Manuscript journal of travel and medical notes [manuscript], Circa 1660,.

Genoa, Livorno, Padua and Bologna, Circa 1660.

1 item ; 188 x 95 x 12 mm

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Italy.

FAST ACC 272506

From dealer's description: "[SOUTHWELL, Sir Robert (1635-1702)] Manuscript journal of travel and medical notes. [Genoa, Livorno, Padua and Bologna. Circa 1660. Dated in text]. Manuscript on paper. Measurements: 188 mm x 95 mm x 12 mm. Approximately 130 text pages on 70 leaves. Bound in an earlier vellum document. Watermark: Upside-down bell above the word Galhairdo and beneath is an upsidedown crown. An unusual watermark not in Haewood or Briquet. This hugely appealing artefact began life as a vellum deed. But, with its original purpose fulfilled it was fashioned into a wallet style binding (tied with a piece of vellum presumably also cut from the same sheet) that unfolds to reveal the remarkable 17thcentury notebook of a young man whose intense intellectual curiosity is recorded with an unvarnished immediacy of thought. The notebook's construction and unusual vertical oblong format indicate that this was a home-made book. Its owner and compiler, Sir Robert Southwell, was an affluent man, so its humble beginnings suggest that it was created for its convenient format rather than any concerns for parsimony: its simple, slim shape slips neatly into the pocket, perfect for our peripatetic record-keeper as he travels to Italy to absorb its history and customs, and learn about the medical and scientific advances taking place there, all of which are recorded in an urgent, eager, and consequently rather untidy hand. Sir Robert Southwell was born in Ireland. He received some schooling in the city of Cork before moving to England in 1650. In 1653 he matriculated at Queen's College in Oxford, where he graduated BA in 1655, having been entered at Lincoln's Inn in 1654. He completed this 'gentleman's education' by taking an early form of 'grand tour'. But we learn from his journal that he was not merely adding polish to a fashionable education; he is genuinely curious to learn all he can about the workings of societies, the human body, and the natural world. His fascination for science, which is apparent throughout the journal, was confirmed in 1662, when his friend, Robert Boyle, sponsored him to become a fellow of the Royal Society (of which he was elected president in 1690). The notebook has little in the way of a narrative shape; it serves as a handy receptacle for Southwell's 'memos', many of which he apparently records 'on the hoof', as scenes unfold before him. At times the precise meaning of his notes can be a little obscure, but this contributes to the overall impression of a highly intelligent and engaged young man intently squirrelling away thoughts for later use or reflection. PEOPLE: PAST AND PRESENT Southwell's apparent sociability and facility for learning languages allowed him to move through social situations with ease (qualities which would serve him well later in his career as an ambassador). On the first page of his journal, he records his arrival at Genoa, where "ye Governour sent for us, received courteously with some state, discoursed of ye marriage of France & our Voyage to Rome" - and after Southwell's company return to their lodgings, "he sent us .2. bottles of Wine". Later he attends a grand marriage in Parma, which he records in detail (f.40r - f.42v.): "The Duchess was mett by 40 coaches wth. 6 horses [...] as her Coaches passed by, all ye Ladyes came out of theirs on ye way making obeyances [...] At ye townes end ye Bsp. red. her at a chappel there erected to give her benediction". He records the seating arrangements at their lavish "publick dinner". As befits a future ambassador, he is rarely judgmental, only occasionally allowing himself to lapse into gossip ("he is now poore, gained all away and is a most contemptible sottish fellow"). Southwell is equally alert to figures and artefacts from the past, and assiduously records inscriptions wherever he goes ("the story is yt. 500 women went to ye holy war of wch. returned but 36 whose Armour is there hanging [...] ye breast plates swelling out. one is for a great (1) great bellyed woman and ye head piece of their Captaine is guilt with gold. There are armes fixt for for 30 thousand men likes muskets, pistolls, Drums &c."). One inscription in particular draws his attention: "Pillar of Infamy" records the traitorous acts of "Johannis Paulo Balbi" and elicits his observation that "the Inscription on marble in ye wall, & ye Pillars placed in ye wall yt. it might not be throwne downe for of his relations there are eminent persons in ye towne." Also, on the vexed topic of sympathies and loyalties, Southwell remarks on support on the Continent for English Recusants: "The Jesuit told us yt. in England ye Priest doe com[m]only lodg in ye Parsons house. At ye Execution of one of them there are still a great number about him to give him the last absolution where he gains ye signe, as holding up his hands or soe." Ordered from Dean Cooke, Manuscripts & Rare Books, D9588, 2022-05-25, Words and things catalog, item 5. Purchase made possible by [funding info goes here].

272506