Manuscript account book kept by a wine merchant at Saumur (Maine-et-Loire), recording purchases of wine from farmers and proprietors in the Loire Valley, mostly for the period 1781-1793, but continuing up to 1812. The accounts are written in French, by several scribes (one of whom identifies himself as Tessie Boilesve, [1800]). Certain purchases, after 1800, are made 'pour la Flandre', 'pour la mer' and 'pour l'etranger'.

Manuscript and typescript letterbook containing letters from Guy Francis Hamilton Acheson, 1921-1924, and Cecil Arthur Verner Bowra, 1924, in the London Office of the Inspectorate General of Chinese Maritime Customs, to Sir Francis Arthur Aglen in Peking (Beijing), including some enclosures.

Records of Agassiz, Son and Company, merchants, including partnership agreements; personal papers of Lewis Agassiz; yearly accounts and account books; bills and receipts; business letters from diverse suppliers including from Switzerland, France, Argentina, Uruguay, India, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy; and inventory of the offices.

Manuscript and typescript letterbook containing letters from Sir Francis Arthur Aglen in Peking (Beijing) to Guy Francis Hamilton Acheson, 1921-1923, and Cecil Arthur Verner Bowra, 1924-1926, in London, including some enclosures, also including letters to Bowra from A F H Edwards, 1926.

Journal of William Alley describing fourteen voyages to India, Malaya and the East Indies in several ships. The typescripts cover most of the journal's text and include material from the records of the East India Company reporting Alley's activities.

Archives of Alto Parana Development, comprising constitutional documents, minutes and financial material.

Agreement between Don Francisco de Paula Alvarez and Henry Clay and Bock and Company Ltd, 1890.

Legal papers, 1900-1901, of the Anglo-Argentine Refrigerating Company Ltd, comprising agreements and an associated letter.

Records of the Anglo-Portuguese Bank Limited, including memorandum and articles of association; Board minutes; annual reports and accounts; correspondence; financial records; manager's files; some staff files; and communications with headquarters in Portugal.

Records of the Anglo-Thai Corporation and predecessors; including partnership deeds; agreements; articles of association; Directors' minute books; press cuttings; annual reports; papers relating to shares; financial records; correspondence, tenders; employment contracts; deeds for property and photographs.

Records of Antony Gibbs and Sons Limited, merchants and foreign bankers, and their branches and subsidiaries. Records include papers relating to the Gibbs family; correspondence, letters and letter books; ledgers and other financial records; papers and correspondence of branches in Peru, Chile, Australia, the West Indies, New York, Bristol and Liverpool; memoranda; trading agreements; minutes and reports; papers relating to the guano business and papers relating to the iodine industry.

Correspondence with foreign branches will be found in a number of different points in the catalogue. A keyword search of the online catalogue by the name of the branch and 'Gibbs' is the easiest access to branch correspondence.

Records of Arnhold and Company Limited including a profit and loss book, ledgers mainly relating to the business in China, journals and cash books.

Records of Arnhold and Company Limited including records relating to the employees provident fund.

