Pitt-Rivers' personal accounts

analysing the activities of a nineteenth-century collector

This is a transcription of the paper catalogue prepared by Michael Thompson in 1976 of the papers relating to Pitt-Rivers held by Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum [S&SWM]. This contains information useful for researchers. Please note that if you wish to consult the papers in this collection you will need to contact S&SWM direct.

THE ROYAL COMMISSION OF HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPTS

Catalogue of the correspondence and papers of AUGUSTUS HENRY ALEN FOX PITT-RIVERS (1827-1900) Lieutenant-General, anthropologist and archaeologist 1855-1899 in the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, Wiltshire ... Listed by Dr. M.W. Thompson 1976

Appendix I Personal accounts at the Dorset County Record Office [p. 130 et seq.]

A large collection of papers (Deposit 396) has recently been transferred from the Rivers Estate Office at Hinton St Mary to the Dorset County Archives by Mr Anthony and Mr Michael Pitt-Rivers, great grandsons of the General. The papers .... include two boxes containing papers connected with General Pitt-Rivers (Nos. 97 and 98.) The first box contains matter that is not of outstanding interest ... but the second box contains volumes of autograph personal accounts ...

Box D/396/98 contains two calf-bound volumes measuring 26 x 37 cm without title inside but bearing spine titles 'Classification of Genl. Pitt-Rivers Personal Accounts for the years 1885 to 1892' and 'Classification Genl. Pitt-Rivers Personal Accounts for the years 1893 ' respectively. ...

The accounts appear to be written entirely in the hand of Pitt-Rivers himself (they are written in the first person) until July, 1899 when he was probably too ill to continue and another hand, possibly that of the eldest son, continued beyond the General's death up to 1901 ...

Although the date on the spine of the first volume for the beginning of the accounts is 1885 the four previous years 1881-1884 are summarised ... From 1881 the expenditure is set out under 26 headings ... but ... from 1885 several pages are devoted to each heading on which the expenditure is itemised.

...

Apart from giving the distribution of expenditure the particular headings contain matter of great interest to scholars. ... in II objects that are now in modern collections can be identified ...

In the first few years the expenditure was arranged in double columns, Personal and Estate Expenditure. However, this proved a considerable source of confusion and was abandoned ... The object of keeping these laborious accounts was to compare income with expenditure ... So what was achieved by 1885 was to compare disposable income ... with actual personal expenditure. ...

Note that the following table has been compiled from Thompson's narrative, it omits quite a few details ... the costs are given in 'old money; ie Pounds, shillings and pence.

Year	Heading	Expenditure
1881	I House and household expenditure including servants watges, food, entertainments etc	£3,234.19.5
	II Furniture and Art Objects bought	£2,648.12.7
	III Stables	£1,171.7.1
	IV Woods and gardens	£810.9.2
	V Bailiff and farm	£861.4.10
	VI Sporting expenses	£920.15.1
	VII Rates, taxes and insurance	£2575.13.4 [total]
	VIII Building expenses	£5,215.15.7
	IX Road-making	£51.4.0
	X Journeys	£882.0.0
	XI Children incl. allowances	£2,395.10.7
	XII Clothes, jewellery etc	£586.13.0
	XIII Doctor’s expenses	£33.15.6
	XIV Rents paid	£687.10.9
	XV Repairs, packages etc	£2,909.2.1
	XVI Transport	£59.4.7
	XVII Books, maps, stationery, periodicals	£124.2.11
	XVIII Succession duty	£1,442.4.0
	XIX Scientific expenses, subscriptions, purchase of objects, excavations etc	£709.9.4
	XX Mr Creech’s Account	£550.0.0
	XXI Subscriptions, charities and presents	£492.7.10
	XXII Law expenses	£14.15.0

1882	Expenditure Personal	£28,288.17.1
	Estate	£25,837.9.3
	Loss	£6,419.9.4
	Furniture and art objects	£4,099.2.3
	Scientific expenses	£1,352.15.9

