Business Letters and the Oral Exchange of Information

Talbott, Siobhan

Abstract

Verbal exchange of information was commonplace, but many of these oral exchanges were immediately lost from record as they were not committed to paper. Drawing on merchants’ correspondence and letter-books, this chapter pieces together the role of oral conversations in several aspects of business transactions. It examines records of direct exchanges, but also considers the spread of commercial information, the role of conversation in ‘rumour’ and establishing reputation, gossip and idle talk, and the spaces and places in which such conversations took place. Importantly, these ‘conversations’ were part of broader communications circuits operating within a specific business culture. By exploring the relationships between written and oral forms of communication, this chapter investigates how information was shared orally among business networks in the early modern British Atlantic world and situates these information-sharing practices within a broader model of communication and information exchange.

Citation

Talbott, S. (2025). Business Letters and the Oral Exchange of Information. In Knowledge, Information, and Business Education in the British Atlantic World, 1620–1760 (50-78). Oxford University Press (OUP). https://doi.org/10.1093/9780198926825.003.0003

• Acceptance Date: Feb 10, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 10, 2025
• Publication Date: Mar 13, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 27, 2025
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Pages: 50-78
• Book Title: Knowledge, Information, and Business Education in the British Atlantic World, 1620–1760
• Chapter Number: 2
• ISBN: 9780198926795
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/9780198926825.003.0003
• Keywords: education, information, knowledge, news, Atlantic world, print, manuscript, orality, commerce, business
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1078489