Browse Items (162 total)

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  A.S. Lyon's 1823 Diary

  The original diary belongs to Annabel Foster-Davis. She has kindly given permission to publish a digital copy of the diary on The Lyon Archive.
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  Plan of Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport

  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).

• The Betrothed

  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.

• History of England

  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.
  
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  Ballroom dancers

  An illustration of ballroom dancers for the Journal des Demoiselles; Edition Belge.
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  The Counting House

  The painting depicts a counting house in business, perhaps displaying the work that James and Abraham Lyon conducted in their own lives.
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  Knight Chess

  This photograph highlights the knight in a game of chess.
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  View of Syon House across the Thames near Kew Gardens

  Photographic reproduction of a painting.
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  Quadrilles. Third set.

  Illustration of the quadrille style of dancing, popularized in nineteenth-century Europe.
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  The Anniversary Meeting of the Charity Children in the Cathedral of St. Paul

  This 1826 painting illustrates the large annual meeting of the Charity Children in London, congregated within the vastness of the Cathedral of St. Paul.
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  Une société lyrique (ou goguette) à Paris en 1826.

  Lyon often mentioned Paris, as it was the place to go for him to acquire his goods for his business. He often disliked the travel, primarily because of the poor weather. He also disliked it because his brother James often prodded him to go, and these meetings for the goods that James would set up were ill-received by the distributors. Lyon also didn't understand or participate in the culture well enough to feel welcome.
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  Panoramic View of Paris from the Pont Neuf

  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.
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  Interior of late 19th century terraced house - National History Museum of Wales, St Fagans

  This photo shows the interior view of a late nineteenth-century worker's home in St. Fagans, Wales, rebuilt for display at The National Maritime Museum.
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  _The Soho Bazaar, Soho Square_

  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.
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  Drury Lane Theatre

  Illustration from Microcosm of London depicting a Roman play performed in the early nineteenth-century at the Drury Lane Theatre in London.
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  Covent Garden Theatre

  Illustration depicting a performance onstage at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.
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  The Blue Devils

  This illustration depicts a man consulting his doctor on his ailment, caused by the "blue devils," a term commonly used during the nineteenth century to describe feelings of depression.
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  Maria Foote, Afterwards Countess of Harrington, as Maria Darlington in the Farce of "A Rowland for an Oliver" (1824)

  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.
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  Diary of Sarah Lindo Lyon

  Manuscript Diary
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  The London Tavern at Bishopsgate

  A digital image of an engraved illustration of The City of London Tavern from 1809. The illustration provides context on the places Lyon visited in London.
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  John Bull

  This item is a digital reproduction of a (potential) lithograph included at the beginning of John Bull: The Englishman’s Fireside: A Comedy, in Five Acts, published in 1807 by George Colman, the Younger.

• Bay of Biscay

  This is a sheet map of the Bay of Biscay and it shows the area where Lyon might have sailed.
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  The Journal of Sir Walter Scott

  The Journal of Sir Walter Scott provides a first-person account of Scott's daily life from 1825 to his death in 1832. It was primarily written at his Scottish estate, Abbostford. The first complete edition of his journals were published by David Douglas in 1890.
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  Victoria Station London - Clock

  Photograph of the clock at Victoria Railway Station in London, England.
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  The blue devils. A poor depressed man.

  The blue devils was a term given to melancholy and sadness. It refers to "intense visual hallucinations that can accompany severe alcohol withdrawal," and as time went on, it came to mean a state of agitation or depression.