Overview
Records of the first mill in the world to combine all aspects of the manufacture of cotton founded in Waltham, Mass. in 1813.
Dates
- Creation: 1813-1933
Creator
- Boston Manufacturing Company (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.
Extent
22 linear feet (184 volumes, 14 boxes, 6 mapcase folders)The Boston Manufacturing Company records contain administrative material, financial records, correspondence, and labor and production records of the Waltham based textile firm founded in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1813. The administrative records include stockholder's records, director's records and meeting minutes. Financial records include ledgers, journals, cash books, invoices, sales records and semi-annual reports containing general financial statements. Labor and production records include payroll, time books, summaries of production costs, amounts produced, and values of products. The payrolls list women workers for the period from 1817 to 1881. Also included are tax reports and other papers relating to the production of ginghams, zephyrs, shirtings, draperies, hosiery, and other cotton goods. Includes papers of the Waltham Textile Co., 1926-1928; and a few letters of T. Jefferson Coolidge, Edmund Dwight (1780-1849), A. M. Goodale (1855-1910), Arthur T. Lyman (1832-1915), and John A. Sweetser (1889-1944), treasurers.
Historical Note:
The Boston Manufacturing Company was a textile firm established in Waltham, Massachusetts in 1813 by investors of the Boston Associates, including Francis Cabot Lowell (1775-1817) and Patrick Tracy Jackson (1780-1847). The company operated the first mill in the world to combine all aspects of the manufacture of cotton cloth under one roof. Hoping to avoid the emergence of a working class in the United States as it had in Britain, the company built its labor force by contracting with individual New England farm girls, who lived in dormitory-style boarding houses, which has come to be known as the Waltham system. The Boston Manufacturing Company closed in 1930.
Series Outline
The collection is arranged in the following series:
- Series I. Administrative records, 1813-1933
- Series II. Financial records, 1830-1930
- Series III. Labor and Production records, 1817-1930
- Series IV. Loose manuscripts, 1813-1930
Physical Location
MANU
Provenance:
Deposited by Boston Manufacturing Co. through Robert Amory, 1924-1934.
Creator
- Boston Manufacturing Company (Organization)
Subject
- Coolidge, Thomas Jefferson (1831-1920) (Person)
- Dwight, Edmund (1780-1849) (Person)
- Goodale, A.M. (Alfred Montgomery) (1855-1910) (Person)
- Jackson, P.T. (Patrick Tracy) (Person)
- Lowell, Francis Cabot (1775-1817) (Person)
- Lyman, Arthur T. (Arthur Theodore) (1832-1915) (Person)
- Sweetser, John A. (John Anderson) (1889-1944) (Person)
- Author
- Baker Library
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- bak00043
Repository Details
Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository
Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.
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specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu