(Manuscripts : West Indies : 18th-century Economic History). Letter Book of a Quaker Sugar Master. Chalkley, Thomas. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 14 February, 1720 – 15 December, 1737.
1 vol in folio, 128 leaves: [1], 1-86, (87-128), [1]. Retained copies of approximately 400 letters, alphabetized by index (at folio 1, recto). Original or contemporary vellum over boards. Text, foliation, and author’s inscription in brown and black ink; text block toned, some chipping to edges. In multiple hands, some likely holograph, most likely secretarial (including that of Chalkley’s son-in-law). Spans two decades of the successes and vicissitudes of an itinerant Quaker preacher and seafaring businessman, most notably his undertakings as a West Indian trader. Evidences significant epistolary gaps (as between 1732-1735), perhaps owing to travel, illness, or more pressing mercantile interests in the Bahamas and Barbados. (n.b. Chalkley’s Journals, later reprinted 1749 by Franklin and Hall, makes note of his being shot and wounded in Barbados ca. 1734). Index accounts for 137 letters to 58 recipients only, up to folio 70 (i.e. February, 1721); foliation in ink ceases at leaf 86 recto. * Lot also includes later, related political pamphlet: 1 volume. (Anonymous). Memoir of Thomas Chalkley, chiefly Extracted from a Journal of his Life, Travels, and Christian Experiences. Philadelphia: Tract Association of Friends, (N.D.). 8vo, original wrappers; disbound, text loose but presumed complete. See: Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, Vol II; Dictionary of American Biography, Vol III.Provenance: from the private collection of a prominent Philadelphia family."