RARE COMPLETE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR FINANCIAL ARCHIVE (1761–1763)

BRITISH IMPERIAL FINANCE DURING THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR:

A COHESIVE GROUP OF THREE MANUSCRIPT FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS, 1761–1763

A rare and historically compelling group of three manuscript financial documents illustrating the flow of money across the British Empire during and immediately after the Seven Years’ War (French and Indian War), encompassing London, colonial America, and British military operations in the field.

1. LONDON BILL OF EXCHANGE RECEIPT, 27 MARCH 1761

Manuscript document recording receipt of a bill of exchange drawn on the Bank of New London, detailing principal and accrued interest totaling £105.16.3. Addressed to George Wyllys, Esq., demonstrating the operation of transatlantic credit networks linking London with the American colonies during wartime.

2. BRITISH MILITARY PAYMENT WARRANT SIGNED BY MAJOR GENERAL STUDHOLME HODGSON, 30 JUNE 1761

Official manuscript order directing payment of £200 sterling to Captain Thomas Dawson for the subsistence of troops “employed on an expedition.” Signed by Major General Studholme Hodgson, later Field Marshal, and issued at the height of British expeditionary operations in 1761, contemporaneous with the capture of Belle Île. Countersigned by the Deputy Paymaster General. A rare surviving field-issued wartime financial instrument.

3. CHARLESTOWN (SOUTH CAROLINA) BILL OF EXCHANGE SETTLEMENT, 28 MAY 1763

Manuscript financial settlement documenting a bill of exchange with interest calculated and rendered in sterling. Addressed to George Wyllys, Esq., and reflecting the reconciliation of wartime accounts at the conclusion of the conflict following the Treaty of Paris (1763).

Together, these documents form a remarkable and coherent narrative of British imperial finance:

—from metropolitan credit issuance in London,

—to wartime military expenditure in the field,

—to postwar financial settlement in the American colonies.

All three documents are manuscript in ink on laid paper, with expected folds and light age toning, but remain clear and legible. Each bears period docketing on the verso.

An exceptional and unusually complete archival grouping illustrating the financial machinery of the British Empire during one of the 18th century’s defining global conflicts.