Call Number:

Ms. Codex 2262

Repository:

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

Extent:

1 volume(s)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

William Arthur Blackburn Leach Burma and India travel diary, 1927 January 26-March 21, Ms. Codex 2262, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1927 January 26 - March 21

Creator:

Leach, William Arthur Blackburn, 1872-1962

Form:

Diaries, Journals (accounts), and Codices (bound manuscripts)

Abstract:

William Arthur Blackburn Leach (1872-1962) was a sinologist, councilman, and amateur photographer who lived and worked in Northampton, England and Shanghai, China. This diary provides a detailed account of Leach's 1927 travels through Burma and India.

William Arthur Blackburn Leach was a sinologist, councilman, and amateur photographer born on January 2, 1872, in Norwich, England to William and Harriet B. B. Leach.

He was an apprentice carpenter and engineer before moving to China in 1902 to take a position with the Public Works Department of the Shanghai Municipal Council. He spent his entire career in Shanghai. After retiring, Leach returned to England, where he lived in Northampton and worked as a lay preacher and local councilman.

While living in China, Leach traveled extensively, visiting numerous places in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Egypt and The Holy Land, the Far East, Canada, and the United States. He was an amateur photographer and documented those travels both through photography and writing. He additionally gave talks on his travels upon his return to England.

Leach died on January 4, 1962, in Northampton, England.

Sources:

"(Yuefenpai) Early 20th Century Chinese Posters." Lay's Auctioneers, 2023, www.davidlay.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-35---yuefenpai-early-20th-century-chinese-posters/?lot=121168&sd=1.

"Archive of 183 Photographs of Early Twentieth-Century Egypt and Palestine: Books." Provincial Booksellers Fair Association: The Sign of a Good Book, Provincial Booksellers Fair Association, www.pbfa.org/books/archive-of-183-photographs-of-early-twentieth-century-egypt-and-palestine?utm_source=vialibri&utm_medium=archive&utm_campaign=vialibri. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.

This travel diary dates from January 26 through March 21, 1927, and provides a detailed account of William Arthur Blackburn Leach's travels through Burma and India.

The volume is bound in black cloth over stiff card covers, has lined pages, and original creator-supplied pagination. The entirety of the volume has been written in. This diary is identified as volume II in Leach's hand on the first flyleaf (p. i).

This diary includes detailed accounts of Leach's days while traveling and extensive observations and descriptions of his surroundings. Entries often detail the weather, how and where he started his day, descriptions of landscapes and people, travel logistics, and a full account of what happened throughout the day. Of particular interest are the detailed descriptions of the locations visited, and local people Leach encountered and observed.

The only image in the volume is a pencil sketch of a chair captioned, "chair in Nepal and Mandalay" on the first flyleaf (p. i).

Early entries in this diary take place in Burma (Myanmar), specifically Henzada (Hinthada) (p. 10), Danubyu (p. 10), and Dedaye (p. 12). Subsequent entries primarily take place in India, in cities and towns including Calcutta, Dinapore, Delhi, and Bombay, among others.