1845 - 1855 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY HANDWRITTEN BY A BRITISH OFFICER AND VICTORIAN GENTLEMAN SETTLING DOWN TO RETIREMENT IN LONDON AND NOT WITHOUT INTRIGUE

On offer is a sensational, original manuscript relic of Victorian times being the 1845 - 1855 handwritten diary and journal of a British officer as he settles in to retirement in London, something he has wished for, and who details his life and times with family and friends in great detail. Lt. Col H. Mitchell [as stated on a front cover sticker 'Diary of Lt. Col. H. Mitchell 1845-1855'] appears to be an old India hand, keeping up with the gossip, writing letters to Government, meeting boats with friends and acquaintances returning from India. This intelligent and observant man, a Senior Officer, with a hint of the rogue, allows the reader to see the elements of his life: family, politics, friends, relations all the while there is a back drop of tensions; from the first pages about finances gone wrong especially with the Bank of Australia and how the impact of world politics would also affect his pocket book and also his seemingly unending interest in India. He also copies some verse and there is a most interesting letter copy to the Earl of Ripond regarding India. Here are some snippets: "Jan 1846 How little I have written in 1845! It has not been a fertile year of events it is true beyond the birth of our daughter. The one we are entering upon with I fear be more eventful for it can hardly fail deeply to affect my money affairs either for good or for ill. I find…my incomes amount to 1200 pounds; were misfortunes to befall them I may be reduced to 500 pounds! Were the bank of Australia to recover its prosperity….and should we be forced into a war with America and it seems difficult to see how the Oregon question can be settled without war, so overbearing are the pretensions and the conduct of the Americans my income may be reduced to less than 500 pounds without the house!" He notes in one of the last entries how the Queen saw fit to raise his rank to Colonel and while mostly ceremonial he was quite pleased. The 9½ x 7¾ inch half calf, marbled boards contains 59 pages of narrative is overall G+.; Manuscript; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF,LT. COL. H. MITCHELL, 19TH CENTURY, VICTORIAN ERA, VICTORIAN GENTLEMAN, LONDON, ENGLAND, INDIA, EAST INDIA COMPANY, THE AUSTRALIAN BANK, BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BRITAIN, BRITANNICA, UNITED KINGDOM, COLONIAL INDIA, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, AUTOGRAPHED, AUTHORS, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, KEEPSAKE, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, PERSONAL HISTORY, ARCHIVE, DIARY, DIARIES, JOURNAL, LOG, PRIMARY SOURCE, FIRST HAND ACCOUNT, SOCIAL HISTORY, PERSONAL STORIES, LIVING HISTORY, ANTIQUITÉ, CONTRAT, VÉLIN, DOCUMENT, MANUSCRIT, PAPIER ANTIKE, BRIEF, PERGAMENT, DOKUMENT, MANUSKRIPT, PAPIER OGGETTO D'ANTIQUARIATO, ATTO, VELINA, DOCUMENTO, MANOSCRITTO, CARTA ANTIGÜEDAD, HECHO, VITELA, DOCUMENTO, MANUSCRITO, PAPEL,