Substantial legal diaries, for the years 1906 and 1912, written in a variety of anonymous hands, for a firm of provincial solicitors, Bray & Price, based in the Leicestershire area.

Uniformly bound in worn half-calf, marbled boards, black label, gilt. Internally good and tight, on aged paper, with all texts clear and complete. The 1906 diary is titled 'Waterlow Bros. & Layton's Legal Diary and Almanac for 1906'. The diary proper is 316 pp long, sandwiched in the middle of the printed almanac (866 pp). References throughout to the Leicestershire area: Nuneaton, Monks Kirby, Earl Shilton and other places. Clients include the Stoney Stanton Co-operative Society and the Female Provident Society. The entries are in a number of hands, and often constitute a draft of a letter to a client and with that client's name as heading. Many are initialed in red '* H B & E W' (the first name possibly being that of Harry Bray, 5 Welford Road. The following long entry for 4 March may serve as an example of the tone: 'G. Powers. Attending Mr G. W. Powers with Mr. Thomas Powers at Granville House on his calling on his way to Barwell discussing matters with them & explaining to Mr. G. W. P. what had been done & ultimately that we should go over to Barwell | An hour afterwards journey to Barwell meeting Mr G W P Mr. Tom Powers & Mr. John Powers occupied some time in going thro' Mr. G W P's Book shewing your indebtedness to him & aftwds when all 3 together he insisted upon having a cheque there & then for the fees he recently paid for the enfranchisement of the Copyhold property. Mr. Tom Powers who had your Cheque Book with a lot of blank cheques signed by you with instructions to pay certain accounts refused to give him a cheque without your consent. Ultimately Mr G W P & Mr. John Powers went up to your Bedroom & you through them instructed Mr. T. P. to give a Cheque for the enfranchisement fees & also Dr. Bond's fees £4. 4/- (which Mr. G W P had paid) which he accordingly did. After this a long discussion took place between your 3 sons as to the property each had received and the money received from the Folly Farm & though we tried our best no arrangement was come to as to a new Will. Mr. Tom Powers said he should claim half the stock & we explained to him that it would be to his advantage to come to some arrangement with you as to the stock and ultimately he and Mr. John Powers arranged to leave the matter until tomorrow and then see you in the morning & discuss matters over - away till 6.15. Horse shop & man.' Entry of 14 July begins: 'Mr. J. Wright Monks Kirby | Long attendance upon you this morning explaining to you that we had very carefully considered this matter & were quite satisfied that as a Trustee you had no power to pay off the Mortgage & mortgage assignment. That the only way out out [sic] of the difficulty was for Mr. Rice to execute a transfer of his mortgage to the trustees of W. & O. Society [...]'. The diary for 1912 is similar in bulk, with an almanac of 1000 pages sandwiching a diary of 365 pp. The entries are far fewer, more terse, and all in the same hand.