One wouldn t like his wife to smoke. But some how there was
a fitness of it, with Lotty. She looked pretty, doing it,
and twas a very good cigar. An impromptu oyster supper
anon, Whytal fetching em, more merry talk & little rompings,
and I walked through the clear chill midnight Streets to my
solitary room. It ll hardly last.
28. Monday. Down town, Post Office, Office of Barnum &
Beachs paper, seing Leslie & leaving sketch, Picayune Office &c
Drawing in the afternoon. Evening at Wallacks with Waud
to see Money. I like Laura Keane, face, voice and
playing. I can t find aught to cavil at in the latter, albeit
I ve seen her in so many diverse parts. She hasnt any
miserable mannerisms, talks like a human creature & a lady,
don t roll her R s & say key-ind and skey-i, nor
over-do a part as nearly all players do. I like her pleasant
English speech and look. / Holcomb joined us, after
Money was over. High Life Below Stairs followed. Supped
at Erfords, en triumvirate.
29. Tuesday. Fred Greatbatch came, with word that
little Will was dead, and bidding me to the funeral.
So at half past one I went there, and was by Mr Great-
batch ushered into the front room, which was dark, the outer
blinds being closed, and a number of persons present. On
| Page |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Five: page one hundred and seventy-four |
| Description: | Mentions the death of Will Greatbatch, and attending his funeral. |
| Date: | 1853-03-27 |
| Subject: | Actors; Barnum, P.T.; Beach; Food; Funeral rites and ceremonies; Greatbatch, Fred (Bristol); Greatbatch, Joseph; Greatbatch, Will; Gunn, Thomas Butler; Holcomb; Keene, Laura; Kidder, Charlotte (Whytal, Granville); Leslie; Smoking; Theater; Waud, Alfred; Whytal, John |
| Coverage (City/State): | [New York, New York] |
| Scan Date: | 2011-02-07 |
| Volume |
| Title: | Thomas Butler Gunn Diaries, Volume Five |
| Description: | Includes descriptions of Gunn looking for drawing and writing work among New York publishers, witnessing a fire at a chocolate factory, attending a religious camp meeting, his friendship with Lotty Whytal, the 1852 presidential election, a visit to Niagara Falls in the winter, a visit to Toronto, Canada, and the Crystal Palace in New York. |
| Subject: | Gunn, Thomas Butler; Railroad; Publishers and publishing; Religion; Travel; Women |
| Coverage (City/State): | New York, New York; Niagara, New York; Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| 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. |