Papers of Jeremy John Durham (Paddy) Ashdown, [1970]-1999, including material relating to the working of the Liberal Democrat Party (including files on the merger of the Liberal and Social Democratic Parties in 1988), campaigns, and relations with related Liberal groups, such as campaigning within ethnic minorities, the Liberal Youth and Student Office, the Liberal Movement, the European Liberal Democratic and Reform Parties, and Liberal International; material relating to Social and Liberal Democrat and Liberal Democrat conferences, 1989-1993, comprising programmes, agenda and correspondence; files relating to the administration of party political broadcasts and press releases, 1988-1992; papers relating to general, by, local and European elections, 1988-1993, including the 1991 report on general elections, and the European Election Task Group and ASLDC reports on local government elections; files on parliamentary procedure, 1989-1992; financial and administrative papers of the Liberal Democrat Party, 1986-1992, notably relating to fund raising; material concerning the organisation of local parties, 1988-1993, including those in Scotland and Wales; Liberal Democrat correspondence, 1982-1993, mainly with party members; constituency correspondence, 1985-1994, relating to Yeovil; general correspondence, 1983-1994, with members of the public, on subjects including animal rights, the arts, blood sports, capital punishment, constitutional and electoral reform, defence, education, energy, the environment, Europe, foreign affairs/policy, health, housing, human rights, legal aid, minority rights, the Poll Tax, taxation, trade and industry, and transport; correspondence relating to issues in individual constituencies, 1988-1994; files of information and correspondence on particular subjects, 1984-1993; personal material relating to work by Paddy Ashdown, 1983-1994, including books, articles, speeches and details of programmes; files on the employment of staff in Paddy Ashdown's office, 1984-1992. Also: files created by Ashdown as leader of the Liberal Democrats, c1991-1999 (AccNo: M1981); Paddy Ashdown's diaries, July 1988-April 1997 (AccNo: M3059); personal and party correspondence, 1987-1998 (AccNo: M3322); diaries and emails, 1999-2006 (AccNo: M3348).

Manuscript volume containing a memorandum by John Ashley, [1745-1747], headed 'A Proposal to support the British Nation against the ambitious views of France. Humbly offered to the consideration of the Right Honourable Henry Pelham', and suggesting the substitution of a capitation tax on sugar and salt for duties on the products of West Indian plantations as a means of undermining French commercial competitiveness.

Sales records of Barclay Perkins and Company Limited, including sales books and ledgers; sales comparisons; gains and losses book; trade sales; sales to Bottling Department; registers of customers; papers relating to the duty on beer; and circulars book.

Records relating to Bartholomew Fair, inclduing pie powder court book, 1790-1854; historical notes, press cuttings and other notes, ca. 1641-ca. 1848; and accounts of receipts and expenditure for Bartholomew Fair, 1671. They were catalogued at various dates by members of Guildhall Library staff.

The archives consist almost entirely of business and partnership correspondence of A.G. Wentworth Gray between 1856 and 1906. They therefore include some private and family material. The firm dealt in a wide variety of goods and cargoes. The records contain references to, inter alia: beef, pork, cocoa, flour, sugar, limes, molasses, rice and timber.

Access to Mss 21409, 21411, 21412 and 21413 is subject to special conditions: for further information please ask a member of staff.

Correspondence, papers and journals of Charles Tilstone Beke, 1824-1910, principally relating to Abyssinia and the Middle East, with papers of his wife Emily Beke (née Alston). The collection holds information on all aspects of Beke's career, from his early legal training to the search for employment and financial security of his final years. His intervening travels, geographical and biblical studies and resulting publications are documented by journals, notebooks and printed material. Correspondence includes that generated during Beke's secretaryship of the National Association for the Protection of Industry and Capital throughout the British Empire; and generally reflects a wide range of scholarly acquaintance and interests. Supplementary papers of Emily Beke record her championing of C.T. Beke's posthumous reputation, and her attempts to gain recompense for his occasional government service.

Printed bill of lading completed in manuscript for the ship Sprightly Packett, 19 Oct 1782, at Bristol and bound for Cork with eight hogsheads of dye goods.

Printed bill of lading, 1799, completed in manuscript for the schooner Pearl bound for Demerara (British Guiana) from Stonington, Connecticut, USA. Cargo includes mess beef and pork, prime beef and pork, mutton, bass, codfish, mackerel, horses, mules and cattle.

