Product Categories
- Bookends
- Curiosities
- Fashion
-
Fiction
- 19th Century and Prior Classics
- 20th Century Classics
- Antiquarian
- Arthurian Legends - Malory etc
- Australian Rare
- Becke
- Biggles - Captain W.E. Johns
- Carey Peter
- Chandler Raymond
- Childrens
- Christie Agatha
- Classics
- comedy and the like
- Conrad Joseph
- Crime of the Fictional Variety
- Deco Period Collectables
- Defoe Daniel
- Dinesen Isak (Blixen Karen)
- Du Maurier - George
- du Maurier Daphne
- Erotic and exotic
- Fantasy
- Faulkner William
- Fictional Travel and Exploration
- Film and Theatre
- Fine Bindings
- First Edition or First of Type
- Fitzgerald, F Scott
- Fleming, Ian (James Bond 007)
- Forester C. S.
- French Language
- French Language or translation from or about the French
- Gibbs
- Gordon Richard
- Greek etc
- Greene Graham
- Hardy Frank
- Hemingway Ernest
- Herbert Xavier
- Humour
- Idriess
- Illustrated Works
- Ion
- John (Rumpole)
- Louis
- May
- Mortimer
- Spanish Classic or translation from Spanish
- Steinbeck John
- Stevenson Robert Louis
- Stow Randolph
- Swift Jonathan
- Tolkien J.R.R.
- Updike John
- Upfield Arthur
- Ustinov Peter
- Verne Jules
- Villiers Alan
- Wallace Edgar
- West Rebecca
- White Patrick
- Williams Tennessee
- Wodeouse P.G.
- Latin
- Lawrence D.H.
- Charteris, Leslie - (The Saint)
- Lewis Sinclair
- Macleod
- Malouf David
- Maugham Somerset
- Monsarrat Nicholas
- Murdoch Iris
- Nobel Prize winning Authors
- O'Harris Pixie
- Pictorial Covers
- Poetry and Plays and Music Scores
- Private Press
- Rider Haggard H.
- Science Fiction
- Simenon Georges
- Southall Ivan
- Manuscripts
- Maps
- Medals
- Mortimer John (Rumploe)
-
Non-fiction
- Aboriginal
- Africa
- Agriculture
- Ancient History / Classics
- Antarctic, Arctic, Polar
- Anthropology
- Antiquarian
- Archaeology
- Architecture
- Art
- Arthurian Legends - Malory etc
- Asia
- Astronomy
- Australian Coastal Exploration and Maritime
- Australian Inland Exploration
- Australiana
- Aviation Including Airships
- Banking and Commerce
- Biography/ autobiography
- Books on books
- Bounty / Pitcairn
- Business
- Cartography
- Chess, Cards, Boards Games etc
- Classical History
- Climate Change
- Convicts, transporation etc
- Cook, James
- Cookery and other delights
- Crime of the True Variety
- Cycling
- Dutch Exploration and other things Dutch
- Economics and Business Affairs
- Egypt
- Engineering
- English History
- Esoteric
- Espionage
- Exploration
- Fine Bindings
- Fishing
- French Language translations or about the French
- Heraldry
- Horology / watch and clock history
- Horses
- Idriess, Ion
- Ilustrated
- India
- Japan
- Law
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Literature (Go to Fiction)
- Maritime
- Medical, Medical History and Medical Science
- Middle East
- Military and Naval - pre 20th Century
- Mining and Geology
- Mountaineering
- Music
- Natural History
- Naval - Military
- Naval - Military - Pre-20th Century
- New South Wales
- New Zealand
- Norfolk Island
- North America
- Northern Territory
- Pacific Islands
- Papua New Guinea
- Politics
- Queensland
- Railways
- Religion
- Royal Geographical Society Journals and Similar Journals
- Science Fiction (See Literature)
- Science including Natural Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy, Medical Sciences etc
- Scotland
- Shipwrecks
- South America
- South Australia
- Spiritualism , Mesmerism, Psychical Reseach
- Sport - Including Horse Racing, Cricket , Rugby, Game Sports etc
- Surveying
- Tasmania and Van Diemens Land
- Travel & Voyages
- United States of America
- Victoria
- War & Escape - 20th Century
- Western Australia
- Yachting
- Royal Geographical Society Journals
- Maritime
- Mining/Geology
- Prestige Items
-
Prints and Photographs and Bookplates
- Architecture
- Australian Botanicals
- Australian Views
- Birds including Australian Birds
- Book-Plates
- Botanicals
- Cigarette and Trade Cards
- Cricket
- Egyptian
- Erotic / Classical
- French Fashion
- Great Exploratory Voyages
- Medical
- Military and Military Uniform
- Natural History
- Photographs
- Rare Postage Stamps
- Rugby etc
- Sports - Racing
- Queensland
- Scientific Instruments, Specimens, Books and Collectables
- Tasmania
Original manuscript Accounts Book 1791/92 – Webster’s Ropery Sunderland, County Durham, England
Short Description
Original folio accounts book for the two-year ending 31st December 1792 most likely of or the predecessor to one of England’s leading maritime rope makers, Webster of Deptford, Sunderland County Durham. Original quarter reverse calf with marbled paper covered boards. 62 pages of fine handwriting … appears all the same hand.
Titled at the head of page the first page “An Inventory of Goods etc at the Ropery belonging Messrs William Marshall and John Webster together with an account of the Debts due to & from them this first Day of January One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety One”
The first record of rope making on Wearside (the river Weir runs through Sunderland) was in 1636. The rope was likely made from Baltic hemp. Before 1800 ropes were hand-made on ropewalks a practice that continued for another 100 years. Ropewalks had to be wide enough for four men to spin abreast of each other and long enough to make a standard 120 fathom marine rope. Up to 20 people may be employed on just one rope.
Webster’s plant at Deptford was the first on Wearside driven by steam. It is believed to be the world’s first factory producing machine-made rope. Robert Fothergill a Sunderland schoolmaster had patented a machine to spin hemp the year after our accounts book (1793). It could be that this careful record was produced as part of an exercise to obtain finance for the mechanisation … although the low wages recorded suggest that that mechanisation may well have been underway. We do know that Fothergill died shortly afterwards and Grimshaw a local clockmaker took up the rights in partnership with our Webster and two others. Although its not clear whether the Webster involved was Rowland a distinguished magistrate or John as noted here.
One of the partners in the business was the distinguished Rowland Burdon who later gave up his Parliamentary position on principle although many though that it was because Webster's Ropery had gained very lucrative contracts with the Royal Navy and he was avoiding any backlash financially ... for sure Webster's were there at Trafalgar!
The records mention many of the vessels of the day that would have been working out of the North-east along with their captains … e.g. Captain McQuarrie of the Fanny; Johnstone of the Nancy William; Robinson of the Broughton Tower; Cleminson of the Argyll; Kennel of the Endeavour (a new one); Dixon of the Sarah; Holm of the Hollow Oak; Neal of the Betsy.
Neat recording of debts and payments with particulars of sales noted with full description for every transaction with monthly totals compared often against some measure of the physical amount sold (early KPI’s). Stock holdings, wages per wage period all set out very carefully. For an industrial historian there seems sufficient information to paint a pretty full picture of the extent of activities. We have gleamed that the Ropery Buildings are in the books at GBP 220, stockholdings were GBP205 and annual sales GBP484 with total wages of only GBP72. Looks nicely profitable.
Interestingly, the Ropery building still exists and has been restored … it is a magnificent building and has been re-established as Webster’s Ropery … but as a beautiful wedding venue … check it out we have shown an image here.
Accounting Records from 1792 …. unique Maritime interest ...