Bigelow, Kennard & Co. records

The material contains primarily bills and letters relative to both the purchase and sale of the usual types of goods handled by a jewelry concern. The early years (circa 1830-1865) are well documented, but there are serious gaps in the subsequent record. Much of the purchasing was from Europe, especially watches from England and Switzerland. The sales were not only within the territory immediately surrounding Boston but very frequently to quite distant parts of the country. One interesting group of papers for the early 1850's concerns a customer of considerable importance, Major James Henry Carleton, then stationed at Fort Union and Albuquerque, New Mexico. His orders were large and frequent, and his letters often include interesting glimpses into the life of an army officer in the Apache country. One letter refers to his friend, Kit Carson. Bigelow, Kennard and Company found, as was then usual, that in general as the market area increased so did the difficulty in collecting debts.