The collection consists of 15 bound volumes (1786-1842) of commercial records/transactions from the Lima (Peru) merchantile firm of Izcue y Arias. The records span one of the most turbulent epochs in Peru's history, beginning with the establishment of the Bourbon intendencies in 1784 through ultimate independence in 1824--and so provide insight into the commerce of a struggling South American nation. Bound in vellum with moderate soiling on covers; some volumes with pronounced worming.

The following is a volume by volume description of contents: Volume 1 (1786-1799), invoice and log book focusing on the Rio de la Plata trade; Volume 2 (1786-1816), account book, including lists of deliveries and outstanding client accounts; Volume 3 (1790-1793), merchant borrador or letter copybook, with references to the China trade, shipping issues, etc.; Volume 4 (1790-1793), rough listing of accounts, schedules of goods sold, paid receipts; Volume 5 (1791-1796), letter copybook with majority of content being letters to Spain; Volume 6 (1791-1794) account book, listing good sold, client invoice totals, and smaller receipts, with some deductions for expenses; Volume 7 (1793-1798) self-styled "diario" of goods sold, providing a running list of outstanding accounts, most marked (later?) as paid; Volume 8 (1793-1799), borrador or letter copybook [much worming that prevents use of last quarter of volume], filled with letters to Spain, discussing politics and future plans for partnership; Volume 9 (1795-1799), account book, listing goods sold, some marked as being sold to concerns in Chile; Volume 10 (1798-1807), warehouse log book, listing accounts pertinent to firm's warehouse, denoting clients and invoices paid; Volume 11 (1798-1811), account book, with thumb-indexed list of clients, followed by additional listing of accounts; Volume 12 (1816-1817), account book, focusing on expenses of various voyages and "petty cash" records; Volume 13 (1818-1824), letter copybook, with thumb-indexed list of clients with locations, followed by collection of letters on independence movement, shipwreck losses, etc.; Volume 14 (1818-1820), similar to #13, with more emphasis on letters throughout current and former Spanish holdings in the Americas; Volume 15 (1837-1842), letter copybook, with much on the trade and political situation in South America.