08 Aug 2008
August's item of the month is the illustrated diary of Alfred Withers
It covers his voyage on the James Baines from Liverpool to Melbourne, Australia in 1857 (JOD/171).
This diary caught my eye when I was looking through some of the first items of the month published on the website. Despite being one of the Museum's treasures, only a couple of brief paragraphs had been written about it. The diary had been about to be put into a display case so the author of the original article had only a very short time to look at it. I was delighted to discover that the diary had recently returned to our stores after being on display both here in the Museum and in galleries over in Australia. It is full of illustrations and the diary entries and descriptions are delightful.
Hannah (Archive and Manuscripts Manager)