Diary of a Dutch cabin boy working on the ship Isis, with entries written beginning somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean and ending in San Francisco. Accompanied by diary translations, along with transcriptions and translations of a small number of letters from the diarist to his parents, a monograph on his brother's foundation, and a few items about the Spakler family.

Harmen Willem Spakler was born in Amsterdam in 1837. He attended boarding school in Barneveld, determined to join the merchant marine. For his first voyage he apprenticed on the ship Isis, leaving Amsterdam in late November 1852, stopping at San Francisco and Hong Kong, and returning by San Francisco, Valparaiso, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., arriving at Rotterdam in July 1855. His second voyage (September 1855) on the brigantine Livorno Packet took him to Livorno, Italy, and on his return in December 1855, he was thrown overboard in a storm and drowned off the Spanish coast.

6 folders in 1 box (0.5 cubic feet)

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.

The collection is open for research.