Theme

Business, Trade, and Economic History

Featured Items

Detail of an engraved map shows mountainous topography and text in Italian.

Descrittione di tutto il Peru

Paulo di Forlani
circa 1564-1572
Detail from an engraved, hand colored map shows vivid illustrations of celestial sphere with their constellations and zodiac signs around the sun. Labels in Dutch read "Taurus," "Orion," and "Saittarius."

The sea-atlas or the watter-world

Hendrick Doncker
1626-1699
Detail of a printed book shows a full-page illustration on the frontispiece showing a child carrying the world on their shoulders.

Atlas des Enfans, ou nouvelle methode pour apprendre la geographie,...

1784
Printed book bound in red and green Morocco and blue silk with text in Spanish reading "Viva Agustin Primero" on the inner front cover and "emperador de Mexico" on the inner back cover.

Apuntamientos sobre la necesidad de promover el cultivo del azucar y otros frutos

1822
Detail of two books shows brown leather binding and spine labels "1" and "2" and the shortened title.

Histoire philosophique et politique, des établissemens & du commerce des Européens dans les deux Indes.

Guillaume Thomas Francois Raynal
1770
Detail of a hand-colored manuscript map shows small depth markers, forest, and a label "Nuevitas" and other surrounding landmarks.

Plano del Puerto de Nuevitas en la Costa Norte de la Isla de Cuba levantado para mejor conocimiento por orden del Dto. Maritimo

circa 1828
Detail of a printed book shows a page with text in French and an illustration on the opposite page.

Code Noir: ou Recueil d’edits, déclarations et arrets concernant les Esclaves Nègres de l’Amérique

1743
Detail from book cover shows dark brown binding with a missing piece in the front and worn sides.

The Secretary's guide, or, Young mans companion

William Bradford
1728

Related

Image of Guaman Poma de Ayala scribe
New Acquisitions

Recent Acquisition on Commercial Bureaucracy in the Spanish Empire

June 29
text and diagrams related to early printing

The Illustrated Colonial Printer: An Exhibition to Accompany The Colonial Printer by Lawrence Wroth

Winter 2012
handwriting sample with scrawls in the shape of a bird

Mind Your Business: Records of Early American Commerce at the John Carter Brown Library

Fall 2012
A view of the Strait of Magellan from the Agnese Atlas

Gateway to a New World

July-October 2019
worn, yellow-tinted pages of a 19th century almanac
New Acquisitions

An almanac well-worn through regular use

July 27
photograph of dr. Christy clark-pujara at the John Carter brown library during a presentation

Watch "Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island"

May 1
photograph of elizabeth heath, assistant professor of history at Baruch College-CUNY

Elizabeth Heath Creates Digital Map to Explore Colonial France

May 1
Fresh Ink

Fresh Ink: Spanish Dollars and Sister Republics by Tatiana Seijas

May 1

See Also

Cosmography and Astrology

Collecting History of the JCB Library