[Travels Voyages] Macartney George 1st Earl Macartney (1737

Sale 2635 - Lot 303

Price Realized: $ 8,125

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600

[Travels & Voyages] Macartney, George, 1st Earl Macartney (1737-1806)
Three Manuscript Account Books from his Time in India.

Madras: 1781-1784.

Three folio-format handwritten books, each approximately forty-four leaves, bound as a single signature, on laid J. Whatman and Taylor & Co. watermarked paper and bound in limp contemporary marbled paper wrappers, each with a handwritten label on the front cover; the first containing Lord Macartney's personal accounts, the final leaf signed by Macartney, certifying the veracity of the financial statements; the other two containing detailed household expenses for the time he served as Governor of Madras (1781-1785), including the pay for each person who served, sometimes with their signature or mark acknowledging the receipt of pay; Macartney's bookkeeper William Greene overseeing the whole operation, with many examples of his signature throughout both books, all three nicely preserved; ex libris Sir Thomas Phillipps: 23992 (2) and 23999, sold as lot 190 in the Phillipps manuscript auction; each 13 x 8 in.

[Together with] Richard Brinsley Sheridan's (1751-1816) A Comparative Statement of the Two Bills for the Better Government of the British Possessions in India, London: Printed for J. Debrett, Removed to No. 179, 1788, stated third edition, quarto, disbound, one of many editions all dated 1788, half-title present (dusty), imprint cropped with loss to date, disbound, spotting to contents, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in., ESTC T30945; [and] An Authentic Account of the Proceedings of their High Mightinesses [...] Concerning Hostilities Committed in the River of Bengal, London: Printed for T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt, 1762, Quarto, disbound, 10 1/2 x 8 1/4 in. ESTC T108925. (5)

These account books provide an opportunity to understand how local people were compensated by the British colonial occupiers in India in the late 18th century. Macartney, who observed after the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763, that Britain ruled "a vast empire, on which the sun never sets," served a number of diplomatic posts in British colonies during his career. The list of local people who found work supporting his household includes pantry boys, tea boys, pastry cooks, beer boys, water boys, washermen, an ironman, silk stocking washer, water woman, candle lighter, first and second musicians, five butlers, translators, and more, in addition to separate accounts paid to fruit sellers, butchers, bakers, and suppliers of bread, flour, and other staples. Each transaction is recorded, showing the costs of goods and labor. Because the payees were required to sign off once they received their wages, these books also indicate whether the workers could read or write, signed their name in full, or left only an initial or sign in English or Tamil. The literate have left us their names, the bookkeeper has made note of a few others.

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