These are some excerpts from Edmund's personal accounts. They give a good picture of his life, that of a skilled cabinetmaker in a family business, who has spare time and money for the many entertainments that Regency London offers. He visits the Haswell family in Hackney regularly, (he marries Margaret Haswell in 1828 when the accounts end) He joins "Main" and "Child" his future brothers in law to play billiards or go to cricket matches. He visits the theatre, and buys works of art. The Diorama was opened at the south east corner of Regent’s Park in September 1823. It consisted of large landscape and architectural pictures, lit from behind and above, with the whole audience being rotated to view the different scenes.
£1 in 1825 would now be worth about £44, 1 Shilling would be worth about £2.20, and 1d would be worth about 18p.
www.eh.net/ehresources/howmuch/poundq.php
Hair Cut and Dress’d 1s 0d
Ring £3 10s 0d
Braceletts 11s 0d
Biscuits & Buns at Haswells 1s 0d
Pastry with Main Twice 1s 0d
2 Segars 4s 0d
Pair Kidd Gloves 1s 0d
Pair Yellow Gloves 2s 0d
Pit with Sally - King Charles 2nd 4s 0d
Letter from G Haswell 3d
Brasses for Dressing Case 1s 0d
Paid Mr. Worthington up to 10 August for board and loging 16s 6d
Exp. going to Margate dover & London all included silk handkerchief and collar £4 6s 0d
Skittles with Hampton 6d
Salt Penella & Guolard Water with bottle 4d
To cleaning of hat of sea water 1s 6d
Pint of Cyder with Kirby 6d
Bought of J Childs a piece of 2 yds of Irish for collars 8s 0d
Glass of Brandy and water 1s 0d
Sope(?) & Beer& Apples 6d
To Segars of Father 4s 0d
Billiards with Main 1s 6d
Tools repaired and new 5s 0d
Cabinetmaker’s Society in all 18s 0d
Ginger Beer 2ice 1s 0d
Cricket Match Cannonbury 16s 0d
Plumbers 6d
Bricklayer 6d
Trowsers Black B. Tottenham £1
Expen. Going to Margate Ramsgate £4
New Waistcoat Green Stripes 11s )d
Do. New hat Fleet Market 10s 6d
Shells at Margate 6d
Expenses on the Thames to Gravesend £1
Mr Warrington Rent to Oct 19/28 £10
Coach to Haswells 1s 0d
Letter from Dearing 10d
Apples 1d
Turnpike with Main 6d
Stock. Hank.ch. & gloves 6s 0d
Stage to Blackwall 1s 0d
Punch at Blackwall 6d
Stockings 10s 0d
Handkerchief 4s 6d
2 Portraits by Newcomb £2 9s 0d
3 times coach Hire to Haswells 3s 0d
Expences to Diorama with Mar: 5s 0d
With Child Billiards 2s 6d
Parochial Rates £1 0s 0d
Church Tax £2 0s 10d
Rent for 1/4 £6 5s 0d