Gosling & Bennet (London, England), Gosling & Bennet account book, 1751 September 28-1756 March 24
- Title(s):
- Gosling & Bennet account book.
- Published/Created:
- London, England, 1751 September 28-1756 March 24.
- Physical Description:
- 1 v. ([138] p.) ; 32 cm.
- Holdings:
- Rare Books and ManuscriptsHG3000.L6 G67 1751+ OversizeYale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund[Request]
- Copyright Status:
- Copyright Not Evaluated
- Full Orbis Record:
- http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/9787005
- Classification:
- Archives & Manuscripts
- Notes:
- Bound in contemporary vellum; with marbled endpapers.
Manuscript account book kept by the London banking firm of Gosling & Bennet, from 28 September 1751 to 24 March 1756. The 138 pages include bi-annual accounts, each signed by the partners, listing the names of all of the bank's debtors and creditors, with notes in hand. The accounts are written neatly in pen and black ink throughout, on ledgers ruled in red ink. The volume also includes the Articles of Partnership between Francis Gosling and Samuel Bennet, dated 11 July 1753, and witnessed by Robert Gosling and Thomas Burnett.
Sir Francis Gosling came from a family of booksellers and was a member of the Stationers' Company (including a term as Master in 1756). The ledgers reveal a number of printers among his clients, including Baskett & Lintot, Henry Lintot, and William Strahan. Samuel Bennet was a wealthy East India merchant and dealer in diamonds, who brought the bank the Indian connection that was to be an important part of their business for many years.
The ledgers include many notable names of aristocrats, lawyers, and authors. Most notably the ledger reveals the name of Samuel Richardson, a friend of Gosling and a fellow Master of the Stationers Company, for whom Gosling acted as executor. Francis Gosling married Richardson's ward Elizabeth Midwinter, the author acting as trustee for their marriage settlement. Elizabeth is depicted in Francis Hayman's "Richardson" family portrait, and was one of the earliest readers of Richardson's work in progress.
The ledgers also note the accounts of Uvedale Price (£1,586), William Chambers, Edward Young, and Mary Delany. Delany's accounts with Gosling & Bennet likely represent a twice yearly payment of the jointure from her first marriage to Alexander Pendarves. It is notable to see the number of women with independent bank accounts, including Dorothy Aspin, Rebecca Bradshaw, Mary Cooke, Katherine Davers, Agnes Greenhill, Mary Vere Hunt, Lady Ann Harvey, Dorothy Johnson, Judith Kynaston, Elizabeth Master, Annie Meggott, Elizabeth Northey, Abigail Prowse, Elizabeth Rodd, Jane Robinson, Elizabeth Stevens, Margaret Tracy, Margaret Wright, Mary Williams. - Subject Terms:
- Banks and banking -- Great Britain.Bennet, Samuel, 18th cent.Delany, Mrs. (Mary), 1700-1788.Gosling & Bennet (London, England)Gosling, Francis, Sir, -1768.Richardson, Samuel, 1689-1761.Saving and investment -- Great Britain.Women -- Economic conditions -- Great Britain.
- Form/Genre:
- Account books.
- Export:
- XML