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.

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'.

Letter, May 1 1802 addressed to the Rt Hon William Wickham, Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whitehall. 'Lord Sheffield has caused the tracts sent herewith relative to Ireland to be bound together with the wish they may be usefull (sic) in respect to reference to Mr. Wickham. The first gives details of the state, manufactures & commerce of Ireland to the year 1785. The speech on union continues those details to the present times and the observations on the export of wool to Ireland shews the state of the woollen manufacture in both countries'. Autograph, unsigned.

Letter from John King of Whitehall to William Fawkener, Esq, 9 Nov 1799. Covering letter stating that the Duke of Portland [Home Secretary] had referred a petition on Irish oat and bean exports to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [Charles Cornwallis]. Enclosing a copy [missing] of Cornwallis's letter on the subject, sent 'for the information of the Lords of His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council'.

[Written in another hand and] signed by John King. Endorsed: 'Letter from Mr. King transmitting Copy Letter from the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, upon the subject of the petition of the proprietors of mail coaches, praying that the exportation of oats and beans from Ireland may be allowed in favour of Great Britain only'; endorsement dated 20 Nov 1799.

Papers and autobiographical memoirs, 1763-1786, apparently compiled for circulation amongst family and friends. Consists of an 'Account of Madeira wine for costs and charges' (ff.2v-3), 'Transactions of three years in trade [1760-63]' (ff.4-12) and 'Letters that were written to me in the progress of my misfortunes' concerning business, bankruptcy as a result of war, and personal matters (ff.13-146).

Manuscript volume containing a catalogue of books, pamphlets, business papers and parliamentary papers relating to the East India Company, [1813-1819], dating from the seventeenth century to 1813. There are additions in pencil throughout, the latest of which is dated 1819.

Manuscript volume containing a list of twelve different castes of inhabitants of Bombay, India, 1828, with particulars of their trades, customs, countries, and food, with a few remarks on the names of their priests, holidays, dress, and marriage and burial customs.

Manuscript volume containing a treatise by Samuel Lambe, [1657], headed 'Seasonable observations humbly offered to his Highness The Lord Protector', advocating the increase of Britain's naval strength, the establishment of banks and a 'Court of Merchants' as a means of encouraging trade. The following papers were either inserted in the volume or came from the binding: orders of 24 Apr and 14 May 1629 signed by John Jordan of Great Marlow, Buckinghamshire, to the constables of Fawley, Buckinghamshire, concerning the collection of the composition for 'His Majestie's provision' and the maintenance of a night watch.

Manuscript volume containing a report giving a list of all the costs of the upkeep of a galley in a squadron, [1700-1750], requested by 'S R Gerosna', entitled 'Relazione distinta di tutta la somma che si spende e consuma per il manteninento di una galera dalla squadra di questa S R Gerosna'. Includes frequent references to the port at Malta, and to Sicily, Sardinia and other islands in the Mediterranean, and notes of advice for captains of galleys trading in the area.

Manuscript volume containing a copy of a petition to the House of Lords by the wool producers of Suffolk, 1788, protesting against the bill 'for preventing the exportation of Live Sheep Wool'. The manuscript is endorsed 'Mr Kirby's brief'. The petition was drawn up at a public meeting held at Ipswich on May 29th, 1788.

Manuscript volume, [1610], containing a treatise by Sir John Davies, Attorney General of Ireland, on royal regulation of commerce, beginning 'This question concerning your Majesties prerogative in laying Impositions upon Marchandizes'.

Manuscript volume containing the second part of a treatise on English trade and commerce attributed to Sir William Sanderson, 1629, entitled 'A treatise of state marchant (merchant) and of marchandizing state, consisting of commerce, trade and traffique, and upheld by the King's Royal Exchangers Office', with a dedicatory epistle to King James I.

Letters and accounts from Gunter, Greenway & Co. to Joseph Previté concerning the import and export of groceries. The account books cover the period March 1840 to March 1843.

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.

Manuscript copy of Reflections on the importation of bar-iron, from our own colonies of North-America, printed in 1757, possibly by Joseph Sykes, in response to The case of the importation of bar-iron (1756), written by the Reverend Josiah Tucker on behalf of the Iron Manufacturers of Great Britain. The volume also includes copies of 2 letters, of 29 April 1765, from Joseph Sykes in Hull to the Master Cutler [Sheffield], and of 1 May 1765 from David Barclay & Sons, London, linen merchants, to Mr [William] Dixon [in Sheffield], both concerning the debate on the import of American as opposed to Swedish iron and proposals for additional duty upon Swedish iron before the Board of Trade.The above items are bound with a printed version of The case of the importation of bar-iron (1756), by Josiah Tucker.

