| Description | This small book is titled 'Catalogue of Papers, M. B.'s Counting Room, 1760 to 1790'. It was originally compiled by William D. Brown, and later annotated by Matthew Robinson Boulton.
Brown began working for the Mint on 9 November 1791, and it is likely that the catalogue was compiled soon after that date. It would indeed be natural for an incoming clerk to wish to list the documents newly placed in his charge, especially if no satisfactory prior record existed. The latter year of the title apparently represents the one most recently completed, the papers up to the end of the year 1790 having been deposited in the listed boxes, those for the current year being presumably kept in a place more readily accessible.
It is not clear whether any part of the arrangement described was devised by Brown himself at this time, or whether he merely recorded what was was already in existence all; it is, at least, certain that he examined many of the files in detail and in a number of cases corrected the dockets, or wrote dockets where they had not been provided. Dockets in his hand appear on documents in the following files: Thomas Day; John Roebuck; Josiah Wedgwood; John Whitehurst. One of the letters from Josiah Wedgwood bears a pencil annotation on the docket, which may be in Brown's hand; below the date 10 March 1767 are written the words: "This figure of 7 should be 8. Lord Cathcart received his appointment January 24, 1768. See Annual Register." A letter from Thomas Allen, 11 August 1789, among the General Correspondence, bears the docket in Brown's hand: "A to L inclusive, 1789." He also added dockets to MBP 218/55.
When the Catalogue was originally compiled, the papers were arranged under a number of heads, as listed below. Most of these titles probably corresponded to a single packet of papers, though some of the more important subjects may have run to more. The packets were distributed among five boxes, marked with the letters from A to E, and kept, as is stated, in the Counting-Room—probably the one at the Manufactory, not the one at the Mint, though this point is not certain. The contents of the boxes are listed at the end of the book, the earlier part being an index to this list.
The Catalogue was later annotated by M. R. Boulton at the time he made his arrangement of his own and his father’s papers, which appears to have been about 1819. (See the corresponding notes.)
The following is a summary of the arrangement of Matthew Boulton’s papers at the time the Catalogue was originally compiled.
Box A.
American Disputes.
Albion Mill.
Brass Making.
Cornish Mines.
Cornish Metal Company.
Commercial Committee.
Corn Mill at Paris. [Listed as Corn Mill, etc., but indexed as Corn Mills, etc.]
Carron Company.
Copper Smelting.
Copper Trade.
Memorandums—Iron, etc.
Navigations.
Plans, Schemes, and Advertisements.
Jervoise Symcock’s the Conjurer’s papers.
York Buildings.
Box B.
Agreements.
Accounts—Sundry Stated Accounts.
Bonds (Cancelled) and Receipts.
Copper Trade—Observations thereon, and on the danger of Exporting Tools.
Chamber of Manufacturers and Irish Propositions. [Listed simply as Chamber of Manufacturers, but indexed under the longer name.]
Copper Coinage—Government.
Garbet’s Affairs.
Handsworth Inclosure.
Nelson’s (Isaac) Papers.
Printed Papers on Public Business.
Soho Premises.
Salt and Startin Marriage Negotiation. [Listed simply as Salt and Startin, but indexed under the longer name.]
Silk Reels.
Tradesmen’s Bills. (Indexed under the title "Tradesmen’s Bills, etc.")
Weston on Patents.
Box C.
Thomas Day. Letters, 1775 to 1785.
J. H. Ebbinghaus. Letters to and from.
John Fothergill. Letters, 1762 to 1781.
and
Mrs. Fothergill, etc. Letters, continued to 1784.
Samuel Garbett. Letters, 1771 to 1790.
John Hurd. Letters, 1785 to 1790.
James Keir. Letters and affairs, 1772 to 1790.
John Motteux. Letters, 1770 to 1790.
William Matthews. Letters, 1770 to 1790.
J. H. Mitchel. Letters, 1790.
John Roebuck. Letters, 1760 to 1789.
John Roberts. Letters, 1788 to 1790.
John Scale. Letters, 1772 to 1790.
Charles Vere. Papers.
John Vivian. Letters, 1785 to 1790.
Thomas Williams. Letters, 1781 to 1790.
Thomas Wilson. Letters, 1780 to 1790.
James Watt. Letters, 1768 to 1790.
John Whitehurst. Letters, 1771 to 1789.
Charles Wyatt. Letters, 1770 to 1771, and 1789.
Samuel Wyatt. Letters, 1781 to 1790.
John Wilkinson. Letters, 1775 to 1790.
Box D.
Sundry Letters, A to W. 1758 to 1773.
Sundry Letters, A to W. 1774 to 1779.
Sundry Letters, A to W. 1780.
Mrs. Montague’s Letters, &c., Glass, viz. Mackay, Mackintosh, Seddon, and Wyatt. 1780, 1781.
Sundry Letters, A to Y. 1781.
Sundry Letters, A to Y. 1782.
Sundry Letters, A to Y. 1783.
Sundry Letters, A to Y. 1784.
Sundry Letters, A to W. 1785.
Sundry Letters, A to W. 1786.
Box E.
General Letters, A to Y. 1787.
General Letters, A to W. 1788.
General Letters, A to Z. 1789.
General Letters, A to W. 1790. |