Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The records of Russell & Company, an international trading company based in Guangzhou (Canton), China, were given to the Library of Congress by Thomas Macdonough Russell in 1931.
Processing History
The records of Russell & Company were processed in 1980 by Christopher Bean and Paul Ledvina and prepared for microfilming in 1985. When a portion of the collection was rehoused in 2006 by Lia Apodaca and Patrick Kerwin the organization of the oversize material was changed. Although the finding aid and container list were revised to indicate the current housing, the container numbers noted in the microfilm edition reflect the original housing. The finding aid was updated in 2024 by Maria Farmer as part of a division-wide remediation project by the Inclusive Description Working Group.
Related Material
The records of Russell & Company are related to other collections in the Manuscript Division, including the papers of John Richardson Latimer at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms013101, the Low-Mills families at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms005016, Nicholas Low at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms012108, the Palmer-Loper families at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms003068, and the Riggs family at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms011003. Additional Russell & Company business records can be found in the records of William Perkins & Company, located in the Baker Library of the Harvard Business School.
Microfilm
A microfilm edition of these records is available on ten reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition as available.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Russell & Company Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.