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COLLECTION Identifier: Mss:77 1782-1791 R323

Reed & Gardner records

Overview

Reed & Gardner was a merchant partnership in Littleton, Massachusetts, formed by Isaac Reed (1754-1789) and William Gardner. The Reed & Gardner records, dated 1777-1792, consist of bills, invoices, receipts, and correspondence related to operation of their general store, and papers signed by Isaac Reed and William Gardner dissolving their partnership. There are also papers generated during Isaac Reed's service as a justice of the peace, and records related to his estate after his death in 1789.

Dates

  • Creation: 1777-1792

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information.

Extent

.42 linear feet (1 box)

The Reed & Gardner records, dated 1777-1792, consist of bills, invoices, receipts, and correspondence related to operation of their general store, and papers signed by Isaac Reed and William Gardner dissolving their partnership. There are also papers generated during Isaac Reed's service as a justice of the peace in Littleton, and records related to his estate after his death in 1789. Included are bills and invoices for commodities received and sold at the general store, such as West Indies rum, dry goods, brandy, wheat, flour, spices, wood, and German steel, as well as bills for carpentry and other labor at the store, and a small amount of correspondence with customers and agents. Isaac Reed's justice of the peace papers consist chiefly of writs of attachment and summonses to appear before him in lawsuits related to debt. There are also personal papers of Isaac Reed, including some legal documents like land deeds, receipts, and correspondence, in addition to receipts and bills settled by his estate after his death in 1789.

Historical Note:

Reed & Gardner was a merchant partnership in Littleton, Massachusetts, formed by Isaac Reed (1754-1789) and William Gardner. They ran a general store that sold rum, corn, flour, spices, wheat, and German steel, among other commodities. The partnership dissolved in 1784, and Isaac Reed maintained the business until his death in 1789. His widow, Mary, then married to William Tuttle, who assumed oversight of the store in the 1790s and early 1800s. In addition to his business endeavors, Isaac Reed served as a justice of the peace in Littleton.

Series Outline

The collection is arranged in the following series:

  1. Series I. Reed & Gardner business records, 1777-1791
  2. Series II. Isaac Reed judicial records, 1784-1789
  3. Series III. Isaac Reed personal and legal papers, 1777-1791

Physical Location

MANU

Provenance:

Gift of Charles H. Taylor.

Digitization Funding

Collections and items have been digitized with the generous support of The Polonsky Foundation.

Related Material:

William Tuttle records.

Processing Information

Processed: August 2016

By: Brooke McManus

The Reed & Gardner records were previously arranged chronologically and according to document type. The collection was rehoused and reorganized, and a finding aid was created in 2016 as part of the Arcadia-funded Colonial North American Project at Harvard University.

Creator

Title
Reed & Gardner. Reed & Gardner records, 1777-1792 (inclusive): A Finding Aid
Author
Baker Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
bak00288

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.

Contact:
Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 01263 USA
(617) 495-6411