The Bayard journal offers a detailed record of the first half of his tenure as American Commissioner of Claims in London. In that capacity, Bayard writes regularly about his correspondence with Secretary of State Timothy Pickering (5/29/1795, 11/1/1795, 11/2/1795), meetings with Vice President John Adams (11/13/1795, 1/22/1796), and various news to the French Revolution (e.g. 5/29/1795 and 5/31/1795), the Jay Treaty (8/8/1795), and warning signs of what would become the Panic of 1796-97 (6/26/1795, 7/14/1795). Notably, his notes concerning the financial panic underscore the interconnectedness of national markets. "Alarm prevails - some bad news from India," writes Bayard. "A great scarcity of money - India stocks fall…American stocks have fallen also in consequence of the scarcity of cash & the late news from the U.S." (5/25/1796).
 
What researchers might find most surprising, however, is how much of this volume strays from international law and diplomacy into the eighteenth-century arts and sciences. Bayard records a gallery opening at the Royal Academy (5/25/1795), attends a Methodist meeting (6/28/1795), goes to theater (9/24/1796), and visits numerous coffee houses in London, Bath, Bristol, and Oxford. In his travels, he meets a number of significant figures in the arts and sciences. He writes about a meeting with writer and collector William Henry Ireland, who shows him "a copy of one Shakespeare's manuscripts" (9/16/1795). The next year, that "new play," Vortigern and Rowena, would later be discovered to be a forgery, the subject of significant controversy. Towards the end of his volume, he also notes an encounter with astronomer William Herschel, who shows him his 40-foot telescope behind his house (6/13/1796).

Appointed by President Washington as American Commissioner of Claims to represent the United States in the British courts, Samuel Bayard appeared before the admiralty courts in London for four years, during which time he obtained more than ten million dollars in compensation for American interests. His journal, which accounts for the first half of his tenure (5/8/1795-12/31/1796), offers a window into international law at the turn of the nineteenth century, the French Revolution, the Panic of 1796-97, and the early national period in an international context. Alongside his work in international law, Bayard demonstrates a keen interest in the arts, especially literature, and at one point crosses paths with writer and collector William Henry Ireland.
 
The Bayard journal offers a detailed record of the first half of his tenure as American Commissioner of Claims in London. In that capacity, Bayard writes regularly about his correspondence with Secretary of State Timothy Pickering (5/29/1795, 11/1/1795, 11/2/1795), meetings with Vice President John Adams (11/13/1795, 1/22/1796), and various news to the French Revolution (e.g. 5/29/1795 and 5/31/1795), the Jay Treaty (8/8/1795), and warning signs of what would become the Panic of 1796-97 (6/26/1795, 7/14/1795). Notably, his notes concerning the financial panic underscore the interconnectedness of national markets. "Alarm prevails - some bad news from India," writes Bayard. "A great scarcity of money - India stocks fall…American stocks have fallen also in consequence of the scarcity of cash & the late news from the U.S." (5/25/1796).
 
What researchers might find most surprising, however, is how much of this volume strays from international law and diplomacy into the eighteenth-century arts and sciences. Bayard records a gallery opening at the Royal Academy (5/25/1795), attends a Methodist meeting (6/28/1795), goes to theater (9/24/1796), and visits numerous coffee houses in London, Bath, Bristol, and Oxford. In his travels, he meets a number of significant figures in the arts and sciences. He writes about a meeting with writer and collector William Henry Ireland, who shows him "a copy of one Shakespeare's manuscripts" (9/16/1795). The next year, that "new play," Vortigern and Rowena, would later be discovered to be a forgery, the subject of significant controversy. Towards the end of his volume, he also notes an encounter with astronomer William Herschel, who shows him his 40-foot telescope behind his house (6/13/1796).

Warner's diaries provide an intimate record of his far-flung travels. Alongside visits to zoological and mineralogical collections, Warner patronizes numerous places of worship, for which he often provides sketches of murals and architectural features. (His most impressive color illustrations begin around March 1863). Notably, he visits a Jewish synagogue in the Netherlands (10/13/1862) and a mosque in the Middle East (3/31/1865). He copies verses from a tombstone (9/8/1862), and when he tours the Egyptian pyramids, he records hieroglyphics (4/26/1865). He encloses descriptions of natural scenes—e.g. the Wetterhorn (8/31/1862) and Rhone Glacier (9/4/1862)—and also urban spaces, including a locomotive works in Amsterdam (1/26/1863), a foundry in Greenock (1/30/1863), a prison in York (4/7/1863), a gypsy settlement in Romania (6/13/1865), and even an early account of the Grand Kremlin Palace (8/2/1868).
 
Throughout those travels, Warner recollects his native Pennsylvania to draw evocative geographic and social comparisons. For example, he equates a town outside Belgrade to Burlington on the Delaware (6/9/1865). Upon meeting a foreman at machine shop, he compares the conditions of the poor in America and Germany (8/25/1862). Of particular note, he compares the governor of Nazareth to a "Philadelphia negro" (4/15/1865).
 
