Bills of Lading, 1728-1788

Nine printed bills of lading, completed in manuscript, for ships bound for Marseilles, including those for Le Décidé bound from Salonika, 1728; St Jean l'Évangéliste , from Istanbul, 1733; Le Benjamin , from Smyrna, 1763; Sainte Marie , from Port Maurice, 1765; La Fortune , from St Pierre, Martinique, 1765; La Napolitaine , from Naples, 1778; L'Aimable Marguerite , from Smyrna, 1779; S. Giovanni Battista , from Genoa, 1787 and 1788. Also includes a similar bill of lading for La Vièrge de Grace , bound from Marseilles to St Malo, 1729. Merchandise carried included raw cotton, yellow wax, fish, oil, vinegar, soap, coffee and silk.

A bill of lading is a document which is issued by the transportation carrier to the shipper acknowledging that they have received the shipment of goods and that they have been placed on board a particular vessel which is bound for a particular destination and states the terms in which these goods received are to be carried.

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Bought from Henri Bernard in 1957.

Collection level description.

Compiled by Sarah Aitchison as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Copies may be made, subject to the condition of the original. Copying must be undertaken by the Palaeography Room staff, who will need a minimum of 24 hours to process requests.

The University of London holds other bills of lading at MSS 466 and 651.