| Description | This file contains correspondence with the firm of A. & J. Weston, attornies of London, and the partners—the brothers Ambrose and James—individually. In 1795 a third brother, George, joined the partnership, and the firm was known till his death in 1799 as A., J. & G. Weston. But throughout the period covered by the file the bulk of the correspondence was carried on between Boulton and the senior partner, Ambrose. (For further information, see the Guide to Persons and Firms.)
The file was probably originally in the form of a bundle, but its contents were later transferred to a portfolio entitled:
A. Weston J. Weston 1792 to 1801
This is the title recorded in the Inventory made when the Matthew Boulton Papers arrived at the Assay Office in 1821, but unfortunately the portfolio was subsequently discarded. Under M. R. Boulton’s arrangement the file was placed in Box K. I, and it was still there in 1921.
The original arrangement of the documents within the portfolio is uncertain, but it seems likely that, considering their large number, the Copies would have been kept in a separate sequence, as is the case in many other similar files. The contents are therefore now arranged in two chronological sequences, as follows:
Letters. (1-130)
Copies. (131-166)
122a was docketed—by Zaccheus Walker II—and folded in a different style to the other letters in this file, which may indicate that it has been transferred here from elsewhere.
Unless otherwise stated, the copy documents are press-copies, and the letters written in London by the law firm, or the partners thereof, are dated at their office in Fenchurch Street. The summaries in quotation-marks are taken from the contemporary dockets. |