At various points in his travels, Warner is compelled to confront U.S. domestic affairs, most especially the Civil War. For example, traveling by rail in Germany in late-1865, he writes, "Met in the [train] car Mr. Joseph Kommer, Lincoln Logan Co., Illinois, a few months back to Germany, now on his way home via Hamburg. He had served in the Northern Army
 
related many things respecting the war and was a good union man" (11/8/1865). Several years later, he visits a castle where he notes a "revolver presented to the King by President Lincoln" (7/9/1868). Although Warner rarely discusses politics directly, he registers his own political activities and sympathies. For example, he attends a "Peace Society" (5/19/1863), a "temperance tea" (9/15/1863), and a lecture on "dwellings for workingmen" (1/6/1866). He records at least one conversation about U.S. nativist movements, particularly the Astor Place Riots, writing, "Met an Irishman who had been in the U.S. some years ago. He doubted whether the Irish, in New York had been incited—as a clan, especially—to take part in the late New York riots, and on account of jealousy of the blacks as competitors for work—he was further opposed to Mr. Lincoln's emancipation edict" (8/18/1863). In another prescient entry, he records an exchange with a Polish miller about poll taxes. "A miller spoke to me, among other subjects, of Poland," Warner writes. "He said Austria and Prussia assist to subjugate Poland, because 'they are all tyrants together.' Of our country, he said there would soon be poll tax" (9/14/1864).
 
When it comes to the topic of slavery, Warner reveals abolitionist sympathies via ephemera. He encloses a newspaper clipping from "Aborigine Protection Society," after which he remarks on the emigration of freed slaves to Liberia (5/20/1863), and encloses another clipping entitled "Negro Emancipation" (6/17/1863).
 
Scholars of nineteenth century material culture will be richly rewarded by the diaries. Alongside hand-drawn maps of buildings, cities, and architectural features, Warner encloses numerous newspaper clippings (e.g. (1/10/1863), engravings (9/27/1864), advertisements (7/9/1865), and theatrical programs (10/6/1865). While the majority of those materials are in English, some ephemera—and Warner's own entries—are in German, French, or Italian.

With 55 volumes spanning 7/8/1862-11/23/1872, the John Warner diaries provide a detailed account of his time abroad (1862-1868) and travels throughout Europe. Although many entries are devoted to talks and lectures (mostly pertaining to zoology), Warner proves also a studious observer of people, cultures, and cultural and religious institutions, which he records through numerous sketches and ephemera. In fact, these volumes present a wealth of research opportunities for scholars of material culture, thanks to Warner's curation of nineteenth-century newspaper clippings, advertisements, programs, and personal illustrations.
 
Warner's diaries provide an intimate record of his far-flung travels. Alongside visits to zoological and mineralogical collections, Warner patronizes numerous places of worship, for which he often provides sketches of murals and architectural features. (His most impressive color illustrations begin around March 1863). Notably, he visits a Jewish synagogue in the Netherlands (10/13/1862) and a mosque in the Middle East (3/31/1865). He copies verses from a tombstone (9/8/1862), and when he tours the Egyptian pyramids, he records hieroglyphics (4/26/1865). He encloses descriptions of natural scenes—e.g. the Wetterhorn (8/31/1862) and Rhone Glacier (9/4/1862)—and also urban spaces, including a locomotive works in Amsterdam (1/26/1863), a foundry in Greenock (1/30/1863), a prison in York (4/7/1863), a gypsy settlement in Romania (6/13/1865), and even an early account of the Grand Kremlin Palace (8/2/1868).
 
Throughout those travels, Warner recollects his native Pennsylvania to draw evocative geographic and social comparisons. For example, he equates a town outside Belgrade to Burlington on the Delaware (6/9/1865). Upon meeting a foreman at machine shop, he compares the conditions of the poor in America and Germany (8/25/1862). Of particular note, he compares the governor of Nazareth to a "Philadelphia negro" (4/15/1865).
 
At various points in his travels, Warner is compelled to confront U.S. domestic affairs, most especially the Civil War. For example, traveling by rail in Germany in late-1865, he writes, "Met in the [train] car Mr. Joseph Kommer, Lincoln Logan Co., Illinois, a few months back to Germany, now on his way home via Hamburg. He had served in the Northern Army
 
related many things respecting the war and was a good union man" (11/8/1865). Several years later, he visits a castle where he notes a "revolver presented to the King by President Lincoln" (7/9/1868). Although Warner rarely discusses politics directly, he registers his own political activities and sympathies. For example, he attends a "Peace Society" (5/19/1863), a "temperance tea" (9/15/1863), and a lecture on "dwellings for workingmen" (1/6/1866). He records at least one conversation about U.S. nativist movements, particularly the Astor Place Riots, writing, "Met an Irishman who had been in the U.S. some years ago. He doubted whether the Irish, in New York had been incited—as a clan, especially—to take part in the late New York riots, and on account of jealousy of the blacks as competitors for work—he was further opposed to Mr. Lincoln's emancipation edict" (8/18/1863). In another prescient entry, he records an exchange with a Polish miller about poll taxes. "A miller spoke to me, among other subjects, of Poland," Warner writes. "He said Austria and Prussia assist to subjugate Poland, because 'they are all tyrants together.' Of our country, he said there would soon be poll tax" (9/14/1864).
 
When it comes to the topic of slavery, Warner reveals abolitionist sympathies via ephemera. He encloses a newspaper clipping from "Aborigine Protection Society," after which he remarks on the emigration of freed slaves to Liberia (5/20/1863), and encloses another clipping entitled "Negro Emancipation" (6/17/1863).
 
Scholars of nineteenth century material culture will be richly rewarded by the diaries. Alongside hand-drawn maps of buildings, cities, and architectural features, Warner encloses numerous newspaper clippings (e.g. (1/10/1863), engravings (9/27/1864), advertisements (7/9/1865), and theatrical programs (10/6/1865). While the majority of those materials are in English, some ephemera—and Warner's own entries—are in German, French, or Italian.