A Modern Quest for Knowledge into a Past World of Literature;
or ... Why did Jane Austen write her Famous Strawberry Party Scene?
Ch4/42: Search Methods and Results regarding the Bath papers
For my searches in newspapers from Bath I used the 17th and 18th Century Burney Newspapers Collection. The database has the drawback that it does not contain papers after 1804. However, not all of the newspapers are available in my search period, which is 1790-1804. Compared to the British Newspaper Archive (BNA), pdf files downloaded from the Burney Newspaper Collection are searchable using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC, which is a major help.
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I have supplied the web pages for the Bath newspapers and the Hampshire Chronicle with many examples. As this is very time consuming, this work has not been carried out for the other newspapers, unless the example shows something remarkable.
These are the search criteria for the Bath papers:
Ch4/42a: The Bath Chronicle
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The results from the Bath Chronicle are as follows:
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I found five hits.
The three advertisements appealing to the 'Curious in Fruit' all have the same wording; one of them is dated 'Thursday, March 8, 1787; Issue 1373' and the remaining two are from the same paper dated 'Thursday, December 6, 1787; Issue 1410':
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'Likewise may be had, his large excellent new seedling scarlet-flesh Strawberry, exquisitely high flavoured, and very prolific on any soil where strawberries in general will grow. Price Six Shillings per dozen.'
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These nursery advertisements can be found in other newspapers; see the examples for the Hampshire Chronicle.
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The single news hit is dated 'Thursday, August 20, 1789; Issue 1455'. It concerns a poem created by Miss Hannah Moore; the only reference to 'strawberry' is the mentioning of Horace Walpole's abode at Strawberry-Hill.
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The last hit is for Arts & Entertainment, and is dated 'Thursday, October 15, 1789; Issue 1463'. It also concerns the poem by 'a Lady' and 'strawberry' is again a reference to Horace Walpole, Strawberry- Hill.
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However, an additional search in the BNA reveal another hit from Thursday, June 30, 1796.
This advertisement is for the Glaciere Garden near Marlborough-Buildings. It announces that it is open for the summer season and serves various kinds of ices, as well as strawberries and cream, jellies, cakes fruit etc.
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I conclude that none of the hits found while searching among issues of the Bath Chronicle are likely to have served as inspiration for Jane Austen.
Ch4/42b: The Bath Herald
No useful hits are found in the Bath Herald.
Ch4/42c: The Bath Journal
No useful hits are found in the Bath Journal.
Ch4/42d: The Bath Herald and Register
No useful hits are found in the Bath Herald and Register.
