The diaries consist chiefly of entries concerning Robert Cadell’s business affairs, particularly correspondence and conversations, but there are also references to his social life and other events. At the beginning of each year, Cadell summarized the work in hand, and at the end, the occurrences during the year and his reactions to them. From 1831 onwards Cadell kept diaries of his visits to London in separate notebooks (see MSS.21041-21042) and the corresponding dates in this series of diaries are therefore blank. There are no entries after 1 January 1849.