Nine printed bills of lading, completed in manuscript, for ships bound for Marseilles, including those for Le Décidé bound from Salonika, 1728; St Jean l'Évangéliste, from Istanbul, 1733; Le Benjamin, from Smyrna, 1763; Sainte Marie, from Port Maurice, 1765; La Fortune, from St Pierre, Martinique, 1765; La Napolitaine, from Naples, 1778; L'Aimable Marguerite, from Smyrna, 1779; S. Giovanni Battista, from Genoa, 1787 and 1788. Also includes a similar bill of lading for La Vièrge de Grace, bound from Marseilles to St Malo, 1729. Merchandise carried included raw cotton, yellow wax, fish, oil, vinegar, soap, coffee and silk.

Letters, 1927-1941, of and relating to Jack F Blackburn, mainly comprising his letters to his mother Margaret Blackburn in Guildford, 1927-1941, concerning his activities and discussing family affairs, describing visits as a naval officer to the ports of Singapore, Malaya, Cairo, and Aden, and including information on his work with the Chinese Maritime Customs; also including two letters from well-wishers to his mother congratulating her on Blackburn's behaviour on HMS LADYBIRD in 1941.

Sales and production records for Blue Nile Brewery Limited, including wine and spirit trade files; sales files and technical consultancy agreement.

Records of the Borneo Company, as follows:
1.Deed of settlement; memorandum and articles of association: Ms 27174-7;

2. Board, AGM and committee minutes; annual reports and accounts: Ms 27178-90;
3. Secretary's papers: Ms 27191-8;
4. Accounts: Ms 27199-231;
5. Overseas operations records:-
   Agency and general agreements-Ms 27232-43;
   Java and Sumatra-Ms 27244-58;
   Malaya and Singapore-Ms 27259-76;
   Philippines-Ms 27277;
   Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei-Ms 27278-304;
   Siam-Ms 27305-29;
6. Investments, takeovers and subsidiary company papers:-
   Australia-Ms 27330-45;
   Canada -Ms 27346-50;
   Hong Kong-Ms 27351;
   Colombia-Ms 27352;
   Cuba-Ms 27353;
   India-Ms 27354-5;
   Java and Sumatra-Ms 27356-9;
   Malaya and Singapore-Ms 27360-400;
   Netherlands-Ms 27401-2;
   Sarawak, North Borneo and Brunei-Ms 27403-19;
   Siam-Ms 27420;
   United Kingdom-Ms 27421-3;
7. Publicity and sales material: Ms 27424-6;
8. Staff records: Ms 27427-43;
9. Property records (London only): Ms 27430-6;
10. Centenary celebrations and notes for centenary history: Ms 27437-43;
11. Photographs: Ms 27444-66;
12. Branch records:-
    Sarawak: Kuching-Ms 27467-70;
    Siam: Bangkok -Ms 27471-4.

This collection contains correspondence, papers, notes for speeches, pamphlets, circulars and press cuttings relating to Bottomley's visits to Burma (for the Panglong Conference) Kenya, Ghana, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Ethiopia and Rhodesia. There are also articles and correspondence concerning the Rhodesian situation and race relations, photographs of official occasions, including press and official photographs of British Commonwealth occasions, many showing Arthur Bottomley, 1950s-1960s, and a diary of the Parliamentary Delegation to India in 1946.

Records of the Bournemouth Wine Company Limited, comprising register of seals; papers and correspondence, including those relating to change of name and memorandum and articles of association.

Diaries, correspondence, genealogical papers, photographs and press cuttings, 1793-1966, of Edward Charles Mackintosh Bowra and Cecil Arthur Verner Bowra.

Papers of Thomas Bowrey, sea captain and merchant, including ledger; correspondence; diaries; drawings; charts; and maps; relating to travel and trade in India, Africa, Holland, France, Batavia (Jakarta) and Persia (Iran); the "Coffree" language of Delagoa and the Telenga language; shipping insurance and Lloyd's coffee house; whaling; and piracy.

Deed relating to Brentford Market: exemplification of an inspeximus of letters patent, in which King James VI and I grants rights to hold a market every Tuesday and an annual fair on eve and day of Feast of Saint Laurence and four days following in West Brentford, with right to hold court of pie-powder and to levy tolls and dues, 1610.

