In the Art-Journal for 1869 a notice of the account-books of the Bow works, now belonging to Lady Charlotte Schrieber, is given; and this I here quote, as it contains some highly interesting matter:—
“The first contains the accounts from January, 1750.—1. O.S., in which year the partnership of Messrs. Crowther and Weatherby commenced, up to December, 1755. From these it appears that a branch establishment was opened in London in 1753, which, no doubt, was that of St. Catherine’s, near the Tower,[69] although the place is not mentioned. An account is given in separate columns of the value of the bisket and glazed-ware taken into the warehouse at Bow, and sold out of the warehouses at London and Bow, in each year.
“A statement for the year 1754 is here given, to show the extent of the business transacted.
A Weekly Account of Trade, &c., at London and Bow.
| 1754. Jan. 5. | Goods Credited with Discount. | Credit without Discount. | Retail Cash, London. | Cash, per Journal. | Cash Recd. at Bow. | Goods Returned. | ||||||||||||
| 5 | 134 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 28 | 17 | 9½ | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| 12 | 174 | 6 | 1 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 4 | 8 | 138 | 9 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 0 |
| 19 | 192 | 13 | 6 | 24 | 16 | 10 | 50 | 16 | 0 | 153 | 18 | 9 | 28 | 15 | 10½ | 15 | 5 | 0 |
| 26 | 115 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 59 | 6 | 2 | 94 | 13 | 0 | 20 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 16 | 3 |
| Feby. 2 | 50 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 3 | 26 | 2 | 6 | 86 | 15 | 0 | 30 | 9 | 6½ | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 9 | 69 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 42 | 3 | 9 | 40 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 6 | 1 | 62 | 1 | 5 |
| 16 | 51 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 32 | 17 | 5 | 71 | 18 | 5 | 24 | 14 | 7½ | 7 | 16 | 6 |
| 23 | 48 | 9 | 11 | 71 | 1 | 8 | 38 | 12 | 8 | 58 | 17 | 7 | 22 | 10 | 7½ | 2 | 19 | 3 |
| Mar. 2 | 67 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 56 | 4 | 3 | 83 | 2 | 5 | 26 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 6 |
| 9 | 89 | 12 | 7½ | 8 | 9 | 4 | 44 | 11 | 9 | 145 | 14 | 2 | 35 | 5 | 1½ | |||
| 16 | 136 | 17 | 0½ | 9 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 11 | 5 | 70 | 12 | 6 | 33 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 23 | 41 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 8 | 10 | 55 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 30 | 104 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 41 | 18 | 3 | 90 | 16 | 2 | 21 | 9 | 9 | |||
| 1277 | 10 | 9 | 211 | 7 | 2 | 506 | 1 | 11 | 1101 | 13 | 7 | 325 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 16 | 11 | |
Annual Account of the Porcelain Company’s Trade for the Year 1754.
| Sold with Discount. | Sold without Discount. | Cash received, London. | Cash received, Bow. | Debts come in. | |||||||||||
| 1st Quarter | 1277 | 10 | 9 | 211 | 7 | 2 | 506 | 1 | 11 | 325 | 0 | 0 | 1101 | 13 | 7 |
| 2nd Quarter | 2222 | 11 | 8 | 200 | 0 | 3 | 569 | 3 | 11 | 299 | 10 | 4 | 1434 | 10 | 1 |
| 3rd Quarter | 2647 | 18 | 1 | 385 | 2 | 2 | 381 | 18 | 11 | 150 | 4 | 0 | 2184 | 6 | 11 |
| 4th Quarter | 1982 | 3 | 8 | 189 | 0 | 0 | 353 | 5 | 8 | 77 | 8 | 11 | 2429 | 10 | 9 |
| Total | 8130 | 4 | 2 | 985 | 9 | 7 | 1810 | 10 | 5 | 852 | 3 | 3 | 7150 | 1 | 4 |
| Disct. 10% | 813 | 0 | 0 | Cash received Bow | 852 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 7317 | 4 | 2 | „ „ London | 1810 | 10 | 5 | |||||||||
| Sold without Discount | 985 | 9 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| Sold with Discount | 7317 | 4 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 18,115 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||||||
“The following extract will show the actual cash receipts at Bow and London, 1751 to 1755, exclusive of the book debts received during the year, which, as will be seen in the preceding account for 1754, amounted to upwards of £7,000.
“This statement gives us an idea of the steady increase of the business, which had nearly doubled itself in five years.
| O.S. 1750–1 | £6,573 | 0 | 8 |
| N.S. 1752 | 7,747 | 4 | 8 |
| „ 1753 | 10,114 | 11 | 6 |
| „ 1754 | 10,965 | 6 | 3 |
| „ 1755 | 11,229 | 15 | 2 |