Business papers

This section contains material relating to the business activities of the firm of Farmer & Galton in which James Farmer and Samuel Galton were partners, and which was later administered solely by Samuel Galton and his son Samuel Galton jnr. This material largely consists of papers relating to the financial affairs of the business, and particularly to the effects of the bankruptcy of James Farmer in 1755, but also includes papers documenting the recruitment of employees, and papers relating to a long running dispute between Samuel Galton and Thomas Hadley, a rival Birmingham gun manufacturer, which resulted in a court case in 1772. These papers do not represent the whole of the material connected with the gun manufactory of Farmer & Galton. Related material can be found in the correspondence section at MS3101/C/D/15/1; letter books of Samuel Galton, MS3101/C/D/15/2; letters to Farmer & Galton, MS3101/C/D/15/5; letters from James Farmer to Samuel Galton, MS3101/C/C/2/1; letters from James Farmer to Joseph Farmer, MS3101/C/D/15/6; letters from Joseph Farmer to Samuel Galton, MS3101/C/D/15/15; letters from William Bird to Samuel Galton. References to property connected with the Farmer & Galton partnership can be found at MS3101/A/B/1