| Quantity: | 3 boxes (0.75 cubic ft.) |
|---|---|
| Access: | Open to research |
| Acquisition: | Purchase, Craig Ross, November 1982 |
| Processed by: | Manuscripts and Special Collections, October 1987; revised June 2013 |
The firm of Rackett and Brother, ship brokers and commission merchants, was established in New York City in 1857. Its office, for many years, was at 52 South Street. Ship brokers were agents that negotiated contracts betweens owners of ships and producers and sellers of goods that needed to be transported. Ship brokers also handled the sale of vessels from one party to another.
The records document the operations of a firm that specialized in the ship brokerage business in New York City during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The records include correspondence with ship owners and firms hiring vessels for the transport of goods; accounts and receipts related to business transactions of the firm; a warrant for the arrest of a deserting seaman; a master's certificate to operate steam vessels; log books of ships; and inventories of shipping vessels.
| Box | Folder | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Correspondence: American Screw Company, 1886. Concerns the shipment of wire rods. (ca. 25 items) |
| 1 | 2 | Correspondence: Providence & Stonnington Steamship Company, 1886-1893. (ca. 30 items) |
| 1 | 3 | Correspondence with various individuals and firms relative to purchasing a schooner, 1884-1895. (18 items) |
| 1 | 4 | Correspondence concerning the shipment of goods and other business services, 1895-1900. (5 items) |
| 1 | 5 | Average Bond: Description of goods and settlement of damages incurred with the schooner W.A. Morrell on a voyage from Richmond, Virginia, to New York, 1886. (4 items) |
| 1 | 6 | Warrant for the arrest of George Larkin for desertion from assigned duties aboard ship, 1892. (1 item) |
| 1 | 7 | Master's certificate for steam vessels assigned to Henry S. Rackett to operate between New York City and New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1878. (1 item) |
| 1 | 8 | Accounts and receipts relative to the shipment of goods and other business services, 1885-1897. (ca. 50 items) |
| 1 | 9 | Sundry papers (ca. 20 items)
|
| 2 | 1 | Inventory of shipping vessels for sale for which Rackett and Brother acted as broker. Also contains a log of the steamer Wapella. (1 v. 192 p. 30 cm.) |
| 2 | 2 | Vessel Book, 1882-1891. Contains records of goods shipped aboard various schooners, listed by name. Also lists destination, value of cargo, and commission received. (1 v. 286 p. 33 cm.) |
| 3 | 1 | Ledger Book, 1884-1890. Accounts on companies to whom Rackett and Brother shipped wire rods. (1 v. 108 p. 33 cm.) |
| 3 | 2 | Log Book for the steamship A.C. Barstow, 1891-1893. Includes names of clients and freight charges. (1 v. ca. 200 p, 17 cm. |
| 3 | 3 | Produce Index giving rates charged by Rackett and Brother, ca. 1890s. (1 v. ca. 140 p. 19 cm.) |
| 3 | 4 | List of individuals and firms under various kinds of goods and services, ca. 1884. (1 v. ca. 100 p. 13 cm.) |