Ms Coll\Arkwright\Oldknow
Oldknow, Samuel, 1756-1828. Papers, 1782-1924 1782-1815. 2.5 linear ft (ca.500 items in 5 boxes). Samuel Oldknow was an English industrialist, the first successful maker of British muslin. He was born in Anderton, Lancashire in 1756. After serving an apprenticeship, he set up as manufacturer of cotton goods and fustians in Anderton. In 1781, as the cotton industry became mechanized, Oldknow began producing muslin products. In 1784, he erected a factory at Stockport and became recognized as the foremost muslin manufacturer in Great Britain. In 1790, Oldknow built a mill at Mellor and acquired land for his personal estate. He used the latest technology in his cotton spinning factories at Stockport and Mellor, including the Arkwright spinning jenny and the Watt steam engine. His enterprises resulted in the growth of the community in Derbyshire. He became a scientific and experimental agriculturist and planned for roads, bridges, and canals.
Organization: Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged. Cataloged correspondence, A-Z. (Boxes 1-3); Cataloged documents, A-Z. (Boxes 4-5); Miscellaneous materials. (Box 5).
Summary: Correspondence, account books, invoices, insurance policies, ledgers, payroll and wage records, receipts, and galley proofs. The records concern his cotton spinning mills in Stockport and Mellor. There are letters from merchants, tradesmen, manufacturers, and others relating to textile manufacturing and its mechanization in England during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Included among the correspondents are: Sir Richard Arkwright, inventor of the spinning jenny; his son, Richard Arkwright; Henry Norris; Samuel Oldknow; Thomas Oldknow; Richard and Susannah Pennant (Baron and Baroness Penrhyn); Samuel Salte; and William Salte. Also included are the galley proofs for those letters published in George Unwin: SAMUEL OLDKNOW AND THE ARKWRIGHTS (London, 1924). Related material can be found in the Samuel Oldknow Collection at the Johns Hopkins University Library. Also, the Manchester Reference Library, and the John Rylands Library (Ms. Nos. 751-840), Manchester, England. Provenance: Edwin R.A. Seligman purchased a selection of the Oldknow papers offered to him in 1926 by Arthur Hulme, a contributing author of SAMUEL OLDKNOW AND THE ARKWRIGHTS. Those letters not purchased by Seligman were acquired by the John Rylands Library. Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the Librarian for Rare Books and Manuscripts. Finding aids: Contents list, 3p.
1. Arkwright, Richard, Sir, 1732-1792. 2. Arkwright, Richard, 1755-1843. 3. Norris, Henry. 4. Oldknow, Thomas. 5. Penrhyn, Richard Pennant, Baron, 1737- 1808. 6. Penrhyn, Susannah Anne Warburton Pennant, Baroness. 7. Salte, Samuel. Cont. Arkwright/Oldknow page 2 8. Salte, William. 9. Cotton manufacture-England-18th century. 10. Cotton manufacture—England—19th century. 11. Cotton spinning-England. 12. Cotton textile industry-England. 13. Cotton weaving—England. 14. Industrialization- Great Britain—18th century. 15. Labor—England-18th century. 16. Labor- England-19th century. 17. Manufacturing processes-Great Britain—History. 18. Textile industry-Great Britain-History. 19. Great Britain-Industries—18th century. 20. Great Britain—Manufactures—18th century. 21. Mellor, England. 22. Stockport, Eng. 23. Account books. 24. Galley proofs. 25. Insurance policies. 26. Invoices. 27. Ledgers 28. Payrolls 29. Receipts 30. Industrialists—England. 31. Manufacturers.-England. 32. Merchants-England.
