The collection consists of 155 letters written to John Russell between 1734 and 1749.

Administrative / biographical background
In 1722 he was appointed clerk of the cheque at Gibraltar. In 1726 he is appointed consul general at Tetuan in Morocco, receiving an annual income of £250. He leaves England for Morocco, later embassy to the court at Mequinez. From 1730, Russell returns to England and is appointed clerk of the cheque at Woolwich in 1734. In 1734 he receives laters concerning the situation in Tetuan; between 1735 and 1738 he is concerned with the fleet in the Tagus and correspondence with Captain Philip Vanbrugh and Captain Swale and letters from the DIAMOND. In 1739 Russell is positioned at Deptford Dockyard. In 1740, he receives letters concerning the Great Storm and the West Indies. Between 1745 and 1748 he is involved with Court martials and is appointed a naval commissioner. In 1749 he is appointed Consul at Lisbon and in 1751 is appointed British minister at the Court of Portugal. Russell died in 1752. For a detailed study of his letters see 'A Forgotten John Russell: Letters to a Man of Business, 1724-1751' by Mary Eyre Matcham, London, 1905.