B.S. Pray and Company records

Letter books, journals, accounts current, invoices, and order books of an export-import firm in Boston which engaged in the South African trade. Included are records of the export of Nash cars and parts, handled by Thomas J.Burns in the New York office. Also included are papers relating to gold mining investment interests of B. S. Pray: Atrato Mining and Development Company, 1879-1907, and Choco Hydraulic Mining Company, 1886-1896. The mines were located in Colombia.

These letters show the completion of the shift of clerical work from handwritten letters to the use of typewriters, dictaphones, and telephones by the 1910s. Though dictated by and invariably sent to men, the typed initials of secretaries in the lower left hand corners of the letters indicate the presence of women clerical workers in factory offices throughout the United States.

Letterbooks in the collection also contain some correspondence with the wives of employees and business relations, concerning matters of currency conveyance, inquiries about medical problems help with travel arrangements, and a letter of introduction. There are also several letters discussing Brazilian mining prospects with Mrs. J. B. Humphrey and other women who were friends or relatives of Nelson Humphrey, a B.S. Pray and Company representative in Brazil.