Transatlantique

1852 · 1338 — Original manuscript. 1852-1854. Folio 38 x 27cm. Full contemporary reverse calf with gilt morocco titles labels to the spine "Rough Sales Book / S & L / B". Marbling to page edges. Marbled endpapers with engraved label for "Baily Brothers Booksellers Stationers Account Book Manufacturers" London to the front pastedown. 172pp. of manuscript text in ink on red-ruled laid paper watermarked "W. King / 1850" followed by c.160pp. blank with a handful of pages torn out following the conclusion of the manuscript text section and another within the text. The majority of entries are in English with some in Spanish mostly written in the same hand. Condition is very good the binding firm with marking to the boards chipping to the head of the spine and a little wear to the extremities. The contents with a 3cm tear to the head of the first text page and two pages partially cut/torn away at the bottom are otherwise in good order. The ledger of a British sales agents operating in Panama during the mid-nineteenth century detailing the importation and sale of a wide variety European and South American goods into the country.</p><p>The manuscript meticulously records the origin city/country importer ship the goods received and sold and the charges entailed for each shipment. A typical entry for example records the arrival of "gunpowder received per "Alexander" and sold on behalf of the Kames Gunpowder Company Glasgow" followed by details of the subsequent purchasers "J. D. Cordova" etc. and the charges/commissions taken by the agent including fees for landing expenses and "carriage to arsenal". </p><p>Many of the entries describe large diverse cargoes combining both essential and luxury goods including: alpacas; chocolate pots; "41 cases of pickles and mustard"; lavender water; rocking chairs; a "copying machine"; cinnamon; scissors razors; bone buttons; horse brushes; compasses; gin; hatchets; bedsteads; looking glasses; children's toys; cloves; muslins; kegs of shot; cups and saucers; tobacco; machetes; claret; playing cards rat traps; "Aqua de Colonia" cologne; silk gloves; saddles; blunderbusses; padlocks; lace; pantaloons; "Jamaica rum"; almonds; vinegar; bonnets; sausages; gold frames; water closets; wash stands; champagne; mosquito nets; and much else besides.</p><p>The origin ports include major European trade centres such as Liverpool and Glasgow but also include many South American ports such as Guayaquil Equador carrying beans cocoa coffee sugar and quinoa amongst other things; Buenaventura Colombia; Callao Peru carrying candlesticks coffee mills and bayonets; Lima Peru "bottled fruits" and cherry cordial; and Valparaiso Chile; as well as San Francisco and New York to the north. The importers themselves are also a mixture of British and Panamanian companies.</p><p>A fascinating detailed insight into Panama's transatlantic and South American trade during the mid-nineteenth century. [Original manuscript]. hardcover