1738 Colonial Philadelphia Import Invoice for Joseph Paschall — Associate of Benjamin Franklin London
An extensive manuscript invoice recording merchandise shipped from London to Joseph Paschall of Philadelphia aboard the Constantine, under Edward Wright. Signed by the exporting merchant with an abbreviated name apparently identifying Lawrence Williams, the document preserves a detailed account of goods destined for the colonial Philadelphia market nearly four decades before American independence.
The inventory offers a particularly engaging view of eighteenth-century furniture making, shopkeeping, and household consumption. Entries include brass clock-case hinges, desk and chest locks, furniture handles, tea-table catches, sash pulleys, rules, steel-pointed compasses, nails, and screws, alongside taffetas, cloth, hats, buttons, combs, and other merchandise. Shipping expenses, commission, and insurance bring the final account to £151 14s. 11d.
The consignee is believed to be Joseph Paschall, the Philadelphia merchant and city councilman documented as a fellow founder of Benjamin Franklin’s Union Fire Company. This association adds historical interest to an already informative record of early transatlantic commerce. The invoice bears no Franklin signature or handwriting.
Written in an attractive, highly legible period hand. The photographed portions show age toning, intersecting folds, scattered small holes, and splits along portions of the folds, with edge wear and minor losses. The text remains substantially readable. An appealing manuscript for collectors of colonial Pennsylvania, maritime trade, furniture history, and Franklin’s Philadelphia circle.
An extensive manuscript invoice recording merchandise shipped from London to Joseph Paschall of Philadelphia aboard the Constantine, under Edward Wright. Signed by the exporting merchant with an abbreviated name apparently identifying Lawrence Williams, the document preserves a detailed account of goods destined for the colonial Philadelphia market nearly four decades before American independence.
The inventory offers a particularly engaging view of eighteenth-century furniture making, shopkeeping, and household consumption. Entries include brass clock-case hinges, desk and chest locks, furniture handles, tea-table catches, sash pulleys, rules, steel-pointed compasses, nails, and screws, alongside taffetas, cloth, hats, buttons, combs, and other merchandise. Shipping expenses, commission, and insurance bring the final account to £151 14s. 11d.
The consignee is believed to be Joseph Paschall, the Philadelphia merchant and city councilman documented as a fellow founder of Benjamin Franklin’s Union Fire Company. This association adds historical interest to an already informative record of early transatlantic commerce. The invoice bears no Franklin signature or handwriting.
Written in an attractive, highly legible period hand. The photographed portions show age toning, intersecting folds, scattered small holes, and splits along portions of the folds, with edge wear and minor losses. The text remains substantially readable. An appealing manuscript for collectors of colonial Pennsylvania, maritime trade, furniture history, and Franklin’s Philadelphia circle.
