Letters

Letters can tell us a great deal of information not only in their contents but from the style of writing, language used, what they were written on. The Boulton and Watt letters are no different and although business letters, they give a wealth of other information which gives the researcher a fascinating insight into life and ideals at the time. This may be partly due to the friendship between Boulton, Watt and Wilson but whatever the reason they are a rich source for study.

Several themes reoccur throughout the letters, some of which enable us to build up a clearer picture as to what these men were like. For example James Watt is constantly complaining of a headache and appears to have had general bad health while Boulton suffered from Gall Stones. They appear to be passionate about their business and the letters demonstrate that they are constantly traveling. The extent of their business empire and impact they had on mining techniques is shown by the fact that they have interest form adventures from all over Europe and even as far away as Siberia. In a world where communication could only be done via letter and transport was limited to horses and boats it is amazing that this duo had influences globally and the letters ultimately reflect this.

Besides their determination to successfully promote Watts steam engine, the pair had other business interests, not least Matthew Boulton who continued to work on several projects. The letters to Wilson have references to this business activities, especially that of Boulton’s pursuit to mint England’s coins after the Royal Mint discontinued producing coins in 1760. Although finally succeeding to get the governments approval in 1797, he was granted to mint coins for other European counties at his min in Soho and spent considerable time up in London in pursuit of this goal. In one letter from Watt to Wilson in 1790 Watt writes “I only write at present to inform you of my return from London where I left Mr Boulton, engaged in a very disagreeable business of his own. - It seems likely that there will be no Government Coinage soon & therefore it may perhaps be worth while to make a Cornish one & I understand Mr Vivian has had some conversation with Mr B[oulton]. on the subject” [Ref: AD 1583/4/23] which shows not only Boultons heightened interest but also that the issue of coinage was at the forefront of peoples minds. The government, however, had other more pressing worries such as the “present turmults in Holland which have deflected Mr Pitts interest from the coinage business” [AD1583]

Contained within the letters are several references to events which are occurring during Boulton and Watt’s lifetime. The most notable perhaps being the Birmingham riots in1791 which obviously had such a profound effect on them that they could not think about business until the trouble died down.

Mr Wilson
Dear Sir
We have had an effective Mob here none of your shilly shally Cornish Mobs, You will see by the papers some of the execution they have done, We have luckily escaped, though we have no doubt we were objects of their fury, On sunday we packed up some of our Cloaths & valuables expecting a visit on Monday, but some Military arrived on Sunday night which prevented them. At Soho we were armed, our men promised to stand by us & would have given them a warm reception but we could scarcely have defended our houses. We are worn out with anxiety & fatigue therefore shall not answer any of your letters, indeed I cannot think upon business, till matters subside, the mischief done is very great, above £100000 Some of the rioters are taken & many more known, but the infernal instigators are still behind the screen.
It seems originaly to have been a plot to exterminate all dissenters, but soon became one to demolish every house where plunder was to be had.
The soveraignty of the people was established for 3 days & 3 nights without constraint but I assure you we did not like their Majesties Government.
We beg to be remembered to Mrs Wilson & remain
Dear Sir
Yours sincerely
James Watt.
[Ref: AD1583/4/26]

However, it is not just the content of letters which we can gain information from. The language used not only demonstrates the vocabulary and its changes over time but also emotions. This is particularly so in letters form Matthew Boulton from his old fashioned choice of words and appalling spelling to curious abbreviations. The latter is most odd as he substitutes words or parts of words for symbols. For example the writes water as a and so Chacewater often becomes Chase . He even addresses mail in this manner on occasions so it is surprising that the these letters actually arrived at all.

The demise of the friendship between Boulton and Watt and Wilson is demonstrated well through the letters. During the early stages of the friendship these letters are light and chatty. Boulton and Watt often close by sending “respectful compliments to Mrs Wilson” and other such warm wishes. As the partnerships break down, however, these become fewer. The tone is much more abrupt and start to loose niceties. This is particularly so as Wilson becomes increasingly in debt and Boulton and Watt are forced to take legal action. “Mr R. Boulton had duely informed us of your request to be indulged in the non payment of the installment of £500 due on your bond this year, in addition to your commission on the premiums which we mean to retain; which request would have been sooner answered had we had an opportunity of meeting to discuss it before yesterday. We wish for your sake as well as for other reasons that the debt should be liquidated as soon as possible; but the reasons you urge for the delay, have for the present prevailed upon us to settle it as follows.” [Ref: AD1583/11/28]

Another benefit of the Boulton and Watt letters is that they show how long it took for them to reach their destination. Invariably the letters begin with an acknowledgement of the counterpart letter and the date it was written. E.g. “Yours of ye 20th In[stan]t is before us”. [Ref: AD 1583/1/48]. On the top of the letters is also the date written, for example AD1583/1/48 was written in London on the 26th February 1785 so we can establish that this letter only took 6 days to arrive in Cornwall form London. Five or six days appears to be the average, even those travelling own from Birmingham. This is quite astonishing considering they were carried by horse drawn carriage with a top speed of 10mph.

The information we glean from these letters then is invaluable for furthering our understanding of social, political and economical life in the latter stages of the 18th and early 19th century and demonstrate the effectiveness of communication across the country.