Jack B. Yeats, R.H.A.

8vo (216 x 136mm.), WITH AUTOGRAPH ENTRIES FOR MOST DAYS OF THE YEAR AND PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED WITH PEN AND INK AND WATERCOLOUR SKETCHES, cash account leaves at the end with further sketches and watercolours, inscribed on front endpaper by the artist ("Jack | Yeats | Hyse | Diary | from his sister | Lilly"), to himself ("from Jack Yeats | to his dear friend | Jack B. Yeats | (Ballyhooly"), original cloth boards, paper-covered stiff boards

Bruce Arnold, Jack Yeats, 1998 (see chapter 3)

spine partially split and covers nearly detached, some spotting and offsetting to end-leaves, creasing and some wear to covers
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A FURTHER CHARMING ILLUSTRATED DIARY BY THE YOUNG TEENAGE ARTIST FOR HIS SECOND YEAR IN LONDON IN 1889, AND ALSO INCORPORATING A VISIT BACK TO IRELAND. It was during this year that he met his future wife Mary Cottenham (Cottie) White, who was a fellow student at Chiswick School of Art. 

The diary begins with pencil portraits of his mother Susan Mary Yeats (captioned in ink, "Mama"), and provides an illustrated and often very humorous record of his London life in 1889 (and his summer holiday visit back to Ireland), the many subjects, entries and depictions including brigade drills in Hyde Park for the Queen, visits to the Horse Show at Olympia, attendance at school (life drawings, anatomy lectures, a subscription dance and much else), many days out at Kempton Races (with Griffen and others), the Oxford and Cambridge Boat race (followed by a political meeting in the evening with Hogg), deliveries of sketches to the Graphic and Pictorial World, the Duchess of Cambridge's funeral ("it was more like a race meeting than a funeral..."), his reading ("am reading Michael Struggle off by Jules Verne"), sport ('badmington' tournaments at the Bedford Park Club and attendant dances, sometimes with Lolly, roller skating, ice skating, boating trips with Allingham, swimming in Ealing baths), visits to the Gardening Society with Lolly, trips to Kegan Paul to collected books "for Willy", trips to exhibitions, concerts, the theatre (e.g. Merry Wives of Windsor) and other events (e.g. the Richmond Illuminations, the Covent Garden Promenade), some of these with his sisters or his father; the diary also containing a record of his visit to Ireland in the summer and early Autumn ("went to Liverpool and caught steamer for Sligo") where he sees Heather and Uncle George and other relatives; also containing humorous verse, imaginative sketches of mythical or nursery rhyme figures (e.g. Old Mother Hubbard, ancient hunting scenes), some darker scenes (e.g. a sketch of a hanging), his occasional illness including a painful visit to the dentist (accompanied by a typically humorous sketch of a tooth extraction); the entries trailing off from the middle of November onwards; two loose ink sketches loosely inserted (of a cattle show, and two gentlemen at dinner)