Northeastern Silversmiths, Watchmakers, Jewelers records

This collection documents the overlapping silver and jewelry trade and watchmaking/watch repairing business in the northeastern United States between 1814 and 1901. Bills, drafts, receipts, advertisements, and trade cards from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island are included. These records also include six bound volumes that are the business records of a number of New York craftsmen who were silversmiths-jewelers-watchmakers. The bound volumes include account books, daybooks, invoice books, and inventories, documenting the work of: Charles Osborn and Roswell White (also in partnership as Osborn & White); Thaddeus Mather and Wm. B. North (also in partnership as Mather & North); J. S. and J. Mott, Jr. [James S. and Jordan Mott]; and Wm. H. Hammond. The six volumes overlap each other, therefore, in date spans covered and in the names of the individual or firm names associated with each volume.

The inventory book (volume 2, in box 1) shows that the trade of the New York businesses extended far beyond watches. They carried silver spoons, butter knives, earrings, pins (some with precious stones), finger rings, pencil cases, gold lockets, eye glasses, clasps, buckles, bracelets, necklaces, and other similar items. Several of the volumes include bookseller’s tickets.