China, America and the Pacific

Invoice for merchandise shipped from Canton, China by James Latimer, Jr. and John Stocker, Jr. on the ship Dorothea, Martin D Dougherty, master, and consigned to Robert Coleman in Philadelphia. Dated 8 December 1807. Merchandise included twelve boxes of china, bales of cloth, textiles, and tea.

The bill of lading is for the same shipment, with ten samples of silk that were carried in one of the boxes (mounted on Chinese paper). There is writing in Chinese on the sheet.

John Richardson Latimer was the grandson of American milling and shipping businessman James Latimer, who had emigrated from Ireland in 1736. John’s uncle George Latimer ran a counting house in Philadelphia, and it was here that John received his early training. George arranged for him to enter the China trade, and he made his first supercargo voyage to Canton in 1815. From that time until 1838 John made regular voyages between China and his home in Delaware, spending most of his time abroad. He imported tea, opium, fabric, and porcelains from China. Profits from his years in China allowed him to retire at the age of forty. He died at his home in 1865.

Please note that some of the metadata for this document has been drawn from the Winterthur Library catalogue.