Selina C. Washburn travel diary

American Selina C. Washburn kept this travel diary during her 1854 voyage from Boston, Massachusetts, to London, England, and Paris, France. Selina and her sister Sarah accompanied their father Cyrus Washburn on a business trip and her diary records her impressions of persons encountered, shops visited, and sightseeing excursions.

Selina Washburn kept this diary for a brief period between July and October 1854 when she and her sister Sarah accompanied their father Cyrus Washburn on a business trip from Boston to London and Paris. The Washburns were joined by another man, Captain Gardner, also traveling with his two daughters. Nearly five weeks were spent in crossing the Atlantic and once abroad, the young ladies occupied themselves with sightseeing and shopping. Ships mentioned in the diary include the Admiral and the Fatherland.

Selina Washburn wrote about many events that occurred during her trip, including the "marriage" of her friend Olive to a Scotsman on October 5, 1854. The group was told that since Olive had assented to all the questions asked her, this resulted in a valid Scots wedding. However, the man did not remain and Cyrus Washburn promised to sue him for breach of promise. Upon arriving in Liverpool, England, from whence they sailed for home, they discovered that one of their trunks had been lost—the one with the bonnets purchased in Paris. There was also a remark in the final entry concerning the gloom cast over the company because of the ill-fated loss of the transatlantic steamship Arctic which had sunk just a few weeks prior.

The manuscript is bound in cloth with a gold urn embossed on the front cover. It contains autograph notes in ink on approximately eight-seven lined pages. In addition there were four oversize documents removed from the diary and stored separately. These include a bill of sale for bonnets and the passport allowing Mr. Washburn, his two daughters and two other ladies to travel from England to France. This document was signed by future U.S. President James Buchanan, then minister to Great Britain.