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This collection mostly consists of correspondence and documents related to Nicholas Low, a merchant who lived in New York City during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Much of the material concerns Low's financial interests. A small group of letters pertains to General Rufus King.

This collection (199 items) primarily consists of correspondence and documents related to Nicholas Low, a merchant who lived in New York City during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of the material concerns Low's financial interests. A small group of letters pertains to General Rufus King.

The Correspondence series (152 items) contains Low's business letters, which concern his relationships with merchants in the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. Low's correspondents reported on subjects such as local prices, shipments of goods, and trade between Europe and North America. A few writers mentioned political issues, such as Low's participation in the Poughkeepsie Convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution (March 15, 1788), and the Embargo Act (December 28, 1807). Some of the letters are addressed to the firm Low & Wallace. Other letters pertain to Isaac Low's finances, the Society of Useful Manufactures, and Nicholas Low's real property. The series also includes a draft of a letter to the editor of the Commercial Advertiser, written by Nicholas Low in response to an editorial about lottery drawings in Paterson, New Jersey (July 21, 1798). Personal letters include Lewis Littlepage's account of his dispute with John Jay (December 5, 1785) and Henrietta Low's statement of her intention to marry Charles King, written in response to her father's objections [July 1826].

Four letters relate to Rufus King, Henrietta Low's stepson. Willie Fisher, an acquaintance, wrote 2 letters to King about his social life and leisure activities, including a trip to a brothel that resulted in a riot (January 9, 1859). Charles Rebello wrote a personal letter to King in January 1863. Rufus King wrote a letter to an unidentified general in the Union Army about his frustration with a Times article that had criticized officers' conduct during the war (July 22, 1862).

The Documents series (47 items) is comprised of receipts, accounts, contracts, price lists, and other legal and financial records, mainly related to Nicholas Low. Some indentures pertain to land in New York, and at least one legal document concerns the Bank of the United States.