Sperling (Rowland) Handwritten diary, 1928

Manuscript diary compiled by Sir Rowland Sperling, British diplomat who served as ambassador to Switzerland, Bulgaria, and Finland, written during a visit to Bulgaria in 1928, detailing his cultural observations, diplomatic duties, and interactions with locals (“My first Bulgarian visitor was a nervous young man with a camera, who wanted to take my photograph, writing dispatches, for the Bulgarian newspapers. He was somewhat handicapped by his mobility to get his camera legs to stick to the parquet floor, which caused much unseemly amusement.”; “We then went to lunch and the owner of the car insisted on my drinking cognac with him out of gratitude for setting his car out. I sacrificed my inside to the promotion of cordial relations with the Bulgarians and managed to set off with one small glass.”; “Considerate new snow today this morning, but it stopped before lunch and turned into a day which made the cars feel numb and the drop form at the end of the nose"; “One reason why everything is so casual and unpunctual here is that there is only one clock in the town and that is at the station.”); 94 pages with neat, legible handwriting, the first page contains a cutting from a Bulgarian newspaper featuring his visit to the Bulgarian cabinet in Sofia, light yellowing and handling wear.