Copies of correspondence between Matheson & Co. Ltd, London, and the Board of Trade, London; Durant, Bevan & Co., Macclesfield and Manchester; and Symons & MacDonald, Dumfries, regarding a plan for Matheson & Co. Ltd to establish a silk factory in the United Kingdom. The ring-binder is labelled 'Silk Factory File I'.

A small set of copies and extracts of correspondence between D.G.M. Bernard, Matheson & Co. Ltd, London, and B.D.F. Beith and W.J. Keswick, Jardine Matheson, Shanghai. The folder is labelled 'Silk Piece Goods'.

Memoranda and accounts regarding the waste silk mill, Shanghai, dated Shanghai and Hong Kong, including a memorandum of the probable loss on unsold stock of waste silk in the hands of William Keswick; the working account of the mill, May-October 1894, with a memorandum regarding the account (two copies), a response to queries in the memorandum, and a corrected account; notes on the mill account for the season 1894-1895; and a waste silk account balance sheet, September 1895.

The documents are dated Shanghai, and are comprised of 'Yakee's account', including a note by John Major, 8 September 1860; two receipts for payments made by Major, 15-18 March 1861; and 'Observations on Filature Acct to 30 June 1861', by Major.

An envelope addressed to Mr Jardine on the front (in Chinese), with an English note on the reverse of a chop from Aymee (?) holding himself responsible for any damage resulting from the bad packing of silk. The document is undated.

Signed by John Major. The document includes reference to silk.

Fair copies, including coded texts and interpretations, of thirty-seven telegrams sent and received by Jardine Matheson, Hong Kong, regarding silk. Some or perhaps all of the telegrams were exchanged with Arles & Co., Lyon.

Copies of invoices from Foochow, Shanghai and Yokohama for tea and silk, including press copies.

Copies (mainly press copies) of invoices from Shanghai for tea and silk shipped to London and Lyon, mostly consigned to Matheson & Co.

Market reports and circulars from Shanghai, Hankow and Newchwang, including issues of 'Hankow Tea Statistics'; 'Bandinel & Co.'s Market Report'; 'Bush, Brothers' Circular'; and 'Shanghai Stocks of Malwa and Bengal Opium'. There are also exchange quotations; memoranda regarding waste silk at Shanghai from Jardine, Matheson & Co.; reports of silk buyers and settlements; and silk quotations.

Market reports and circulars from Canton and Hong Kong, including issues of 'W. Kerfoot Hughes' Market Report'; 'J. P. N. da Silva's Cotton Market Report'; 'Exchange Circular'; 'Freight Circular'; 'Shanghai Price Current and Market Report'; 'Hughes & Legge's Market Report'; and 'Thomas & Mercer's Canton Market Report'. There are also memoranda of ships' cargoes and exports; quotations of silk for Bombay from Canton; and two market reports from Shanghai, January 1877.

Bound and disbound market reports and circulars from Canton, Hong Kong and Macao, including issues of the 'Exchange Circular'; 'Hughes & Legge's Market Report'; 'J. P. N. da Silva's Cotton Market Report'; 'Freight Circular'; and 'Canton Market Report'. There are also quotations of silk for Bombay from Canton, and memoranda of ships' cargoes and exports.

The memoranda are dated Hong Kong, Canton and no place, 1871 and undated.

A memorandum by Frederick W. Coles listing silk musters sent to F.G. Horne, London, dated Canton, 28 October 1873, accompanied by three samples of embroidered crape shawls listed in the memorandum as D-F. There are also three pieces of papers which were used as wrappers for the samples and include markings left by them. Samples A-C, which are missing, are listed in the memorandum as netted silk sashes.

An undated memorandum regarding the production of silk in Italy by province from Devecchi's statistics, giving figures for the period 'previous to the invasion of disease', and for 1863-1868, with notes on the 1870 crop.