The Christopher Marshall papers consist of his original diaries, bound photocopies of the original diaries, handwritten transcripts of the diaries done by Charles Marshall, extra-illustrated versions of William Duane Jr.'s published extracts from Marshall's diaries, and Duane's handwritten transcriptions from the diaries. Also in the collection are a letterbook and an account book of transactions with the Continental Congress. Overall, the material from the diaries dates from 1774 to 1795; however, the extra-illustrated volumes were created after 1882, the transcripts were created circa 1900, and the volumes of photocopies were created in the early 1970s. Duane's handwritten transcriptions are undated, but were presumably created sometime before they were first published in 1839. Regardless of form, Marshall's diaries provide interesting insights from a local merchant into Revolutionary War-era Philadelphia, as well as first-hand accounts of events leading up to the war. Christopher Marshall (1709-1797) was druggist and chemist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His papers consist of his original diaries from 1774 to 1781 and 1783 to 1785; six bound volumes of photocopies of the original diaries; handwritten transcripts of his diaries from 1782 to 1783, 1786 to 1791, and 1793 to 1795; and two sets of extra-illustrated volumes (seven total) containing pages from William Duane Jr.'s Extracts from the Diary of Christopher Marshall, 1774-1781, illustrations by David McNeely Stauffer, and a variety of original documents.
