Description of University of Pennsylvania, Ms. Coll. 851: Diary of a Trip on the Nile River University of Pennsylvania Metadata is ©2014 University of Pennsylvania Libraries and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. These images and the content of University of Pennsylvania Ms. Coll. 851 Diary of a Trip on the Nile River are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/. Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Ms. Coll. 851 This red leather-bound volume, beginning in August 1874 and ending in February 1875, is the unknown diary of a woman from New York City. Most entries in this vividly detailed journal begin with the date, followed by the time and the temperature and/or weather. The diarist and her companion, to whom she refers as "C." (who is probably Catharine Lorillard Wolfe, 1828-1887), leave from New York on 22 August 1874 on a Cunard steamer named Algeria. They arrive in Liverpool, England on 2 September and travel to London, where they tour the city and its outskirts. On 19 September they proceed to France, arriving in Paris on 22 September. Here they visit museums and tour the city, meeting friends and artists, including painter Albrecht Schenck (1828-1901). From Paris they journey to Italy, making several stops, even gambling in Monte Carlo. The writer relates details about France's landscape of eucalyptus and olive trees. They arrive in Italy, stopping in San Remo and Savona, where she records witnessing women working in the brickyards. A train takes the women through Italy, where the works of art and architecture they encounter in Florence, Rome, Pompeii, and Naples are documented. From Brindisi the pair takes a steamer to Egypt, arriving in Alexandria on 10 December. The writer describes the sounds of waterwheels, foggy mornings, the landscape (some of which is desolate and arid and some with barley and lentils), wildlife, bazaars, mud villages, irrigation, and local peoples and their dress. They arrive in Cairo on 12 December, where they visit the Cairo Museum, travel to the pyramids, see the sphinx, and are escorted by an officer to visit four mosques. On 20 December the women, Daibes (their dragoman--a guide and interpreter), and a crew of sixteen begin their voyage up the Nile River on a dahabeeyah (a shallow-bottomed boat with two or more sails) named "Southern Cross." A list of the crew and description of the boat including a layout drawing are recorded in the journal. The women often socialize with their friends the Browne's, who are traveling on a dahabeeyah called the "Lotus." Each stop along their voyage is documented; at Luxor, for example, they travel on land by donkey, reaching the temples of Thebes and seeing a Coptic monastery. The women encounter sandstorms and traverse the cataracts. Passing the Tropic of Cancer at the end of January 1875, they commence their return trip down the Nile to Cairo. The diary ends abruptly as the writer is describing Ramses III tomb on 27 February 1875. Six leaves are laid in the diary, including a list of people and distinguishing characteristics, a layout sketch of a boat, a plan to visit Syria, a landscape sketch in pencil, a clipping naming some people leaving New York on the Algeria, and a map of the Nile River Valley. Primary language: English. Diary of a Trip on the Nile River Unknown 2r August 22, 1874 3r September 3-4, 1874 3v September 5-6, 1874 4r September 7-8, 1874 4v September 9, 1874 5v September 10, 1874 6r September 11, 1874 7r September 12, 1874 7v September 13, 1874 8v September 14-15, 1874 9r September 16, 1874 9v September 17-18, 1874 10r September 19-20, 1874 10v September 21, 1874 11r September 22, 1874 11v September 23-24, 1874 12r September 25-29, 1874 12v September 30-October 4, 1874 13r October 5-6, 1874 13v October 8-10, 1874 14r October 11-14, 1874 14v October 15-18, 1874 15r October 19-20, 1874 15v October 21, 1874 16r October 22, 1874 16v October 23-24, 1874 17v October 25, 1874 18r October 26, 1874 19v October 27, 1874 20v October 28, 1874 21v October 29, 1874 22r October 30, 1874 22v October 31, 1874 23v November 1, 1874 24r November 2-3, 1874 24v November 4-5, 1874 25r November 6-8, 1874 25v November 9-10, 1874 26v November 11, 1874 27r November 12, 1874 28v November 13-15, 1874 29r November 16, 1874 29v November 17, 1874 30r November 18, 1874 31r November 19, 1874 31v November 20, 1874 32r November 21, 1874 33r November 22, 1874 34r November 23, 1874 34v November 24, 1874 35r November 25, 1874 35v November 26-27, 1874 36r November 28-29, 1874 36v November 30-December 1, 1874 38r December 2-3, 1874 38v December 4-6, 1874 39v December 7-10, 1874 40v December 11, 1874 41r December 12, 1874 41v December 13-15, 1874 42r December 16, 1874 42v December 17, 1874 43r December 18, 1874 43v December 19-20, 1874 44r December 21, 1874 44v December 22, 1874 45r December 23, 1874 45v December 24, 1874 47v December 25, 1874 48r December 26, 1874 49v December 27, 1874 50r December 28-29, 1874 51r December 30, 1874 51v December 31, 1874 52r January 1, 1875 53v January 2-3, 1875 54r January 4, 1875 54v January 5, 1875 55v January 6, 1875 56r January 7-8, 1875 56v January 9, 1875 57v January 10, 1875 58r January 11, 1875 59v January 12, 1875 60v January 13, 1875 61r January 14-15, 1875 61v January 16-18, 1875 62v January 19, 1875 63r January 20, 1875 63v January 21, 1875 64r January 22, 1875 64v January 23, 1875 66r January 24, 1875 67r January 25, 1875 67v January 26, 1875 68r January 27, 1875 68v January 28, 1875 69r January 29, 1875 70r January 30, 1875 71r January 31, 1875 72r February 1, 1875 72v February 2, 1875 73r February 3, 1875 73v February 4, 1875 74v February 5, 1875 75v February 6, 1875 76r February 7, 1875 76v February 8, 1875 77v February 9, 1875 78v February 10-11, 1875 79r February 12, 1875 80r February 13, 1875 80v February 14, 1875 81v February 15, 1875 82v February 16, 1875 83v February 17-18, 1875 85r February 19, 1875 85v February 20, 1875 86r February 21, 1875 86v February 22, 1875 87v February 23, 1875 88v February 24, 1875 89r February 25-26, 1875 90r February 27, 1875 [Loose note 1r] Newspaper clipping [Loose note 3r] List of names [Loose note 5r] Syria: note on expenses Belgian and Egyptian flags Diagram of boat (left side) Diagram of boat (right side) Cartouche of Rameses "rude sort of lyre or harp or violin of 4 strings" Cartouches at Kom Ombo Map of Egypt Drawing of boat Drawing, February 2, 1875 From 1874 to 1875 Nile River American diaries--Specimens--19th century American diaries--Women authors--19th century Diaries Sketches Maps (documents) Diaries, American--19th century Wolfe, Catharine Lorillard, 1828-1887 Nile River--Description and travel--19th century Nile River Valley--Description and travel--19th century France--Description and travel--19th century England--Description and travel--19th century