Two unpublished manuscripts written between 1746-1750 regarding trade and commerce. References are made to the South Sea Company and British trade in America.

Letters, drafts and notes, 1830-1831, on agriculture, trade with the colonies, bullionism and other matters regarding politics and trade often in connection with fellow customs official Augustus Grenville Stapleton.

A volume entitled Customs of ye Stanarys & Journall of ye Convocators 1703. It relates chiefly to the stannary of Blackmore, but also other Cornish stannaries. Concludes with a note that information used 'were copied out of a manuscript I had of Mr Thomas Hawkins. Signed John Hill.'

Copy of a treatise by Sir Patience Ward entitled 'Scheme of the trade as it is at present carried on between England and France in the commodities of the native product and manufacture of each country, calculated as exactly as possible in obedience to the command of the Right Honourable the Lords Commissioners for the treaty of commerce with France...28th November 1674'. Tables included in the manuscript list quantities and prices of commodities exported to France and imported from there, and a comparison of these figures should enable their lordships...'easily [to] discerne ye great prejudice ye English nation hath sustained and the great advantage ye French have and doe dayly make by holding this treaty in suspense...'.

Letters and accounts, mostly concerned with the cloth and clothing trade, between 1755 and 1763. The material was created by both Benjamin Wilson and Jonathan Dickinson, who appear to have been business partners.

Copy of a memorandum [by George Fyler] entitled 'Further memorandum as to the most eligible transit route for mails, passengers & traffic through Mosquito & Costa Rica (being a rider to the memorandum of Dec 5th 1849) and directed to consider the shackles which now impede the development of trade with Central America, the means available for their removal and the concentration of the British Mails and traffic to and from Australia as also the Pacific generally... Presented to the Right Honourable Henry Labouchère [President of the Board of Trade], 29 Jan 1850. The manuscript memorandum suggests a route via Greytown (now San Juan del Norte), River St. John, Lake Nicaragua, and by road, eventually by canal, from the lake to Port Salinas, and indicates the advantages of the route, such as quicker mail services and avoidance of the influence of the United States at Panama.

Manuscript volume containing [transcripts of] papers relating to the union of England and Scotland, 1707, including the proceedings of the Commissioners of both kingdoms concerning freedom and intercourse of trade between England and Scotland in 1667 and 1668; a copy of the articles of the intended union between England and Scotland in 1604.

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).

Volume of typescript copies of Sir Robert Hart's letters to Sir Francis Arthur Aglen, 1888-1911.

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

Papers, 1780s-1790s, largely of Captain Francis Light, including several hundred Malay letters, primarily letters received by Light and his business partner, Captain James Scott, from rulers and dignitaries of the Malay Sultanates.

The letters cover the history of relations, negotiations and conflicts between Light, the rulers of Kedah and the Governor General in Bengal leading up to and including the settlement of Penang in 1786 and the armed conflict of 1791. There are also letters dealing with business affairs between Light and Malay nobles such as the purchase, shipment and sale of commodities, ammunition, slaves and opium, and the maintenance of good political and economic neighbourly relations; letters from the Sultanate of Selangor; letters from royal merchants at the Malay courts; and letters concerning trade from various rulers and nobles in the Peninsula and Sumatra, especially from Aceh, Asahan and other North-Sumatran states.

In addition, the collection contains several dozen letters and documents from the same period relating to Bencoolen (Benkulen) and the West Sumatran Presidency, which are unrelated to Light.

Philippine Republic Government Presidential Economic Staff Industrial Programmes Office Reports and Projects Department Position Papers and related papers and press cuttings, 1965-1969, collected by Ernest A Findorff, including information on industrial production and manufacturing, agricultural production and processing, and mining; correspondence, comprising 138 letters, 1969-1970, between Findorff and importers and exporters in south east Asia, largely those in the Philippines seeking markets in Europe.

Correspondence and papers, c1684-c1709, of William, sixth Lord Paget, concerning his public appointments in England, Vienna and Turkey. Letters to Paget include those from English ministers of state, consuls and merchants in Turkey, Swiss Cantons and Ambassadors. Papers include royal letters, state papers and treaty drafts.

Papers, 1893-1940, of the Rev Charles Perry Scott and the Rev Percy Melville Scott, together with those of fellow missionaries of the North China and Shantung Mission. Also included is a continuous series of the North China and Shantung Mission Quarterly Papers (January 1893-October 1936), and the correspondence and diaries of Maurice Woodforde Scott dating from his time in China with Butterfield & Swire (1934-1937).

