Handbooks for Travellers Activity Sheets
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Handbooks for Travellers Activity Sheets © National Library of Scotland 1 Look at the book cover on the previous page. This is one of the travel handbooks that John Murray published. Do you think there will be many photos or images in this guide? Look at some modern guide book covers, which would you prefer to read? Why do you think Murray’s book looks so different? What do you think is meant by the phrase “English and Foreign”? There are four words on the cover that are in Latin: Per Mare Per Terram In English this means: By Sea By Land Why do you think Murray included these Latin words? Do you think the people who used these books would have understood what they meant? © National Library of Scotland 2 © National Library of Scotland 3 FROM LONDON TO EDINBURGH (LEITH) BY SEA Swift and comfortable steamers sail twice a week from the Irongate Wharf,London, according to the state of the weather, arriving in Leith in 37 to 40 hours. Fares: 1st cabin 15s, 2nd cabin 12s. The traveller by this route (and if the sea is tolerably calm no route is pleasanter) will obtain a good view of the eastern coast of England. The steamer gives the flat shores of Essex a tolerably wide berth, but approaches land more closely when off Suffolk and Norfolk. In success- ssion the following distant views pre- sent themselves: - Yarmouth town. Cromer Cliffs. Flamborough Head. Filey Bay. Scarborough and its Castle. Robin Hood’s Bay. Whitby. Coquet Island. Bamborough Castle. Ferne Island and Grace Darling’s Lighthouse. Holy Island (Lindisfarne). St. Abb’s Head (Rte. 4). Tantallon Castle and Bass Rock. North Berwick Law. Isle of May and Inchkeith (on rt.) Leith Thence by rail to Edinburgh. © National Library of Scotland 4 Take a look at the image on page 3. This is the original ‘Handbook for Travellers to Scotland’ showing all the corrections that John Murray wanted to make before getting the next version of the book published. The highlighted section is called FROM LONDON TO EDINBURGH (LEITH) BY SEA. Now read the transcription on page 6 and answer the following questions. A transcription is a typed format of the original text which makes it easier to read. What kind of transportation is the book recommending? Using an atlas of Britain, trace the journey from London to Edinburgh using the list of place names. The cost for this trip is 15shillings and 12 shillings. That’s about equal to £34 and £27 in today’s currency. Do you think it would have been expensive or affordable for the average person to go to Edinburgh from London when this book was published? How long does it say it takes to get to Edinburgh from London? Do you think people still travel this way today? Why or why not? Using a modern travel guide or the internet find out how long it takes today by: Car Train Airplane Do you think you would see more places if you travelled then or today? © National Library of Scotland 5 COMPANIONS TO THE HANDBOOKS. HANDBOOK OF TRAVELTALK – ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN AND ITALIAN. Set up in parallel columns. 16mo. 3s. 6d. New edition, thoroughly Modernised, for travellers and cyclists, and printed on specially thin paper. 1897. HANDBOOK DICTIONARY – ENGLISH, FRENCH AND GERMAN. Containing all the Words and Idiomatic Phrases likely to be Required by a Traveller. A New Edition, Revised. Compendious Rules of Grammar. By G.F. Chambers. Post 8vo. 6s The above are small volumes, convenient for HAND or POCKET. LONDON: Past and Present; Its History, Associations; And Traditions. By Henry B. Wheatley, F.S.A. Based on Cunningham’s Hand- Book. Library Edition, on Laid paper. 3vols Medium 8vo. 3l. 3s. THE RAILWAYS OF ENGLAND. By W.M. Acworth. A New and Cheaper edition, with an Additional Chapter describing more recent developments. With many Illustrations. Demy 8vo. 10s 6d. [nearly ready. Look at the image above for John Murray’s ‘Companions to the Handbooks’. These are some of the books travellers could buy in addition to the ‘Handbooks for Travellers’. Now read the transcription below it and answer the following questions: What kind of information do you think these books contained that wasn’t in the ‘Handbooks for Travellers’? Do you think any of these books would have been useful to the 19th century traveller? Do you think they would have been easy to carry around? © National Library of Scotland 6 MURRAY'S HANDBOOKS. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "Mr Murray has succeeded in identifying his countrymen all the world over. Into every nook which an Englishman can penetrate he carries his RED HANDBOOK. He trusts to his MURRAY because it is thoroughly English and reliable." ECHO. "....they contain valuable sketches on the architecture, archaeology, geology and language of the districts dealt with, generally written by specialists in those sciences; and it is a sure testimony to their reliability and general value...." WESTMINSTER GAZETTE © National Library of Scotland 7 Look at the highlighted parts of the image above. These are two reviews of Murray's handbooks from newspapers of the time. Now read the transcription next to it and answer the following questions: Are they good reviews? These reviews were printed inside one of Murray's guide books - do you think you would find a bad review there? Look at the list of things you will find in a Murray guide book. Do you know what each one is? If not look them on the list below: Architecture = Murray's guides had descriptions of interesting buildings. Archaeology = Murray's guides told tourists about ancient places they could see e.g. Roman ruins. Geology = Murray's guide books explained how mountains, valleys and other parts of the land tourists could look at were made. Languages = Murray's guides gave tourists useful words and phrases to use in foreign countries. Now look at a modern guide book. Can you find the same information in it? Now look again at a modern guide book, what other information can you find that is useful for tourists. Do you think Murray would have written about this too? Why do you think you find this information in both guide books? © National Library of Scotland 8 .