An 'inspeximus' is a charter in which the person granting the charter avouches to have inspected an earlier charter which he repeats and confirms.

A signed holograph proposal, 1739, for preventing the illicit practice of wool, tea and brandy smuggling, submitted to both Houses of Parliament.

Letter from John Burnett of the Board of Trade to Professor H S Foxwell, 11 Nov 1889. 'There can be little doubt that there were trade combinations in existing [sic] very early in the eighteenth century'.

Autograph, with signature.

Letter from W G Burns of Derby to Colonel [Thomas Perronet] Thompson, 23 Feb 1846. 'As I think it [a] pity you should be ignorant [of] the nature of the arguments [u]rged against free trade principles I send you a specimen of [w]hat a clerical opponent can [d]o ...'

Autograph, with signature. Written on the dorse of the title page and the end fly leaf of a pamphlet [by Henry Robert Crewe] The repeal of the Corn Laws (1846).

Papers concerning relations between Britain and Russia 1922-1923, with particular reference to the recognition of the USSR by the United Kingdom, trade relations and famine relief, collected by Charles Roden Buxton MP. The include circulars by the Union of Democratic Control, including ED Morel's reports on his visit to Russia and of the National "Hands off Russia" Committee.

Records of C & A Ltd, comprising records mainly related to fashion design and promotion, 1920s-1950s, namely photographs of the C & A clothing factory (CANDA MFG Co. Ltd), 1950s; campaign advertising posters for C & A in Germany, 1950s; guardbook of advertisements from the Manchester Evening News which announced the launching of C & A's Menswear department; portfolio of Margrit Seck designs for C & A adverts, 1950s; promotional videotapes, 1980s; corporate brochures and handbooks, History of Hereford House, Oxford Street; slides of advertisements, 1920s-1962.

Authorisation, 1668, to seize upon contraband Irish beef and other provisions, on the attempt being made to import them into Scotland.

Manuscript letterbooks, 1898-1906, containing copies of letters from James Duncan Campbell in London to Sir Robert Hart.

The records comprise deeds and legal, administrative and financial papers relating to the Castle Wemyss Estate, Jamaica, 1802-1845, belonging (during the period covered by the papers) successively to Gilbert Mathison, Simon Halliday and Rev Walter Stevenson Halliday. The deeds and legal papers record the ownership of the estate and financial claims upon it by other parties, as well as compensation claims under the Abolition Act. They include the title deeds to the estate 1802-1845; together with correspondence and other papers concerning financial claims upon it (particularly an annuity payable to Catherine Mathison, widow of Gilbert) 1830-1845, compensation payable under the Abolition Act 1834-1835, and the fate of the estate in 1843-1845 when it was no longer viable financially.
The administrative and financial papers illustrate the management of a West Indian sugar estate by attorneys on behalf of absentee landlords, and the process of shipping the sugar and rum produced back to London for sale by a firm of merchants. A fairly complete series of correspondence between Simon Halliday and his attorneys and merchants survives for the period 1823-1828, giving many details of the practical problems of managing a sugar estate and of ensuring an adequate performance by the attorneys. There are many reports on the progress of crops, as well as references to maintenance work required, the need for new cattle (a continuing problem on the Castle Wemyss estate) and the work and health of the slaves. There is further detailed information on the slaves in a series of returns; in addition there are lists of them in the title deeds to the estate after 1807 (following the abolition of the slave trade). There are references to specific events involving the slaves in the correspondence and/or the returns: for example, the case of Catalina alias Susannah Mathison who induced an abortion by taking Vervain and Contrayerva in 1824; and allegations of mistreatment of the slaves by one of the overseers, in 1827.
The correspondence of 1823-1828 also includes letters between Halliday and the firms of merchants he used in London to sell his produce. The state of the sugar and rum markets are regularly discussed, and both attorneys and merchants report on the despatch and receipt of shipments of sugar and rum, on which the successful running of the estate depended. There is one instance of a ship being wrecked and part of the cargo lost.There are also financial accounts, both of the attorneys and of the merchants, which illustrate the returns and financial problems of the estate.

