Gideon Nye was an American diplomat, art collector, and a merchant in the East India and
China trade, known both for his art collection and for his writings on China.
He was born in North Fairhaven, MA (now Achushnet), in 1812. He died in Canton, China, January 25, 1888.
Career
Nye went to China in 1831, where he worked for various companies in East Indian/Chinese trade. In 1843 he opened the House of Nye, Parkin & Co. In 1851 the firm name changed to Nye Brothers & Co. and operated until 1856. Nye Brothers suffered a collapse in 1856 after over-investing during a down market.
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.
Prominent resident of Canton, China
Mr. Nye was a merchant in China for over fifty years. He was the American Vice Consul at Canton 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, and as a corresponding member of the
American Geographical Society.
He was known as one of the oldest foreign residents of Canton, having spent 55 years in that city since his arrival in 1831. Upon his death, "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 1845–1850, 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 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
Opium Wars, based on his acquaintance with both Chinese people and foreigners living in China.
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References
External links
Catalogue of the pictures of Nye's collection
Nye and Formosa, passage from Americans in Eastern Asia
Court case involving Nye Bros. & Co, tea, 1859
Category:American merchants
Category:American art collectors
Category:American diplomats
Category:American consuls
Category:American expatriates in China
Category:People from Guangzhou
Category:China Hands
Category:Opium Wars
Category:History of foreign trade in China
Category:People from Bristol County, Massachusetts
Category:1888 deaths
