19th CENTURY TRANSATLANTIC TRADE ARCHIVE OF OVER 500 MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENTS. INCLUDING SHIPS CAPTAINS LETTERS, FOREIGN & DOMESTIC MERCHANTS LETTERS, BUSINESS, ACCOUNTING & SALES DOCUMENTS REGARDING NUMEROUS AFRICAN CARGOES, RETAINED COPY LETTERS, BANK CHECKS & BILLHEADS, etc. KIMBALL WAS DOING BUSINESS AROUND THE WORLD, WITH THIS ARCHIVE REPRESENTING THOSE GLOBAL INTERESTS, INCLUDING LETTERS AND MANUSCRIPT BUSINESS EPHEMERA FROM GHANA, ENGLAND, INDONESIA, AMSTERDAM, PHILIPPINES, ETC. The archive richly documents the Kimball brothers vast business interests, including participation in 2 legs of the Triangle Trade. Kimball did NOT trade in enslaved peoples, but his prolific trade in coastal Africa included doing business in some of the most notorious slave trading ports in the world, at the height of that abhorrent trade. Kimball was trading in textiles, gold, ivory, gun powder, tobacco, gum copal, palm oil, monkey skins, ginger, spices, rum, etc. One of Edwards retained letters during the Civil War, written to Thomas Reader, Esq. A business partner trading in Sierra Leone, notes… The loss of property & ruinous state of affairs in this country. The prospect for a settlement of our National difficulties is as distant as when I last wrote you. All kinds of trade is suspended. Later in the letter Edward answers… I would not at present be interested in any voyage to the coast of Africa unless the vessel closed the voyage & Brot. The entire proceeds home. There are also personal letters between the family members, and billheads and receipts related to household matters, but the majority of the correspondence and documents are about their myriad business interests at home and around the globe, including dozens if not hundreds of letters referencing maritime trade, and recording of the sales of dozens of ships African and domestic cargoes. There are also several documents related to Edwards substantial, early stock in the Central Pacific Railroad of California. Of the 500+ items, more than 55 are early U. & foreign stamped or stampless covers (representing a rich postal history archive unto itself), including international postmarks from London, Panama, Amsterdam, Penzance, etc. Edward was a meticulous record keeper and wrote himself copies of the letters he sent out (unsigned, retained, manuscript letters he marked Copy on the docket), at times posting them back to Salem while he traveled for business. The presence of so many of Edwards retained letters present a rare opportunity to see both sides of this intricate business correspondence. He was also frugal, and would neatly excise blank portions of letters, and sometimes glue them to other sheets to avoid waste. Among the many interesting documents are. A wonderful 1864 letter from C. Several letters from Baring Brothers Bank in London (one of Englands oldest banks). More than 100 small engraved bank checks, mostly from Kimballs Naumkeag Bank. A fascinating letter from Thomas Chown, Jr. From London, in 1849, about his upcoming voyage to Gambia, and the state of trade there and in Sierra Leone, and details the price and demand of a number of commodities, including rum and whale oil. (18161915), was born in London and joined his father, Thomas Chown, Sr. In the family business in the Gambia in the 1830s. He succeeded his father in 1845, when Sr. Was captured and killed by pirates. Served on the Gambian Legislative Council between 1857 and 1861. Under his leadership, the firm prospered and, in the late 1860s, he retired to Middlesex, to his estate, appropriately named Gambia House see. The Historical Dictionary of Gambia. Many of the letters reference trans-atlantic voyages and the state of trade in Africa, Europe, and the United States, plus references to the internal politics of the United States before and during the Civil War. Most of the letters remain unread, so who knows what’s really in this substantial manuscript archive. Most of the documents are neatly docketed in manuscript by Edward Kimball identifying the writer, date, etc. And identifying his retained “copy” letters. The Kimballs had their hands in a stunning array of interconnected businesses, and dominated many realms of business in Salem, Mass. The domestic and international trade represented in this archive would be the equivalent of a modern day, multi-million dollar, multi-national corporation. The more than 500 documents widely vary in size, from rather small slips of paper, larger billheads, small bank checks, to larger 3 and 4 pages letters and larger folded sheets. Varying wear, generally very good, some early staining, some tears and chipping. A remarkable 19th century manuscript business archive. For just a sampling of the names of people and ships mentioned in the letters: Captain Charles Endicott, Capt. Benjamin Cook, Captain Nelson, Capt. Samuel Hultman, English-born trader and early Gambian government official, Thomas Chown, Jr. Frothingham; the Brigs Angola, Virginia, Kilby, Hayward, Ann Elizabeth, Orlando; Barks Manchester, Buckeye, Gem; Ships Columbia, E. Taylor, John Swasey, Louisa; Schooners Saratoga, Curlew, Sarah Cullen, Ann S. Witch, Peter Clara, Magnolia, Howard, Kedar, Mexico, Columbian &c. Edward’s early career included New England coastal trading in produce and lumber. In 1842, he expanded into Ohio-Boston produce trading. He also began to use Midwestern shipbuilders for the building of his vessels. He also began consigning cargo on vessels to South America and Zanzibar. Edward apparently made the bulk of the decisions for the firm, especially after the death of Elbridge in 1849. Although the emphasis of the brothers’ trade was with the west coast of Africa, their vessels also sailed to the East Indies, the Pacific Islands, South America, Australia, and Asia. The item “MARITIME BUSINESS ARCHIVE SHIP CAPTAIN LETTERS SALEM MA AFRICA CIVIL WAR STAMPS” is in sale since Thursday, July 16, 2020. This item is in the category “Stamps\United States\Covers\Postal History”. The seller is “mainstreetbooks” and is located in Amherst, Massachusetts. This item can be shipped to United States, all countries in Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, South africa, Thailand, Hong Kong, Bahamas, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Saudi arabia, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Jamaica, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, French guiana, Guadeloupe, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman islands, Sri lanka, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Peru, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion, Viet nam, Uruguay.

• Topic: Business, Industry, Careers
• Quality: Used
• Cancellation Type: Handstamped
• Grade: Ungraded
• Place of Origin: United States