[EXHAUSTIVE ARCHIVE OF RECORDS FROM AN 18TH-CENTURY PERUVIAN MERCHANT HOUSE].
[Peru]:
[Lima. 1786-1842]. Fifteen volumes. Approximately 3100 pages of manuscript. Folio. Vellum. Varying degrees of wear, including rubbing of and moderate soiling on covers. Some volumes with pronounced worming. Overall, internally clean. Manuscript generally neat and legible. Very good. A storehouse of commercial records and transactions from the Lima mercantile firm of Izcue y Arias. Most of the records date from the latter half of the 18th century, though there are records as late as 1842. An inventory of the sixteen volumes follows: 1) 1786 invoice and log book focusing on the Rio de la Plata trade. Includes entries for linens, religious paraphernalia, various dry goods, and an index of abbreviated client names. 2) 1786-1808 account book. Includes lists of deliveries and outstanding client accounts. 3) 1790-92 merchant borrador or "waste book." A lengthy letter copy book, with references to the China trade, sundry negotiations, shipping issues, and other topics. 4) 1790-92 borrador. A rough listing of accounts, including schedules of goods sold and paid receipts. 5) 1791-96 borrador. Another letter copy book with the majority of the content being letters to Spain. 6) 1791-94 account book. Primarily a listing of goods sold, client invoice totals, and smaller receipts, with deductions for expenses occasionally marked. 7) 1793-98 self-styled "diario" of goods sold. A running list of outstanding accounts, with most marked (presumably later) as paid. 8) 1793-98 borrador. A third letter copy book, filled with letters to Spain (some discussing political developments in Europe) and future plans for partnership. 9) 1795-99 account book. Another list of goods sold, here with some marked as being sold to concerns in Chile. 10) 1798-1807 warehouse log book. A list of accounts pertinent to the firm's warehouse, again denoting clients and invoices paid. 11) 1798-1807 account book. A thumb-indexed list of clients, followed by an additional listing of accounts. 12) 1816-17 account book. Another account book, focusing on the expenses of various voyages and "petty cash" records. 13) 1818-24 letter copy book. A thumb-indexed list of clients with locations, followed by a lengthy collection of letters with much on the independence movement, losses occasioned by shipwreck, and other topics. 14) 1818-20. Similar to the previous item, but with more emphasis on letters throughout current and former Spanish holdings in the Americas. 15) 1837-42 letter copy book. A final letter copy book, with much on the trade and political situation in South America. In all, a remarkable archive, with great potential for additional research. These records span one of the most turbulent epochs in Peru's history, beginning with the establishment of the Bourbon intendencies in 1784 through ultimate independence in 1824, and so offer great insight into the daily life and commerce of the struggling nation. Such original source material is extremely rare, especially from a mercantile center with such a volatile political history.
(Item ID: WRCAM30917) $30,000.00