was likely _A Complete History of England_ written by David Hume in four volumes but with an additional volume by Tobias Smollett titled, _Continuation of the History of England_. Together these volumes were published from 1760–1765. On May 30, 1826 Lyon is still reading this text, almost daily. It’s difficult to know how many volumes he read. Lyon’s interest in Scottish writers and Scotland is noteworthy. He makes several trips to Scotland where we meets prominent men in Anglo-Jewish circles—members of the Franklin family and the Ashenheim family. Both men would spend time in Jamaica during the period when Lyon lived there. Lyon also sees Sir Walter Scott on his journey to Scotland and recounts in his diary on January 24, 1826 “Had a sight of the great unknown Sir Walter Scott, but whose countenance [ ] not the least sunshine of intellect” (3). In addition to reading Scott’s novel, _The Betrothed_, Lyon’s interest in _A Complete History of England_ also had Scottish ties. Both of its authors, David Hume and Tobias Smollett, were born in Scotland. According to Wikipedia, Smollett’s “career in medicine came second to his literary ambitions; in 1739 he went to London to seek his fortune as a dramatist. Unsuccessful, he obtained a commission as a naval surgeon on HMS Chichester and travelled to Jamaica, where he settled down for several years. . . On his return, he set up practice in Downing Street and married a wealthy Jamaican heiress, Anne "Nancy" Lascelles (1721–1791), in 1747.”

    Their _Histories of England_ became bestsellers in their day. Perhaps it's not surprising that Lyon might have read a best-selling work. Noteworthy, however, is the connection between Scotland, London, and Jamaica that Lyon shared with Smollett.

  • On February 4, 1826 Lyon begins reading Sir Walter Scott’s _The Betrothed_ (published in 1825), a novel set during Henry II reign over England. The publishers were not enthusiastic about the novel and insisted on major revisions to the text. Ballantyne apparently found the novel “tiresome” which led Scott to continue revising with hopes of a more successful end result (Walter Scott Digital Archive, Edinburgh University Library). Ballantyne and Constable finally suggested that the novel should be published with Scott's next and, in their opinion, superior novel, _The Talisman_ (Walter Scott Digital Archive, Edinburgh University Library). Both novels were published together under the title, _Tales of the Crusaders_, in 1825. ( http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/works/novels/betrothed.html) As Lyon’s diary attests, _The Betrothed_ was a success. On several occasions Lyon remains up late at night reading this novel. While he neglects to comment on its content, continues to give it his close attention. Once rescued from a Welsh siege, the sixteen-year-old Eveline is rescued by Damian Lacy nephew of her betrothed. The novel’s action is focused around a love plot, kidnappings, romance, and chivalry and energizes the culture’s fascination with Crusade narratives which Scott helped to popularize in several of his novels. One wonders if Lyon would have read Scott's wildly successful _Ivanhoe_ (1820), another Crusade romance featuring a love triangle between two Anglo-Saxons and a Jewess. These types of medieval romances continued to be popular by writers like Benjamin Disraeli and Charlotte Tonna.
  • Jamaica1671ogilby.jpg

    Digital reproduction of a map of Jamaica in 1671.
  • Northern_part_of_Port_Royal_Harbout_Jamaica_1806.png

    1806 print of Kingston Harbour, Jamaica, showing three hulks.
  • Johnson Obituary.jpg

    A digital image of an obituary notice posted in the January 1846 edition of The Southern Medical and Surgical Journal announcing the passing of Dr. James Johnson, who treated A.S. Lyon.
  • ScreenShotPlaybill.png

    A digital rendering of an original playbill depicting the order of acts of entertainment from a performance at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Featuring the title of a song, "Glorious Apollo" discussed by Lyon on page 33 of his diary.
  • Screen Shot 2016-11-01 at 10.30.10 AM.png

    A scan of a publication of Walter Scott's Ivanhoe from 1820. A.S. Lyon mentions reading this title in his journal, and it is likely that his copy was similar to this.
  • Van Oven.jpg

    A digital image of an advertisement for a new medical book written by Barnard Van Oven, MD, most likely the same Dr. Van Oven that A.S. Lyon visits.
  • page1.jpg

    A digital .pdf of The Counting-House Assistant, or, A Brief Digest of American Mercantile Law, published in Pittsburgh in 1818. It describes the rules of American mercantile law in the nineteenth century. A.S. Lyon would have worked in similar conditions and legal frameworks.
  • Bazaar.jpg

    Photo illustration of the Soho Bazaar in Soho Square, a covered marketplace or street where goods and services are sold. Taken from _The Repository of Arts, Literature, Commerce, Manufactures, Fashions and Politics_ by Rudolph Ackermann, accessed by Wikipedia Commons. In his diary A.S. Lyon mentions that he shopped at the London Bazaar.
  • Screen Shot 2016-10-31 at 11.15.00 PM.png

    A digital reproduction of an image taken of “Account of the fatal hurricane by which barbados suffered in August 1831," a meteorological journal. It provides a brief account of Sir James Lyon’s character and reputation as he responds to the devastation of the hurricane.
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