| Description | Letters from Gilbert Gilpin, from 1786 to 1794. Gilbert Gilpin was John Wilkinson’s foreman at the Bersham works. He corresponded with Boulton & Watt about the manufacture and dispatch of engine parts that were made at Bersham. The bundle also contains letters written by two other clerks at Bersham, John Turner (letters from 1791 to 1794) and Cornelius Reynolds (letters in 1791). The majority of the letters are addressed to John Southern. Around August 1789 Southern began to docket the letters with name of the customer or the code of the engine whose parts were referred to. He also occasionally noted the date of his reply on the letters.
The bundle originally contained letters from 1788 to 1794. At some point the 1786 letters were added, having been removed from the General Incoming Correspondence series. The letters are dated as follows:
Nos. 1-8. 1786
Nos. 9-28. 1787
Nos. 29-40. 1788
Nos. 41-67. 1789
Nos. 68-82. 1790
Nos. 83-125. 1791
Nos. 126-149. 1792
Nos. 150-162. 1793
Nos. 163-171. 1794 |