106
a Russian officer. He is a good-humored,
very decisive, a terrific infidel and admirer of Tom
Paine, and possesses an inordinate contempt and
dislike to Americans, which he never takes the
slightest pains to conceal. / Up and down
in company with Haney. Went to Scoville s of-
fice. Talk with him about doing the literary
and dramatic for his paper. Asked him $8 weekly.
At Bellew s in the evening, but Sol Eyting
and Cahill coming, Bellew was only intermittently
present, being forced like Mr Dick in his essay
at copying legal documents to fly from one to
the other, now playing host to me above, anon to
them below. Marry, which of us was Memorial
I don t know.
5. Friday. Office . Writing to Boutcher,
and to George Clarke at night, then called at
Mrs Jewell s and the Edwards .
6. Saturday. Office. Writing editorials &c.
Met Fanny Fern, daughter, and little Jacobs twice
in Broadway on my way uptown. Writing at night.
(European editorial.)
7. Sunday. With Haney to Brooklyn,
getting to Parton s by 1. Remained all day, having
a very jolly time of it, especially towards the evening.
All sorts of things discussed and laughed over.
Returned by 10 1/2. Haney told two
good stories, the first of which perhaps both
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Eight: page one hundred and thirteen |
| Description: | Describes Colonel Hugh Forbes. |
| Date: | 1856-12-04 |
| Subject: | Bellew, Frank; Boutcher, William; Cahill, Frank; Clarke, George; Eldredge, Grace (Thomson); Eytinge, Solomon; Fern, Fanny; Forbes, Hugh; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Haney, Jesse; Jacobs, Louisa; Jewell, Mrs.; Parton, James; Publishers and publishing; Scoville, Joe |
| Coverage (City/State): | [New York, New York] |
| Coverage (Street): | Broadway |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-02 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Eight |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of the process of publishing his book, ''The Physiology of New-York Boarding Houses;'' his poor mental state upon returning to New York from England; meeting Walt Whitman; visits with Fanny Fern, James Parton, and Harriet Jacobs' daughter Louisa who is living with them; a visit to the Catskill Mountains with the Edwards family; moving into the boarding house at 132 Bleecker Street; working on the publication ''European'' with Colonel Hugh Forbes; the death of publisher William Levison and his daughter Ellen in his boarding house; visiting the scene of the murder of a dentist to get a sketch of the suspect; visiting Newport, Rhode Island, on assignment to sketch for Frank Leslie; and the death of his brother-in-law, Joseph Greatbatch. |
| Subject: | Boardinghouses; Bohemians; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Journalism; Medical care; Mental illness; Publishers and publishing; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Newport, Rhode Island |
| Note: | Thomas Butler Gunn was born February 15, 1826, in Banbury, England, and came to New York in 1849. During the Civil War he worked as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the New York Evening Post. He returned to England in 1863, and died in Birmingham in April 1903. The collection includes twenty-one volumes of his diaries, including newspaper clippings, letters, photographs, sketches, and various other items inserted by Gunn. Diary entries date from July 7, 1849, to April 7, 1863, and include his experiences with the New York publishing and literary world, his descriptions of boarding houses, his travels throughout the United States, and his experiences traveling with the Federal army as a Civil War correspondent. |
| Publisher: | Missouri History Museum |
| Rights: | Copyright 2011 Missouri History Museum. |
| Source: | Page images, transcriptions, and metadata of the Thomas Butler Gunn diaries have been provided by the Missouri History Museum. |
