Tin boxes such as this were used to protect and store documents of importance of both the London banking house and its clients, with smaller boxes being placed inside larger tin trunks, and then locked away in the New Court vaults.
These boxes originally contained documents relating to Brazilian business of N M Rothschild & Sons. The London banking house has had an enduring relationship with Brazil. As soon as Brazilian independence was recognised by the British government in 1825, Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836), founder of the London bank, raised £2 million in a bond issue for the new state. The bank issued further loans in 1829 and 1852, but the majority were issued following Rothschild’s appointment as exclusive British financial agent to the Brazilian government.
As early as 1858, N M Rothschild & Sons issued their first loans to Brazilian railway companies. The railways opened up Brazil’s interior, enabling the movement of people and labour, and the expansion of trade particularly in coffee.