Minutes of preliminary meetings of the Cattle Feeding Stuffs Central Advisory Committee.

Printed certificate with texts in English and French testifying that Henry Wright was an Englishman, possessed a 'handsome property', and 'may be depended upon in any mercantile concern he may transact between England and France, or any other nation', signed by Wright and 16 inhabitants of the parish of Tamworth, Staffordshire. With two duty stamps, one dated 1797. Printed by 'Cotton, printer, Tamworth'.

A manuscript volume containing a collection of papers made by George Chalmers chiefly relating to Ireland including notes and transcripts relating to royal activity in Ireland from the time of King Henry II, tables of imports and exports for Ireland made in the late seventeenth or eighteenth century, a letter by Sir Peter Pett dated Dec 1678, and letters to Chalmers from General Charles Vallancey, Apr 1791, and Francis Douce, [1808]. On one paper, giving the exports of Ireland for 1641, 1665 and 1669, Chalmers has written 'This paper is worth more than its weight in gold'.

A letter book of William Chalmers, 1740-1744, containing letters addressed to agents in Great Britain, Europe, the United States and North Africa. Commodities included wine, tobacco, cloth, spices, leather, copper, papers, butter, citrus fruit, figs, salt, cork and rum.

Papers of Frederick Cecil Chapman, 1937-[1970], notably comprising University of London extension lecture notes, covering psychology, welfare, accounting, secretarial and administration, commerce and society, [1937-1942]; notes, specimen papers, syllabus, County Hall courses and University of London Degree and Postgraduate courses on bookkeeping, commerce, vocational pedagogy and business economics, 1937-1942; notes and draft lectures on energy, government, aircraft production, post-war rehabilitation, hospitals and mental health, 1946-1947; notes used for teaching, commentaries on world events and quasi diary notes, 1947-1956; notebooks entitled 'Personal Copyright and Official Minutes including Provisional Legislation concerning the Royal Commission of Tribunal, Enquiries and Inquiries, 1958-1970', relating to the functioning of a variety of administrative and legislative authorities and boards; pamphlets by Chapman, entitled Random Papers and Reminiscences and Progress within the Empire.

Paper entitled The Strike in the London Boot Trade, 1885-1886.

Records of Charles Lester and Company Limited, general traders, comprising board and general meeting minutes.

Access to records less than 30 years old (or records less than 70 years old which relate to staff) should be sought from Elementis plc (contact details may be obtained from a member of staff).

Records of Child, Macfarland and Company, export agents, comprising private ledger and sales ledger.

Papers, 1889-1969, of the China Association, including minutes and committee papers of the General Committee and Executive Committee; correspondence with the Foreign Office, Board of Trade, Sino-British Trade Council, Tientsin and Hong Kong Chambers of Commerce, Hong Kong Association and the British Consulate in Shanghai; annual reports (1889-1962); and separate items including the minutes and papers of the China Association's School of Practical Chinese Endowment Fund (1908-1955). Also includes committee papers and minutes of the British Chambers of Commerce in Hankow and Tientsin, the Hong Kong Association, the Sino-British Trade Council, and the British Residents' Association in Shanghai. Also includes photographs of banquets (1896-1906), and albums of newspaper cuttings on China (1940-1947) and Japan (1942-1949).

Records, 1926-1951, of the Chinese Government Purchasing Commission (CGPC), including information on the state of Chinese communications; the workings of the Chinese Ministries of Communications, Railways and Industries; Chinese banking; construction and engineering technology and the work of British manufacturers; and some information on Chinese educational and cultural institutions in receipt of subsidies from the Board of Trustees for the Administration of the Indemnity Funds Remitted by the British Government.

