1870 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY, TRAVEL JOURNAL AND CATCH ALL OF A RATHER WELL OFF TEENAGE GIRL FROM SOUTHERN WALES ON THE PICTURESQUE, ENIGMATIC GOWER PENINSULA

On offer is a superb, original 1870 Victorian Era manuscript 100+ page diary and some copied popular verse [50+pages] handwritten by Julia M. D. Mayberg, as identified by the ownership inscription on the front endpaper: "Julia M. D. Mayberg July 27th 1870" an upper middle class Gower Peninsula Welsh teenage girl who details a life of some privilege living on the Peninsula, The Mumbles in Wales between 20 June 1870 - 15 May 1871, travelling frequently with her widowed mother. We believe her home base was in or near Bishopston and family is noted in Dublin and throughout England journeying there with her mother, sometimes with their servant Annie. A life of indulgence is described: daily afternoon teas, collecting crests, walking the seashore, shopping in England jewellery and non essentials. Devoutly Christian, her uncle William is a reverend and she attends church services very regularly with a sincere interest in the sermons. Well read, well educated the author enjoys good conversation and even the French card game Bezique! The young girl's life plays out with the sensational backdrop of the renowned Gower Peninsula in South Wales making for an utterly unique personal account of life there for this young lady. Local travel included Swansea, and all over the Gower Peninsula, often via the family pony carriage and just on foot. Cheriton, Llanmadoc Hill, and Llanddewi-Brefi, the ancient Llanmadoc Church, recently restored and home pulpit of Reverend and author J. D. Davies. She also mentions several Welsh personalities: Thomas Bullin of Swansea an associate of the Whitland Turnpike Trust, iron and steel manufacturer Mr. Beynon, the famed Reverend Davies of Llanmadoc Church, and Katie Acheson [likely the Lady Katharine Acheson - daughter of Sir Archibald Acheson, 3rd Earl of Gosford]. Trips to England for a wedding in Bath, family near Stroud, a jaunt to Chippenham, and occasionally to Brighton, once for a spectacular Christmas shopping trip, where she and her mother purchased a "real" ermine fur muff, writing paper, specialty foods and seasonal treats, a crystal decanter, dolls and a doll's wash stand and basin, numerous gifts. She makes frequent mention of sermons preached by Octavius Winslow in Brighton. Relative to the period, she often notices "servants" travelling with "masters". A journey is also made to Southampton to see off her Uncle Arthur and Aunt Agnes who were sailing to India on 6 January 1871 onboard the steamer "Ceylon." Here are some snippets: 21 June 1870. "We went to Bath and Aunt Annie went with us..." "I bought my parting present for Millicent which was a crimson marker with two anchors meaning hope and two hearts meaning charity dropping from it made of gilt. I bought a blue necklace for myself, one I had always wished for and went down to Millicent and showed her my gold chain and locket and gave her the marker which she was very pleased with. And I brought her home to tea and we walked about the garden and acted an aligory and then acted something else..." "When we got to Stroud we had a very long drive of ten miles to go in a waggonet that was sent for us... the train doesn't go further than Stroud. When we got to Uncle Sam's we were very tired... Miss Lydiarde, the governess is very nice." "In one shop we went into Mother bought me a manuscript book for writing 'My Journal' in and a small one for herself. In the evening we went for a ride in a pony carriage... called upon the Paravincis..." "Uncle Sam and Auntie's birthday... Mother got him a memorandum book bound in Russian leather. That day in honour of the two birthdays we went to have a picnic at Badminton in the park of the duke of Beaufort. [Captain Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beaufort, British peer, soldier and Conservative politician, Knight of the Garter, in 1867 appointed Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire, founder of The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes publications.] Laura and Julia Wickman came, all the children and all the servants except one... we found we must go to the Hermitage, a very pretty summer house... the deer in that park I shall never forget, there are said to be two thousand there... We went to the Duke's house... not at home, the duchess and some friends were... we were allowed to go over to the stables... It is said that the duke has a hundred and twenty and forty grooms. There was one groom, a very civil one, that showed us all the horses... one Arab horse that the Sultan had given to the duke ..." "... with Mr. Butler went for a drive to Malmesbury to see the Abbey there and we went in the pony carriage. Mr. Butler was in a state of sulks all the time because he found that the people in the Reformation had not destroyed the Abbey. The outside of it is very beautiful..." "When we got to Reynoldston we went to a shop there and bought some things there and then we had tea at Mary Bossar's an old servant of grandma's." "In the evening we went up Llanmadoc Hill, the view from the top is lovely for you see the whole of Gower surrounded by the sea and by the hills. We see almost the whole of the Worm's Head from there.... In the afternoon we walked to Hardens Down [Hardings Down] and went to see Eliza, another old servant of grandma's who lives there..." "After tea we went on to Llandewy [Llanddewi-Brefi] to see grandma's and grandpa's grave.... At last we came back to Burry's Green where we went in to Mrs. Beynon's..." Brighton, 17 December 1870. "... mother and I went to Treacher's Library to get a book [an historic subscription bookshop] ... then went into a grocer's shop... raspberry jam and lobster pasta for Aunt Emma... went into a sweet shop and she ought some mixed sweets and some burnt almonds." 8 April 1871. "Mother & Annie & I all went to the cemetery to put a cross of flowers we had made on papa's grave, also a garland of everlasting flowers which we had bought in Brighton." The 55 pages of poetry and playwright verses popular at the time are complete with an index. The 8vo has some general ageing but overall VG.; Manuscript; 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, BRITAIN, UNITED KINGDOM, GOWER PENINSULA, THE MUMBLES, WALES, VICTORIAN ERA, WELSH TEENAGER, JULIA M. D. MAYBERG, BISHOPSTON, CHERITON, LLANMADOC HILL, LLANDDEWI-BREFI, LLANMADOC CHURCH, REVEREND AUTHOR J. D. DAVIES, THOMAS BULLIN, SWANSEA, WHITLAND TURNPIKE TRUST, IRON AND STEEL MANUFACTURER MR. 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