Jean Playfair

Title Mrs Patrick Playfair of Dalmarnock's diary Date 1849 Description "Marshall's Ladies' Daily Remembrancer for 1849", printed at London with 8 pages of engravings of historic events or romantic scenes and some poems, songs, a list of London bankers, observations on the weather and an almanac giving the daily rising and setting times of the sun and the moon in the opening pages and, at the back, charades and enigmas, some poems and short prose pieces, tables of wages and commercial stamps and a ready reckoner, this being the diary in which Mrs Playfair recorded the occurrences of her sociable life and commented on events of the day.

On 3 and 15 January Mrs Playfair names acquaintances who had recently died of cholera in the epidemic that had started in 1848, saying "in Glasgow it is very prevalent". Although now living in Edinburgh, Mr Playfair's long association with Glasgow kept her abreast of news there and she comments on 17 February "A fearful accident at the Theatre in Glasgow. From a cry of fire the gallery folks got into a panic, rushed down stairs strode upon each other. 65 were thus crushed to death!" On 23 February she reports "Got the distressing accounts of Arthur Playfair [Lt Hugh Arthur (1825-1848), Indian Army, son of Sir Hugh Lyon Playfair, provost of St Andrews] being killed at the siege of Multanin India. Died 31 Decr". Most of the diary entries are taken up with the constant round of calls made by Mrs Playfair and her daughters on their many acquaintances in Edinburgh and the unceasing flow of guests visiting or staying at their house. Speaking of one such visiting couple at the end of May when she was rather unwell, she writes "I had to see them in my bed. It is a pity that having the house so full I am confined to my room but I may be thankful I am not worse".

On 20 May she and her daughters went on an excursion to York and visited Harrowgate, Knaresborough, Plumpton and Scarborough and thence by rail to Filey (for a fare of 1/6) where they spent a day walking on the sands. They were paying £1-50 for their accommodation, Mrs Playfair notes but "next week it will be £3 as all the lodgings are doubled from 1st July that being the beginning of the season". On 6 July she describes a visit to Mr Bain's house where "we were 2 hours seeing his museum of all sorts of things 200,000 specimens, finest in Europe". On 9 July the party travelled back to York and on to Derby and next day from there to London where they spent some days visiting Mrs Playfair's eldest son, James (1806-1866) at Finchley and took in a visit to the British Museum and "some Bazaars". On 19 July, they left Euston Station at 10 o'clock, arriving at Liverpool at 4pm, and, after tea in the Station Hotel, they boarded the steamer for Greenock . They stayed a few days there in the household of Mrs Playfair's brother, James (1791-1866), a merchant in Glasgow before setting off for Rothsey on 23 July.

Back in Edinburgh the following week, she reports on 11 August "A great day at Hopetoun. Children from many quarters gathered ...6000 on the lawns. Played various games, fed with buns & fruit". On 27 September she notes "Queen passes Winchburgh on her way south. Grand display in Edinburgh where she staid [sic] 10 minutes". The cholera first mentioned in the diary at the end of 1848 re-appears in an entry for 16 November this year: "Public thanksgiving in Scotland for departure of cholera - but in some parts it still prevails". On 24 November, she reports "We are making clothes for poor Irish school children. Anne (1812-1879) & Jane (1817-1879) [her unmarried daughters] in old town buying cloth", adding, on 1 December "Sent to Miss Campbell 100 articles for the Irish schools" and, on 8 December "Busy at the Irish poor clothes making , nearly done". Extent 1 volume Creator Name Mrs Patrick Playfair, nee Jane Playfair and commonly called Jean. (1777-1852), the second daughter of the Rev James Playfair DD, (1738-1819), Principal of the United College of St Andrews University, she was the wife of Patrick Playfair of Dalmarnock (1765-1836), a prominent Glasgow merchant. Physical Description The diary is pocket-sized, leather bound and has a fold-over flap that makes it into a wallet. There are 8 pages of engravings. The pages have come away from the binding at the spine and are only lightly glued together at their spine. The frontispiece is missing.