Surviving office books of the fishing, fish curing, and shipping enterprise of the Richardson family of Pitfour; with two ledgers of Pitfour estate and some Richardson family papers.
Scope and Contents
The firm of John Richardson and Company, of Perth, was already well established by 1760 with a wide business, chiefly in salmon, both locally and throughout Europe. The books consist of letter books and various account books, and show the whole process from the acquisition of the fish to its sale either raw at home or pickled as far afield as Italy and Spain. The salmon business was precarious, and to offset losses Richardson frequently entered into partnership with local merchants, notably William Stewart. When trade was poor he also dealt in dried fish from Shetland, Scandinavia, and later Nova Scotia. In addition, the family had an important shipping concern, a linseed oil crushing plant, their own flour mills, and an involvement in the Huntingtower bleachfield near Perth. In 1781 John Richardson was able to purchase the Pitfour estate. With the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars overseas markets were lost and business gradually declined until in 1806 the shipping concern was sold. In that year John Richardson retired in favour of his son, James who continued to run the fishing business until 1813. Spanning over half a century, these volumes provide an important source for business history at a time of rapid development of the Scottish economy.
Dates
- Creation: 1760-1820.
Conditions Governing Access
Normal access conditions apply.
Conditions Governing Use
Normal reproduction conditions apply, subject to any copyright restrictions.
Extent
187 Volumes ; All volumes are folio unless otherwise stated.
Language of Materials
Undetermined
Arrangement
The papers are arranged as follows: MSS.20801-20848. Letter books. MSS.20849-20879. Ledgers. MSS.20880-20911. Journals. MSS.20912-20938. Waste books. MSS.20939-20966. Fishing receipt and disposal books. MSS.20967-20974. Freight account books. MSS.20975-20981. Miscellaneous financial papers. MSS.20982-20983. Pitfour estate. MSS.20984-20987. Family papers.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Bought, 1962 and 1973.
- Title
- National Library of Scotland Catalogue of Manuscripts
- Author
- National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division
- Description rules
- International Standard for Archival Description - General
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the National Library of Scotland Archives and Manuscripts Division Repository
Archives and Manuscript Division
National Library of Scotland
George IV Bridge
Edinburgh EH1 1EJ
0131 623 3700
manuscripts@nls.uk