History of Middleton & Smith (New York, N.Y.)
John Middleton & Co. described itself in 1894 as an “export business in tea, silk, etc. to the U. S.” Although it was an American company, most of the business was conducted through their office in Yokahama, Japan. By 1900 they were involved in supplying American-made machinery and heavy equipment to customers in Japan and China
Most of the letters in the collection were written by George W. Middleton, who was evidently in charge of the Yokahama office and perhaps president of the company, which by 1900 was known as Middleton & Smith. Many of their transactions went through institutions like the Chartered Bank of India & China, the Hong Kong & Shanghai Dist. Corp., and the Russ-Chinese Bank.
The Records of John Middleton & Company present an important look at American business participating in the economic and political expansion into the Far East by the major nations of the world during the latter years of the 19th century.
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division.
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Joy, C. Redington
Middleton, George W.–Correspondence
Middleton, John,–commercial agent
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
John Middleton & Co. (New York, N.Y.)
Places:
East Asia–Commerce–New York (State)–New York
New York (N.Y.)–Commerce–East Asia
Yokohama-shi (Japan)–Commerce
Subjects:
International trade
Machinery industry
Document Types:
Cashbooks
Ledgers
Letterpress copybooks
Occupations:
Commercial agents
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Administrative Information
Coll. 173, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Detailed Description of the Records
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Letterpress Copybooks; 1892-1900 | |||||||||||||
| Volume | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Letterpress copybook; 1892 Feb 1-1899 Jun 30 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Letterpress copybook; 1894 Apr 21-1895 May 10 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Letterpress copybook; 1895 May 18-1897 Jun 28 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Letterpress copybook; 1897 Jul 6-1899 Jul 21 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Letterpress copybook; 1899 Dec 2-1900 May 1 | ||||||||||||
| Cash Books; 1893-1900 | |||||||||||||
| Volume | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Cash book; 1893 Apr 17-1897 Aug 31 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Cash book; 1897 Sep 2-1900 Oct 18 | ||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous Volumes; 1872-1900 | |||||||||||||
| Volume | |||||||||||||
| 8 | Journal; 1893 Apr 13-1900 Apr 30 | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Misc. Sales Accounts; 1887 Apr 30-1889 Mar 31 | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Accounts Current; 1872 Oct 18-1876 Mar 15 | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Ledger; 1893 Apr 13-1898 Feb 4 | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Ledger; 1898 Apr 15-1900 Oct 17 | ||||||||||||