Wales, James, 1746 or 1747–1795, James Wales diary, 1792 June-December
- Call Number:
- MSS 26
- Holdings:
- Accessible by appointment in the Study Room [Request]
- Creator:
- Wales, James, 1746 or 1747–1795
- Title(s):
- James Wales diary
- Date:
- 1792 June-December
- Classification:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Series:
- Series I: Diaries
- Part of Collection:
- volume 1
- Provenance:
- Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
- Conditions Governing Access:
- The collection is open without restriction.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- Copyright UndeterminedThe collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Archives Department.
- Scope and Content:
- The volume begins with Wales’s journey to Poonah (Pune), and proceeds to narrate his time in the city in considerable detail. Subject matter concerns his artistic and business interactions with Charles Warre Malet and the Maratha court. Some specific paintings are identifiable by context. The volume also gives insight into Wales’s wellbeing and reflections on his time in India. At the beginning of the volume is a separate sheet of paper giving detailed instructions for a journey, noting sites of interest. Wales organizes the volume by day. His first entries concern his journey to Poonah: he lists his attendants, including Robert Mabon and possibly others, and mentions his coterie of Indian servants. Throughout the journey, he complains about his attendants and comments on the local brahmins who, he says, think themselves “infinitely superior to all other people on earth.” Wales enjoys the company of Charles Warre Malet, whose elephants and camels prove quite impressive. He accompanies Malet on a visit to the Maratha court, which he describes with a small layout of the structure. He likewise describes his attempts to meet with Nana Fadnavis, an influential minister in the court, though experiences some delays. Nonetheless, he eventually meets both the Maratha Peshwa, his advisors, and Fadnavis. Much of the remainder of the volume gives regular updates on the progress of various portraits commissioned by them. Wales includes a list of pictures and portraits begun at Poonah and notes the delivery of various paintings to the Maratha court, to general satisfaction. He paints portraits of the Peshwa and Fadnavis, along with Fadnavis’s wife, among others. Wales is impressed with the bearing of the Marathas he finds at court: “I could not help being much pleased with the behavior of Sindia + his Chiefs. Their frank and manly manners formed a constant to what I have seen...” He also continues his interactions with Malet, producing his portrait as well as one of his “lady,” likely Amber Kaur, a Maratha princess with whom Malet had several children. She would later remain in India as Malet returned to England and married Wales’s daughter, Susanna. The volume gives other incidental details relevant to Wales’s artistic process as well. He often notes work on multiple images in one day, some portraits, some landscapes, and some more ethnographic views. He records instructions to Robert Mabon and Gangaram Chintaman Tambat, primarily that they go to certain places to make sketches. He also writes of his own improvement on the camera obscura. The themes of death and strained or faltering relationships are prominent. After pages of mostly professional description, Wales records the death of “Nelly,” his six-year-old daughter, at home in England with his wife. The following pages contain drafts of letters to his wife, one of which notes the distraught nature of previous, omitted letter. He expresses his desire to bring his wife to India, and the reciprocation of that desire. From this point on, Wales writes frequently about preparations for his wife’s arrival, and about his longing for news of her. The final pages of the volume concern Wales’s return to Mumbai and his interactions with European clients. At the very end of the notebook, he writes, “If British manufactures are in such high estimation in every part of the world, why may not Paintings by British artists claim admiration?”
- Physical Description:
- 1 volume (78 pages) ; 30 x 21 cm
- Genre:
- Diaries and Notebooks
- Subject Terms:
- BritishCave templesCavesDescription and travelEllora Caves (India)India
- Associated Places:
- IndiaMumbai (India)Pune (India)
- Associated People/Groups:
- Daniell, Thomas, 1749-1840Gaṅgārāma, active 18th centuryMabon, RobertMalet, Charles Warre, 1752-1815Wales, James, 1746 or 1747-1795
- Finding Aid Title:
- James Wales archive
- Collection PDF:
- https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/11766.pdf
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/3410859
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/archival_objects/3410859?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1