Gideon Nye (1812January25, 1888) was an American diplomat, art collector, writer and merchant in the East Indian and
China trade
The Old China Trade () refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old ...
, known both for his art collection and for his books on China.
He was born in
North Fairhaven, MA (now
Acushnet) in 1812.
Career
Nye went to China in 1831, where he worked for various companies in the East Indian and Chinese trade. In 1843 he opened the House of Nye, Parkin & Co. In 1851 the firm name changed its name to Nye Brothers & Co. and operated until 1856. In this time period, it was also known as Bull, Nye, & Co. due to the brief involvement of Isaac Bull.
Nye Brothers suffered a collapse in 1856 after over-investing during a down market.
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Family
Gideon Nye, known as Gideon Nye, Jr., was a 7th generation descendant of
Benjamin Nye, the founder of the Nye family, who settled in Sandwich, Mass., in 1637. He was an eldest child. His father, Gideon Nye, was born in 1786 and died in 1875. His mother, Sylvia S. Hathaway, was born in 1790, and died in 1883. Mr Nye was married in 1846, to Mary E. Washburn, who died in New York in 1870. Their only child was a daughter, born in Paris, France in 1846, Ellen E. Washburn. She died in Brooklyn, NY, in 1860.
Residence in Canton
Nye was a merchant in China for over fifty years and the American Vice Consul at Canton (now
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
) for the last ten years of his life.
He was a scholarly man with a reputation for integrity, active as a Vice President of the
Medical Missionary Society The Medical Missionary Society in China was a Protestant medical missionary society established in Canton, China, in 1838.
The first work of the society was to support the ophthalmic hospital in Canton run by Dr. Peter Parker, a medical missionary ...
, and as a corresponding member of the
American Geographical Society
The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...
. He was known as one of the oldest foreign residents of Canton, having spent 55 years in that city since his arrival in 1831. He died in the city on January25, 1888 and afterwards "the flags of the consulates, custom house and foreign ships in port were at half mast two days in token of public esteem and sorrow."
Art collection
Nye purchased a large collection of valuable paintings in England between 18451850, which were exhibited in New York. Attempts were made to keep his collection intact, but it was dispersed to locations such as the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
. The paintings were considered important American artistic treasures of the time.
Books and writings on the Opium Wars
Nye published many books and pamphlets as an eye witness to the events which led up to the
First Opium War
The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...
, based on his acquaintance with both Chinese people and foreigners living in China.
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References
;Bibliography
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External links
Catalogue of the pictures of Nye's collection Nye and Formosa"> Nye and Formosa passage from ''Americans in Eastern Asia''
Court case involving Nye Bros. & Co, tea 1859
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nye, Gideon
American merchants
American art collectors
19th-century American diplomats
American consuls
American expatriates in China
Businesspeople from Guangzhou
China Hands
History of foreign trade in China
Businesspeople from Massachusetts
1888 deaths
1812 births
People from Fairhaven, Massachusetts