Series I: Diaries, 1880-1893, 1904-1934

The bulk of the Walter and Matilda Gay Collection is formed by the diaries of Matilda Gay. Her diaries provide insight into American expatriate life in France before, during, and after World War I. Many notable friends and acquaintances are portrayed in the pages, including: John Singer Sargent, Edith Wharton, Henry James, Bernard Berenson, Elsie de Wolfe, Henry Clay Frick, and Helen Clay Frick.

Matilda's handwritten diaries are contained within 32 notebooks. The diaries date from February 27, 1904 through April 30, 1920 with two gaps: August 13, 1904 through February 1909 and July 1, 1911 through October 16, 1912. Following at the end are three notebooks covering her travels to London in 1880, Italy in 1891, and Spain in 1893.

The transcript of Matilda Gay's diaries and travel accounts dates from 1904-1934. The carbon typescript transcript is over 3,000 pages long and contained within 13 bound volumes. The first 11 volumes contain her diaries from 1904-1920 (including sections missing from the manuscript version), and the final two, "Journeys," cover her travels in France, England, and the United States (including New York, Boston, Newport, Philadelphia, and surrounding areas) from 1921-1934.