The Diary of Harry Watkins

We have just completed transcribing the first section of Harry Watkins's diary, which begins on November 20, 1845 and concludes on May 31, 1846. Within this time span of only half a year, Watkins was a very busy working actor. He writes about having either seen or performed in over 30 plays, his attendance at a public execution, and his travels by steamship around the Gulf of Mexico between Galveston, TX and New Orleans, LA or wherever he lands an acting gig.

On Friday, the Editors met to began establishing the proofreading process. We have elected to do tandem proofreading (following ADE best practices) meaning that one person reads out the text of the manuscript while the other follows along with the transcription, making edits as needed. This relatively straightforward process was made somewhat tricky by the fact that we are proofreading for not only the content, but the XML tags.

I have just completed transcribing and coding the first batch of digital scans of Harry Watkins's diary. This folder does not include much content from Watkins's writing but rather correspondence from his daughter Amy to the Skinners (who in 1938 were the first to publish portions of his diary), as well as practical notes from what seems to be archivists involved in scanning his books. It was a good way to start getting acquainted with certain XML tags (such as "unclear" because much of Amy's handwriting required that tag!) before diving into Harry's entries.

We are thrilled to announce our project A Player and a Gentleman: The Diary of Harry Watkins, Nineteenth-Century American Actor—a critical edition of American stage actor Harry Watkins’s expansive diary. From 1845 to 1860, Watkins recorded his daily activities, the roles he performed, the plays he saw, the people he met, the books he read, and his impressions of current events.