Papers, 1951-1981, of Maurice Alfred Maybury, relating to his professional posts.
Papers relating to Uganda, 1951-1962, comprise government publications and reports, 1951-1959, on the Uganda Protectorate, including trade and commerce; unpublished manuals, 1952-1954, relating to trade; handbooks, 1955-1958 and undated, largely relating to trade; press cuttings, 1956-1957, the subjects including community development, banking, and official visits; miscellaneous papers, 1955-1962 and undated, including an invitation, economic survey on Uganda, and calendars.
Papers relating to Ethiopia, 1963-1974, comprise reports, 1970-1972 and undated, documenting his advisory work on commerce, industry and tourism; written accounts of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, undated; miscellaneous reports and proposals, 1963-1974 and undated, the subjects including prices, grain, and foreign and domestic trade.
Papers relating to Lesotho, 1954-1981, comprise Maybury's offer of employment as Export Promotion Adviser, 1975; general United Nations staff information, 1954, 1973-1977; UNCTAD/GATT International Trade Centre briefing papers, 1973-1974; Maybury's official project reports, 1976-1977 and undated, on export promotion in Lesotho; correspondence relating to the same project, 1977; additional reports and papers by Maybury, 1977, relating to trade promotion; miscellaneous reports and proposals, 1971-1981 and undated, relating to trade promotion.

Papers of and relating to Sir Robert Hart, 1866-1954, comprising two series of private letters from Sir Robert Hart to his personal representative in England, J D Campbell, one dating from 1868-1879 and one from 1879-1906; a run of semi-official letters to Campbell, 1874-1906; a file on the Chinese Fleet, 1876-1894; correspondence and papers, 1866-1954, concerning the letters, including their ownership. A run of Campbell's letters to Hart, 1874-1877, is also included in the collection.

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.

Records of Wallace Brothers concerning Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited, including memorandum and articles of association; board minutes; annual reports and accounts; agreements; papers relating to shareholders; correspondence; financial records; and papers relating to branches in Rangoon, Moulmein, Bangkok and Borneo.

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

Records of E D Sassoon and Company Limited including records relating to the foundation of the company such as memoranda and articles of association, certificates of incorporation and special resolutions; a board minute book and power of attorney.

Records of E D Sassoon and Company Limited including combined register of shares.

Records of E D Sassoon and Company Limited including accounts, balance sheets and reports.

Business papers of merchant Abraham Jalfon, including various accounts, invoices and receipts, accounts of packing charges on bales and cases, and annotated catalogues of sales at East India House of spices and textiles.

Accounts ledger of Lewis and Baily, merchants and shippers, 1711-12; with accounts of John Pope, merchant, 1716-17.

Outgoing letters of John March, merchant trading with Turkey.

Letters from Norris and Collet, merchants, to their factor Henry Norris in Sweden.

Daybooks of Sir Charles Peers, relating to his business as London partner of William Morley and Company, of Malaga, merchants and importers.

Account book of an unidentified Dutch merchant in London, apparently trading mainly with Antwerp, Belgium.

Legal and business papers of Thomas Vyse and Sons, merchants.

Minutes and committee papers of the Metage on Grain Committee, Court of Common Council, 1872-1896.

Records of the Port of London Health Committee, Court of Common Council, including minutes, 1872-1957; committee papers, 1872-1956; report books, 1873-1946 and subject files, 1878-1957. Subjects include air pollution, smoke abatement, Basildon New Town (with plans), the disposal of condemned meat, the transfer of Denton Hospital to the National Health Service (NHS), bye-laws regarding houseboats, the inspection of ships and reports of the Medical Officer of Health.

Inspeximus by King Edward VI of a grant made by King Edward I in 1296 to the Prioress and Nuns of Saint Elena [Saint Helen's] of London and their successors, allowing a market to be held within the manor of Brentford every Tuesday and an annual fair to be held for six days from the eve of Saint Lawrence's day. 1553. Includes a portrait of the King in the initial E and a decorated heading.

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

Letters Patent from King James II to John Shales, permitting a market to be held in Hounslow, near Hounslow Heath, for buying and selling all kinds of provisions for the support of the king's soldiers encamped on Hounslow Heath, every day, except Sunday, for the duration of the camp from time to time for ever; and the said market to be held henceforth every Thursday for ever for the convenience of the inhabitants of neighbouring townships, with all liberties, tolls, piccage stall, and without any composition to be paid, 4 March 1686.

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

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.