Leisure and Social Life

Entertainment

The diaries provide a vivid picture of the social life of late 1800‘s and early 1900‘s.

They went to dances, they had picnics, they listened to the phonograph and they went to the circus.

Man Of Society

Robert McCallum had a rich social life, preferring companionship and going out to being a homebody.

He was in close touch with men and women who were at the forefront of the social and political life of the time. Those who live in his pages make up a catalogue of notables & well known family names today.

Interestingly, the diaries indicate his rigorous social life was not overly interrupted during hard economic times of the Depression and World War I.

Dances

McCallum loved to dance. In his younger days, he would brag about getting home after 3:00 a.m. and how many dances he had that night. After an evening out we know if he “had a good time”, “they had a good programme”, or if “entertainment was ratty” and it was “the same old crowd”.

When abroad, he sought out seeing the can-can, the houchie couchie dance and informal native soirees.

Example Of The Social And Gossip Pages Of The Time.

Dec 06, 1890 archived news article of a social ball the diarist attended.

Cards

Playing cards was a huge part of McCallum’s social life. For nearly forty years, he enjoyed his habitual weekly game with his card buddies.

In addition he would play at home with his wife, and attend euchre parties with other couples. When traveling, he was typically be the one to muster “a totalizator swap” with fellow passengers as part of ship entertainment. Main games he played:

Poker
Bridge
Nap
Solo whist
500
Double dummy
Cribbage

Gambling

Games were always for money. He was an avid gambler and diligently kept track of his wins and losses.

After an evening of cards, we learn exactly how much he won or lost, sense his glee if he “came out on top” and “great recoveries” or grumble if he had “damn bad luck” a “rotten game” or if a playing partner let him down.

Performers Of The Times

McCallum recorded the popular singers and entertainment companies he attended:

Barbara Frutalich, Blanche Holt, Dix’s Gaiety Company, Earnest Foy, Ethel Brown, Ethel McIntyre, Harry Richards, Howard Chambers, John Fuller’s Show and Mark Hanabourg.

Simple Forms Of Entertainment

McCallum documented numerous other social activities. Despite rudimentary communications and transport compared to current times, his journals demonstrate a wide variety of leisure activities for those in the late 1800s early 1900s.

Some pastimes are timeless, others rare in current times. Moreover, they provide insight into much simpler forms of entertainment.