Charleston Cotton Exchange records, 1880-1952

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Summary

Creator:
Charleston Cotton Exchange (Charleston, S.C.)
Abstract:
The Charleston Cotton Exchange was founded in 1872 in the port of Charleston, South Carolina; one of its main functions was to provide commodity trading statistics to the mercantile community. Collection includes minutes of the meetings of the Board of Directors in 1884; financial statements, 1896-1898, 1929-1930; letters of invitation to prospective members, 1910; and groups of reports on the cotton market at Charleston, 1936-1944, 1948-1950. The volumes contain detailed statistics on the shipping of cotton and other goods at Charleston, 1880-1905; cotton receipts at ports in the United States, 1899-1906; price quotations from several markets in naval stores, 1881-1886; and the finances of the Exchange, 1888-1938.
Extent:
3 Linear Feet
729 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00216

Background

Scope and content:

These papers came to the library with those of the Cheshire, Sullivan and Canaday, cotton merchants of Charleston. Theophilus P. Cheshire and Solomon M. Canaday were presidents of the Exchange at various times during the 1930s to 1950s. The folder of cancelled checks, 1939-1952, contains checks bearing names of presidents during this period.

The chronological file of papers includes minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors in 1884, financial statements of 1896-1898 and 1929-1930, and a letter of invitation in 1910 to prospective members. A letter from President Cheshire in 1932 is a report on the finances of the exchange and the state of the cotton trade at Charleston. During 1948-1950, there are numerous reports of daily sales and inventories of cotton and frequent price quotations. A number of monthly reports record statistics on receipts and shipments of cotton.

Statistics on domestic and international shipments, inventories, and other data are in the Exchange's "Report on Cotton Movement" at Charleston, 1936-1944 that are filed in separate folders. The function of the Charleston Cotton Exchange as a provider of trading statistics to the mercantile community is represented by seven volumes. Marine News Clearances No. 2 (1880, July-1886, Aug.), and No. 5 (1899, Sept.-1905 Feb.) record shipping information: date of clearance, nationality, rig, name of vessel, master, destination, cargo (types of goods and their quantity), by whom cleared, and date of departure. Clearances No. 2, includes a "List of Steamships Loaded at Charleston for Foreign Ports" (1879, Sept.-1885, Sept.) that records the number of bales of Sea Island and upland cotton shipped, its destination, and other information. Marine Arrivals No. 3 (1886, Aug.-1892, Aug.), No. 4 (1892, Sept.-1899, Aug.), and No. 5 (1899, Sept.-1905, Feb.) list date of arrival, nationality, rig, name of vessel, master, place from which the ship had come, cargo (quantities not given), and consignee.

The "Weekly Cotton Receipts at All U.S. Ports" (1899, March-Sept., 1906) includes statistics for Galveston, New Orleans, Mobile, Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, Norfolk, Baltimore, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and other ports. These statistics include cumulative totals and comparative figures for the preceding year. Naval Stores No. 2 (1881, Sept.-July, 1886) contains price quotations (several times daily) for rosin and turpentine on the markets at Wilmington, New York, London, and Liverpool. Figures are more numerous for Wilmington and New York. In 1883 price quotations were begun for the market at Savannah, and those for Liverpool were discontinued. On the inside front cover is the "Annual Statement of Stocks, Receipts and Exports for the Year Ended March 31st, 1882," Wilmington, N.C. (cotton, turpentine, rosin, tar, and crude). Four volumes record finances of the Exchange: Cashbook, June 1888-Dec, 1898; Cashbook, Jan., 1916-Aug., 1931; Cashbook, Sept., 1931-Aug., 1938; and the Assessments of Members, 1891-1916.

Acquisition information:
The Charleston Cotton Exchange records were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1971.
Processing information:

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff, December 2011

Encoded by Paula Jeannet and Matthew Warren, June 2014

Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 71-283

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Subjects

Click on terms below to find related finding aids on this site. For other related materials in the Duke University Libraries, search for these terms in the Catalog.

Subjects:
Cotton trade -- South Carolina -- Charleston
Cotton trade -- United States
Naval stores
Places:
South Carolina -- Commerce
Charleston (S.C.) -- History
Charleston (S.C.) -- Commerce

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Charleston Cotton Exchange records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.