Series MS-2686 - Marvin and Tilton business records

Business records of Marvin and Tilton hardware firm, as well as those of predecessor and successor stores. Records include copies of outward correspondence, inventories, daybooks, journals, ledgers, cashbooks, bills of lading and cancelled cheques. Microfilm (neg.) 1887-1896 35 mm 2 reels [A01693-A01694] Edgar Marvin (1824-1891) arrived in Victoria in 1862 and purchased a Fort Street hardware store previously owned by James Bell. Marvin moved his business to Wharf Street in 1866. The presence of the business records of Kent and Evans Birmingham House suggests that, after its financial difficulties in 1867 (Colonist, 24 October 1867, p. 3), Kent and Evans was purchased by Marvin in 1868. When Edward Gibbon Tilton became a partner in the company in 1884, the name of the firm was changed to Marvin and Tilton, and the name was retained after the death of Marvin in 1891. In 1897, when the business was sold to A.B. Fraser, the name was changed to Walter Fraser and Company Limited. This collection of business records provides a glimpse into the early commercial life of British Columbia, noting imports of goods and sales of merchandise to customers not only in Victoria but also throughout the province. Records include business records of Marvin and Tilton hardware firm, as well as those of predecessor and successor stores. Specific types of records include copies of outward correspondence, inventories, daybooks, journals, ledgers, cashbooks, bills of lading and canceled cheques. Volumes 1-7 are only available on microfilm the originals have been destroyed. The records were discovered in 1973 during renovations and donated by Wilson and Proctor, occupants of the Wharf Street building which formerly housed the succession of hardware stores. Source: MS Finding Aids Presented by Wilson and Proctor, 1973. Finding aid.