J.S. Walker letters

Collection contains five folders, including holograph letters written by J.S. Walker to his parents. This extensive file of extraordinarily fluent, candid and detailed manuscript letters, with meticulous descriptions of the experiences of the well-heeled, well-connected, strongly opinionated and bigoted young American expatriate, John Sydney Walker, from January 1865 to April 1867 in Paris and Geneva. These letters also cover young Walker's questions to his parents, and his responses to their questions and news, including many aspects of the older Walkers' lives in Philadelphia. Because Walker's parents paid his way in Europe by sending bank drafts in response to requests they often suspected were unjustified, J.S. Walker's letters are unusual in their frequent, highly-detailed explications of his living and entertaining expenses, and often itemized.