Records, 1926-1951, relating to the foundation and constitution of the CGPC comprise printed report of the Anglo-Chinese Advisory Committee (China Indemnity Advisory Committee), 1926; correspondence, largely letters from the Board of Trustees to the CPGC, 1931-1950, concerning the constitution of the Commission, procedural issues, personnel and financial matters; file on procedure on appointment of a new member of the Commission, 1947-1948; correspondence concerning events preceding the winding-up of the Commission, 1951.

Financial records, 1931-1951, comprise papers on the Board Account, 1937-1950; papers on the Chin Fund (apparently a grant paid to Constance Chin, a patient of the Bethlem Royal Hospital), 1945-1951; summaries of expenses relating to purchase orders made by Chinese ministries, 1931-1951; Indemnity Fund cash books, 1937-1950; invoices and receipts relating to CGPC business, 1937-1951; financial statements and correspondence relating to banking matters with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, 1931-1951, the subjects including investments and tax.

Operational records, c1928-1951, relating to the administration of purchase orders, comprise register of tenders/purchase orders, 1942-1946; contract registers (not comprehensive), 1931-1949, recording the management of contracts for the supply and delivery in China of plant, machinery and other materials manufactured in the UK for the Chinese government, and over 1,000 related contract files for engineering companies and manufacturers for industrial, construction, railway and other projects; tender forms, 1934, issued to contractors by the CGPC; specifications and standards, c1928-1937 and undated, largely for the construction of railways and carriages; correspondence concerning administration of purchase orders, 1932-1951, relating especially to delivery of locomotive spare parts and related materials; registers of export licences issue to British manufacturers under wartime regulations, 1941-1946; applications for export licences, 1939-1945; registers of shipments, insurance, freight and inspection fees, 1931-1951; shipping letters, 1937-1950, issued for CGPC shipments; general correspondence concerning the administration of the CGPC, 1931-1951, including correspondence with solicitors and correspondence concerning the CGPC premises in Tothill Street, London.

Annual reports and accounts, 1931-1950, comprise typescript accounts and reports, 1931-1950, of the CGPC and published annual reports, 1931-1950, including summaries of receipts and payments; and annual reports of the Board of Trustees, 1931-1938.

Miscellaneous records, c1932-1950, comprise one file including papers on subjects including railways, training Chinese students, Japanese imperialism, and CGPC records, a photograph of ships in harbour, and maps of China and the Far East.

Records, 1939-1943, of the China Purchasing Agency Ltd comprise standing regulations of the Board of Directors, undated; correspondence, 1939-1943, concerning various purchase orders; miscellaneous items, c1939-1940, including list of tenders passed for acceptance, 1939, and an undated schedule of materials shipped.

Scientific and other papers sent to the Royal Society, presented at meetings of Fellows, or commissioned by the Society. They form a complementary series to the Early Letters, both of which were superseded by the Letters and Papers. Many of these items, referred to as the 'Guard Books', are duplicated in the Register Book of the Society. The classification is a simplified form of the 'Philosophical Transactions' abridgment by John Lowthorp. This arrangement was completed in 1741 by Thomas Birch. The majority of the papers in these volumes are manuscript, but a few printed documents occur throughout the series. Some of the papers are earlier in date than the grant on 15 July 1662 of the First Charter to the Society. The Committee of Trades seems to have been associated with the earlier meetings of those philosophers who subsequently became Fellows, and produced a number of practical papers, some of which were written in 1639 and which are mostly found in Volume 3(i). There are still earlier documents, mostly in Volume 25, which may have been included in the gift, in 1667, of the Arundel Library.

Records of the Coal Exchange and Market, 1696-1962, including papers of the Clerk of the market, Mayor's Court verdicts regarding the market, rentals and tenancy agreements, financial accounts of the Coal Market and Coal Market Fund, photographs, pamphlets and histories of the market.