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This collection contains business letters, financial documents, and a deposition related to the business affairs of merchant Robert Thomas Pyott of Hull, England, in the 1760s. Most items concern the shipment of brandy, Madeira, and other wines to Charleston, South Carolina, and the Caribbean.

This collection contains 28 business letters, 5 financial documents, and 1 deposition related to the business affairs of merchant Robert Thomas Pyott of Hull, England, in the 1760s. Most items concern the shipment of brandy, Madeira, and other wines to Charleston, South Carolina, and to the Caribbean.

Robert Thomas Pyott received business letters from multiple firms and individuals. His most frequent correspondents were Thomas Rennard and McQueen Gordon & Co., both of Charleston, South Carolina. Other merchants wrote to Pyott from London, England. The majority of Pyott's incoming letters concern the shipment of wine to Charleston and to Caribbean ports, including Barbados. Correspondents in South Carolina frequently reported on the state of the local market, and many letters include financial statements or otherwise pertain to monetary arrangements.

Thomas Rennard sent two letters, in which he discussed the British invasion of Martinique in early 1762 (February 27, 1762, and March 3, 1762). John Howell, master of the Hannah & Jane, made a sworn statement that his ship had been captured by a French privateer (April 2, 1762); subsequent letters include one about Pyott's attempt to settle an insurance claim for the loss (December 13, 1762). Along with the correspondence and deposition, the collection includes a bill of lading, 2 invoices, and other financial records concerning Pyott's American interests.

This collection is made up of letters that William Hollingsworth of Elkton, Maryland, received from George Law of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pascal Hollingsworth of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1830s. Law's letters concern an insurance claim for the schooner Independence, and Hollingsworth's letters pertain to the market for wheat and flour.

This collection is made up of 4 letters that William Hollingsworth of Elkton, Maryland, received from George Law of Baltimore, Maryland, and Pascal Hollingsworth of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the 1830s. Law's letters, dated January 7, 1833, and January 11, 1833, concern Hollingsworth's insurance claim for the schooner Independence; his first letter was originally addressed to [Z.?] Crouch of Baltimore, and contains a brief note by Crouch. Law compared the Independence case to a similar claim regarding the Post Boy and referred briefly to the French government and a council on prizes. Pascal Hollingsworth's letters, written on September 20, 1837, and March 20, 1839, pertain to commerce, particularly with regard to Philadelphia. He primarily discussed the financial outlook for shipments of wheat and flour: he believed that a poor harvest would lead to high prices in 1837. Hollingsworth's first letter also reflects his belief that newspapers had conspired to depress prices by intentionally reporting false figures regarding wheat harvesting and production, and his second letter discusses some of the effects of European wars on international commerce.