1883	Receipts	£21,599.8.7
	Personal expenditure	£17,313.3.3
	Balance in favour	£3,670.0.4
	Furniture and art objects	£2,113.9.4
	Scientific expenses	£927.1.8

1884	Receipts	£19,968.12.8
	Personal expenditure	£19,163.14.4
	‘Actual savings’	£805.18.4
	Furniture and art objects	£1,893.1.2
	Scientific expenses	£791.1.1

1885	Receipts	£19,552.18.5
	Personal expenditure	£17,658.15.0
	‘Actual savings’	£1,894.3.5
	Furniture and art objects	£2,626.2.0
	Scientific expenses	£1,091.13.4

1886	Receipts	£18,667.14.8
	Personal expenditure	£13,953.2.9
	‘Actual savings’	£4,714.11.11
	Furniture and art objects	[not given]
	Scientific expenses	£1,206.11.8

1887	Receipts	£18,679.14.6
	Personal expenditure	£14,761.11.10
	‘Actual savings’	£3,918.2.8
	Furniture and art objects	£996.1.0
	Scientific expenses	£1,310.7.7

1888	Receipts	£28,022.18.2
	Personal expenditure	£15,022.9.8 (+ £7,100)
	‘Actual savings’	£5,900
	Furniture and art objects	£1,379.15.0
	Scientific expenses	£1,546.14.9

1889	Receipts	£18,964.17.3
	Personal expenditure	£16,069.11.2
	‘Actual savings’	£2,985.6.1
	Furniture and art objects	£1,913.8.3
	Scientific expenses	£1,274.12.9

1890	Receipts	£20,092.0.9
	Personal expenditure	£17,597.7.4
	‘Actual savings’	£2,494.13.4
	Furniture and art objects	£672.17.7
	Scientific expenses	£1,397.18.10

1891	Receipts	£19,557.11.5
	Personal expenditure	£15,550.1.5
	‘Actual savings’	£4,007.10.0
	Furniture and art objects	£1,984.5.3
	Scientific expenses	£635.19.4

1892	Receipts	£17,347.7.3
	Personal expenditure	£15,568.12.11
	‘Actual savings’	£1,778.14.4
	Furniture and art objects	£1,412.1.6
	Scientific expenses	£1,094.16.5

1893	Receipts	£16,571.0.11
	Personal expenditure	£16,354.18.0
	‘Actual savings’	£216.2.11
	Furniture and art objects	£1,744.14.0
	Scientific expenses	£466.4.10

1894	Receipts	£19,338.14.3
	Personal expenditure	£15,224.18.2
	‘Actual savings’	£4,113.16.1
	Furniture and art objects	£421.11.10
	Scientific expenses	£423.17.3

1895	Receipts	£19,168.2.4
	Personal expenditure	£17,053.4.1
	‘Actual savings’	£2,114.18.3
	Furniture and art objects	£1,145.13.6
	Scientific expenses	£466.18.8

1896	Receipts	£18,693.10.1
	Personal expenditure	£13,706.11.3
	‘Actual savings’	£4,986.18.10
	Furniture and art objects	£795.7.9
	Scientific expenses	£409.15.11

1897	Receipts	£20,310.16.0
	Personal expenditure	£15,826.8.11
	‘Actual savings’	£4,484.7.1
	Furniture and art objects	£1,221.13.8
	Scientific expenses	£749.14.2

1898	Receipts	£18,072.6.1
	Personal expenditure	£17,776.1.7
	‘Actual savings’	£296.4.61
	Furniture and art objects	£3,218.9.7
	Scientific expenses	£625.13.0

1899	Receipts	£18,816.19.4
	Personal expenditure	£18,107.9.11
	‘Actual savings’	£708.9.5
	Furniture and art objects	£2,102.4.9
	Scientific expenses	£767.3.5

1900	Receipts	Not given
	Personal expenditure	Not given
	‘Actual savings’	Not given
	Furniture and art objects	£14.8.0
	Scientific expenses	Not given

Transcribed by AP for the Rethinking Pitt-Rivers project July 2011

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