Music and Art – Diary a fine diary kept by an unnamed artist from the West Midlands covering the years 1886-91, written in a neat legible hand on approx 114pp 4to, marbled boards a little distressed, spine defective but interior contents good. ‘Antonin Dvorak conducted his Symphony in D...’ A particularly fine diary providing considerable information on the musical and artistic life of the West Midlands towards the end of the 19th c. The diarist, who appears to have come from the Stourbridge area, is very active in visiting concerts and pursuing his own artistic career, discussing his own work with various named people and also visiting some of the leading exhibitions of what at the time were recent productions by some of the best known artists of the day including the Pre-Raphaelites. As far as music is concerned, the diary is particularly valuable as he mentions many concerts by leading performers- including a concert in which Dvorak conducted his Symphony in D, and also a concert given in Wolverhampton by the then infant Josef Hoffman (this is a particularly long entry in which he mentions meeting and speaking with Hoffman). Also mentioned are concerts of first or early performances by leading British composers of the day including Sullivan, Stanford and Cowan. Together with a small group of other 19th c ms books including a maths tutor, diaries etc.