This album brings together art works created by Mary Louisa Lambton while accompanying her father, Lord Durham, on his mission to Russia in 1837 and to Upper and Lower Canada in 1838, as well as her travels in Great Britain between June 1837 and [October] 1839. A title page inscribed "Sweden, Russia & Canada 1837-1838-9 etc." prefaced the album; a second, inscribed "Sketches 1838 Canada &c" appears between pages 14 and 15; a third title, "Sketches 1839" appears at the head of page [79A]. Her numbering of pages 1-79 and 90-97 remains visible. She glued her drawings and watercolours to the album pages and drew a graphite frame around many of them. She also inscribed the date and place of creation on the item or on the album page, together with her initials MLL. At various times, 13 individual works and many entire pages were removed from the album by family members. Details of the current location of the works have been recorded where known or suspected.
The album currently contains 14 landscapes in Sweden, Russia and Finland; 15 images drawn on board HMS Hastings during the voyage to Lower Canada; 20 landscapes of Quebec city, the St.Lawrence River and Niagara Falls; 10 images drawn on board HMS Inconstant during the return voyage to England; 19 landscapes of various ports in England and France, and of Richmond Park in London and of Lambton Castle. The work of Mary Louisa LamBton offers an exceptional record of her travels with her parents and siblings in Europe and British North America The rarity of interior views gives exceptional value to her depictions of rooms at Quebec city and the ship cabins.
The front paste-down end-paper bears a printed repeating pattern of birds, stylized foliage and decorative architectural elements A label pasted in the upper left corner reads "Sold by R. & C. Chalmers/Book Sellers & Stationers/Montreal". Some album pages bear the countermark "J. WHATMAN TURKEY MILL 1845". This internal evidence of stationer's label and watermarks in the paper supports the conclusion that Lady Elgin assembled this album during her residence in the Province of Canada, 1847-1853, most probably when withdrawn from social activities while awaiting the births of her sons.
