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Gabbott family papers
M2009
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Gabbott family papers
creator:
Gabbott, Parry
creator:
Gabbott, Frank R.
creator:
Gabbott, Cecil P.
creator:
Gabbott, Bernard L.
creator:
Gabbott family
Identifier/Call Number: M2009
Physical Description:
1 Linear Feet
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1908-1963
Date (bulk): 1920s-1960s
Language of Material: English.
Brothers Bernard Lee Gabbott, Cecil Parr Gabbott, and Francis (Frank) Ridyard Gabbott were the youngest children of Edward
Ridyard Gabbott and Ellen Gabbott. The three settled abroad as export brokers and businessmen in China. Frank was a partner
and the Managing Director of the import-export company Gabbott, Begg, & Co., Ltd which was incorporated in Hong Kong, and
was also involved in F.R. Gabbott & Company. Bernard was in partnership with his brother Frank as a financial and purchasing
administrator for F.R. Gabbott & Company. Cecil appears to have been an administrator in the Property Department of Palmer
& Turner Architects, Surveyors and Civil Engineers, based in Hong Kong, and later established the firm C.P. Gabbott and Partners.
Their eldest brother, [Edgar] Parry Gabbott, settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and he, too, established some sort of
commercial enterprise abroad.
The materials consist primarily of correspondence from the four Gabbott brothers to their mother Mrs. [Ellen] Gabbott, and
to their sister [Eleanor] Mabel Gabbott, both in Leytonstone, UK. Comprises 77 letters (mostly sent from Hong Kong and Shanghai),
approximately 10 marine insurance policies for large cargos of goods being exports from China to England, some correspondence
related to the shipments, and a small assortment of personal photographs. A few letters are from Ruby Gabbott (Frank's wife)
and Ethel Gabbott (Cecil's wife). The collection gives insight into trade between Britain and China in the first half of the
20th century. The correspondence includes commentary on an array of subjects such as communism in China, the Chinese Civil
War, general living conditions in Hong Kong, financial affairs, and inter-personal matters. Also included are a few miscellaneous
letters from Dermot Spencer and R. G. Spencer of Surrey's Windmill Press, (William Heinemann Publishers) to Elizabeth Wheeler
Schermerhorn, author of "Malta of the Knights" and others.
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchase; 2014. Accession MSS 2014-031.
[identification of item], Gabbott family papers (M2009). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University
Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
China -- Commerce -- Great Britain -- History
Great Britain -- Commerce -- China -- History
Gabbott, Parry
Gabbott, Frank R.
Gabbott, Cecil P.
Gabbott, Bernard L.
Gabbott family