Papers of John Wylie, merchant, Glasgow, Scotland

Scope and Content

  • Letter books, 1809-1840.

From 1809-1820 the letter books contain copies of business correspondence between John Wylie and agents and firms in Bahia, Beunos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, as well as copies of letters to English manufacturers and suppliers in Liverpool, London and Manchester. From 1830-1840 the letter books focus on the copy correspondence of John Wylie and Wylie, Cooke & Co, of San Luis Potosi, to persons and business houses throughout Mexico, and to merchants and manufacturers in Britain and the United States.

A high proportion of the contents are devoted to discussions of contemporary political, social and economic issues in Mexico.

Compiled using an entry in Studies in Scottish Business History, edited by Peter L Payne, Senior Lecturer in Economic History at the University of Glasgow, (Frank Cass & Co Ltd, 1967).

Administrative / Biographical History

John Wylie was a merchant in Glasgow. He traded mainly with firms in  Bahia, Brazil ;  Buenos Aires, Argentinia ; and  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and with  Wylie, Cooke & Co , based in  San Luis Potosi, Mexico . In the course of his business he appears to have travelled extensively in these countries, as much of the correspondence recorded in the letter books was written whilst he was abroad, or whilst travelling.

Arrangement

This material is arranged chronologically

Access Information

Open

Acquisition Information

Loan : Mitchells, Johnston & Co, Glasgow : prior to 1964

Other Finding Aids

Manual file level list available at the National Registers of Archives in Edinburgh (NRA(S)1691) and London (NRA21737)

Alternative Form Available

No known copies

Conditions Governing Use

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use & condition of documents

Appraisal Information

This material has been appraised in line with normal procedures

Custodial History

Records deposited with Economic History Department, Glasgow University, prior to 1966. Management of the collection transferred to Glasgow University Archives in 1975.

Accruals

None expected

Bibliography

Llorca-Jaña, M, The British Textile Trade in South America in the Nineteenth Century( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press , 2012 )

Additional Information

This material is original

Collection catalogued by Jenny Cooknell, Assistant Archivist, 3 November 1999 and Lesley Richmond, Acting Director, 3 March 2000. Catalogue converted to Encoded Archival Description by David Powell, Hub Project Archivist, 15 February 2002. Edited by Gemma Tougher, Assistant Archivist (Cataloguing), 22 December 2011.