The collection consists of letters, documents and a few portraits representing important American and British historical figures including Lord Auckland, P.T. Barnum, Gen. John Burgoyne, King George III, Charles Kean, Florence Nightingale, Winfield Scott, Benjamin Silliman, and George Washington. Many of the documents appear to be related to trade and commerce between Great Britain and its North American colonies. In particular, there are a number of letters addressed the London mercantile house of Storke & Gainsborough, dating from 1733 to 1737. Also, the collection includes a number of letters written in the 1730s by members of the Cuyler and Livingston families of Albany and New York City that provide a glimpse of commerce, including the fur trade, between New York, London, Amsterdam and the West Indies. The remainder of letters and documents cover a wide array of topics related to political, social, cultural, and religious history of the United States.
