Call Number:

1791

Repository:

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Extent:

23.0 linear feet (; 41 boxes, 36 volumes)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], Philadelphia Board of Trade records (Collection 1791), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Date:

1801-1942, undated

Creator:

Philadelphia Board of Trade.

Abstract:

The Philadelphia Board of Trade was the precursor of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. A group of Philadelphia merchants organized the Board of Trade in 1833 because of the restrictive nature of the old Chamber of Commerce which had been founded in 1801, primarily to foster the shipping interests of the city. The Board of Trade united with the old Chamber of Commerce in 1845, and it came to represent most of the commercial and industrial interests of the city. In 1891, a new Chamber of Commerce was organized and there was no unified commercial organization in the city until 1942, when the Board of Trade combined with the Chamber of Commerce.

The records of the Board of Trade are organized chronologically by month. The records for each month are arranged by subject in the order they were presented at the monthly meetings. Included are incoming and some outgoing correspondence, reports, and miscellaneous items, 1889, 1891, 1897-1900, 1904-1916, 1919, 1921-1925, 1930-1933, 1939-1942. Many of the records, including reports, are recorded in the Minutes, 1833-1940. There are also annual reports, 1904-1922, 1929-1941; correspondence and reports, 1880-1909, on deepening the harbor, Port of Philadelphia. There are three volumes of records of the old Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce: an Award Book, 1801-1808, which contains the proceedings of the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce that acted as arbiter in commercial disputes; a letter book, 1801-1826, of which many of the letters were written by Thomas Fitzsimons, president of the Chamber of Commerce, 1801-1811, Philadelphia merchant, political figure, and signer of the Constitution; and minute book, 1837-1846.

Also included in the collection are minutes, 1868-1900, of the Executive Council of the National Board of Trade; Port of Philadelphia statistics, 1924-1934; Minutes and miscellaneous records of the Pennsylvania Tax Conference, 1892-1994, a conference of various economic interests to consider a revision of the assessing and taxing laws of the state; Minutes and a few miscellaneous items, 1895-1898, of the Sound Money League of Pennsylvania, an organization formed to maintain the gold standard; and letter press correspondence, 1863- 1879, of Henry Preaut, merchant and Russian Vice Consul in Philadelphia.