Author Description

The Gennadius Library is the home of many of the copy-books, diaries, day-books and letters of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann. This book presents a fascinating diary of Schliemann's first arrival at aged 30 in the United States, a country he would later become a citizen of. While his later archaeological discoveries would make him famous, the observations of the young businessman on the New World already reflect his lively mind and wide interests. From observations on the "Yankee ladies" ("the fair sex fades here extremely soon") to experiences of Sacramento life during the Californian gold rush ("I believe that no where in the world gambling is carried on to a more alarming extent"), Schliemann's commentary on 19th-century America make lively reading.