F.H.H. Guillemard: Journals and notes

Francis Henry Hill Guillemard (1852-1933), traveller, writer and naturalist, was born at Eltham, Kent, on 12 September 1852. He was educated privately and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge (B.A., 1874; M.D., 1881). He travelled widely, visiting Lapland, the Southern African interior, Maderia and the Canaries, South-East Asia and throughout Europe. He was present at the first Boer War, 1881, and also made visits to Cyprus, founding the Cyprus Exploration Fund. He was elected University Reader in Geography, Cambridge, in 1888, and served as Geographical Editor of the Cambridge University Press. His published works include 'The Life of Ferdinand Magellan and the First Circumnavigation of the Globe, 1480-1521' (London, 1890). He died on 23 December 1933.

Guillemard was part of the crew of the schooner yacht 'Marchesa', which left England in January 1882 on a voyage to the Far East. The crew travelled through Ceylon, Singapore and Formosa, before visiting Ryukyu (Okinawa) during June 1882. They proceeded to Japan (July-August 1882); Kamschatka, including Bering Island (August-September 1882); Japan, for a second visit (October 1882-January 1883); and China and Hong Kong (February-March 1883). From the Philippines, they spent the rest of the year travelling between the different Pacific islands, visiting the Sulu Islands, including Cagayan Sulu and Sulu Island (Jolo Island); British North Borneo (Sabau), including Sandakan, Kudat, Labuan, Brunei and Sarawak; Malacca; Batavia; Sumbawa; Celebes, including Macassar (Makassar) and Gorontalo; The Moluccas (Maluku Islands), including Ternate, Batchian, Amboina (Ambon), Banda and the Aru Islands; and New Guinea. The crew voyaged home during the early months of 1884, passing through Singapore, Penang and Colombo, before reaching Southampton on 14 April 1884. Guillemard recorded his experiences in 'The Cruise of the Marchesa to Kamschatka and New Guinea, with Notices of Formosa, Liu-Kiu, and Various Islands of the Malay Archipelago', but chose to omit his time in Japan from the account, preferring to focus on less-known lands and islands.

The collection is comprised of nine volumes of journal entries and notes written during the voyage of the 'Marchesa' and one volume of notes for Guillemard's biography of Ferdinand Magellan. Some of the volumes include lists of letters sent home by Guillemard during his voyage to the Far East, which provide a rough itinerary of his journey.

Transferred from the Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, circa 1960s/1970s.

Please cite as Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, F.H.H. Guillemard: Journals and notes, MS Add.7783

MS Add.7957 contains photographs taken by Guillemard during the voyage of the 'Marchesa'. Caius College, Cambridge, holds memoirs, family letters and papers belonging to Guillemard (PPC/GUI), including letters from his travelling in Japan.

This catalogue was written by Robert Steiner, Manuscripts Department, June 2011, with reference to a paper on the Guillemard Collection at Cambridge University Library read by the Library's Noboru Koyama at the EAJRS Valenciennes Conference in 2003, and to the entry on Guillemard in 'Who Was Who', Vol. III, 1929-1940 (London, 1967), p. 566.