Call Number:

Ms. Codex 1807

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

1 volume

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Ms. Codex 1807, Memoranda of a journey overland, with Mr. Melville and Mr. Bax, from Bombay to London by the Red Sea, Egypt, Malta, Sicily, Italy, Switzerland, and France, commencing from Bombay, November 7, 1822, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1822-1823 (inclusive)

Creator:

Hull, William

Form:

Manuscripts, English -- 19th century, Codices (bound manuscripts), Diaries, Drawings (visual works), and Pencil drawings

Abstract:

Volume containing the travel diary of William Hull (1778?-1840). The volume traces his journey from Bombay (Mumbai), India to London, England spanning eight months from November 7, 1822 to July 17, 1823.

Born in England circa 1778, William Hull entered service with the East India Company in 1798. He served England and the company in India for over twenty-five years achieving the ranks of Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel, and Major-General. According to an account of his service Hull successfully commanded many regiments in war and praised by his superiors. In 1813 Hull hunted down tigers destroying a village near Guzerat (Gujarat). After living in India for twenty-four years Hull departed Bombay on a furlough in 1822 returning to England in 1823. He was commissioned Companion of the order of the Bath in 1838 and promoted to the rank of Major-General.

This leather volume with a pattern-stamped cover contains the travel diary of William Hull. The volume traces his journey from Bombay (Mumbai), India to London, England spanning eight months from November 7, 1822 to July 17, 1823. The pages of the journal are numbered 1 to 105. Written at the top of each page is the city he visited. Hull recorded the names of people he encountered on the journey including governors, consuls, guides, and missionaries. He described the cities, major sites, experiences, and customs of the areas he visited. Departing from Bombay Hull noted each city on the voyage beginning with Mokah, Yemen and recorded the small cities along the Red Sea. A majority of the journal discusses his travels through Egypt and up the Nile River including Luxor, Cairo, Memphis, and Alexandria. The remainder of the diary records Hull's impressions of Malta, Sicily, Italy, Switzerland, and France. Highlights of Hull's travels include crossing the Egyptian desert by camel with details of riding the animals and experiencing a mirage. At sites in Egypt Hull discussed the mummies he saw at an excavation site in Luxor, the indigenous cave dwellers he encountered at a mountain site near Luxor who he referred to as troglodytes, recorded his observations of the pyramids at Giza, and noted the hieroglyphs and the library he saw at Alexandria. In Memphis Hull met Giovanni Battista Caviglia (1770-1845), who discovered the colossus statue of Ramses II. Hull recorded his meeting with Caviglia and his observations of the statue. Additionally, he listed the measurements of each portion of the colossus. Hull noted being quarantined at the lazaretto at Malta for thirty days before embarking on European portion of the journey. He provided detailed descriptions of the major cities and sights in Europe including Rome, the Vatican, and Paris. Written on the marbled endpaper at the beginning of the volume is "from Mildred Hull to William Hull, Feb. 15, 1827." Mildred was most likely Hull's wife. The volume is written in two hands as indicated by the note following below the title: "copied from my journal by Mrs. Hull to p. 77 and finished by me at West Mount Cottage, Sidmouth, Feb. 15, 1827." There are three pencil drawings on tracing paper depicting images of Egypt pasted in the volume. The drawings illustrate a man riding a camel, an encampment in the desert, and the obelisks at Luxor.