ID: NYCR91-A16 Samuel Oldknow Papers (Arkwright/Oldknow)
Box List
Box 1; Cataloged Correspondence Box 2: Cataloged Correspondence Andrew, Littlewood Mallalieu, James Andrew, Samuel MuGuffog, James Arkwright, Richard Sr. MacKenweda, Edward Arkwright, Richard Jr. Manchester and Buxton Turnpike Trustees Bancroft, Robert Markland, John and Sons Barton, John Mason, Charles Bayley Mather, Samuel Blackwall, Robert Merryweather, T. Blundell, John Miller, Thomas Boulton and Watt Millar, Thomas Briscall, James Molineux, W. and G. Bromehead, William Mycock, George Cartwright, Thomas Nelson, Ann Chorlton, John Newland, James Clerkenwell Parish Overseers (London) Nightingale, Peter Cowpe, John Noble, Miss Crowther and Stutt Norris, Henry Crowthers, E. and R. Norris, Thomas Curnuth, John Oldknow, B. Drinkwater, John Oldknow, Joseph Evans, Thomas and Son Oldknow, Samuel Ferns, George and R. Oldknow, Thomas Gant, William Oliver, William Goodwin, George Osbaldiston, Joseph Grimshaw, Robert and Sons Page and Bennet Hall, S. Parker, Abraham Hallerond, Roger Parker, Robert Heywood, S. Parkinson and Willson Hindley and Bradshaw Parsons, William Hindy, Thomas and Sons Parson and Hurles Hope, William Parsons, Studley and Co. Hudson, E. Paulson and Siddon Hunt, Mrs. C. Peak-Forest Canal Hyde, John Pearson, James Kale, I. Penrhyn, Richard Pennant, Baron Kirk, Matthias Penrhyn, Susannah Pennant, Lady Kirkham, Ralph Percival and Condell Leame and Spalton Pitches, Robert Lingard, R. and R. Potter, John, Benjamin and James Lingard and Smith Prescott, Mrs. Linnen, G. Radley, Samuel Lister, Thomas Ramsden, Harrison and Co. Liuston and Southwaite Rathbone, William and Sons Lomas, Thomas Reynolds, James Lowe, Robert and Co. Reynolds and Warner Lowe, Thomas Rigby, Peter Lycett, William Robinson, John Roe and Co. Roward, Stephen and Co. Oldknow - 2
Box 3: Cataloged Corespondence Box 4 Cataloged Documents (con't) Salte, Samuel and William Bury, John and Sons Sawyer, John Martin Callico and Fustian Printers Seedhouse, William Carrington, William Shaw, James and William Chatterton, John Shaw, Miss and Joel Ratcliffe Chatterton, William Shepherd, William Clarkson, Knight and Pratt Siddon, John Clegg, William Siddon, Samuel Coppock, William Siddon, William Darlington and Henderson Sims, Oliver Davenport, Charles Smith and Blackwell Derby, County Constable of Mellor Smith, Payne and Smith Derby, County Overseers of the Poor Steven, Thomas Downes, William Stock, James Ellison, Matthew Stock, Cooper and Watson Ferns, George Stocks, Sam Ferns, R. Stringers, Thomas Gardner, Edward Strutt, Joseph Garside, Samuel Strutt, Joseph and Sons Gaskill, John Strutt, William Jr. Hargreaves, Robert and Sons Stubbs, George Hatfield, Thomas and Sons Swainston and Lythgoe Huchinson Mallalieu and Co. Tarleton's and Backhouse Jowett, Robert and Jonathan Thompson, Edward Keeling, Benjamin Towkinson (?), Henry Killer, J.E. Von der Beck, Brothers Lee, Charles and Co. Whitehead, David Lee, William Wood, John Lindley, George Worthington, George Lings, Charles and Neb. Worthington, James Lloyd, J. Manchester Infirmary and Dispensary Box 4: Cataloged Documents Moorcraft, Ralph Agricultural Society Morris, John Allen, James Morris, Richard Arkwright, Richard Sr. Newby, William Arkwright, Richard Jr. Nicholson, George Arnsworth, P. and Sons Norbury, Bradford Arrowsmith, J. Norris, Thomas Ashton Canal Oldknow, Joseph Bennison, Thomas Oldknow, Samuel Bertles, William Bibby and Downhall Box 5: Cataloged Documents Boardman, P. Oldknow, Samuel Booth, Samuel Parker, Robert and Co. Bowden, Thomas Peak Forest Canal Briscall, James Percival, Joseph Brook, Benjamin Pott, James Brown, Charles Roberts, John Brown, Isaac Rothwell, Richard Brown, Thomas Salte, Samuel and William Oldknow - 3
Box 5: Cataloged Documents (con't) Sanderson, James and Co. Sandford, Richard School for the Blind Shaw, James and George Sims, Ollive Sleigh, William Sun Fire Office Swire, Longbotham and Co. Thornhill, John Topham and Sowden Von der Becke and Co. Wade, William and Co. Whitehead, David Whitehouse, John Wi Id, Immanue 1 Wood, William Worthington and Harrop Wright, John Wright and Brown
Box 5: Arranged Materials Unidentified Documents Printed Materials