Petrozavodsk customs books of 1739 as historical sources

General information on customs books dating back to the XVII-XVIII centuries is presented. Customs books of the above-mentioned period are viewed as a main mass source on the history of trade, merchantry, and customs affairs of Russia during this period. The geographical and quantitative structure of Karelian customs books of the XVIII century is presented. The ancient acts are stored in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts in Moscow. These documents constituting a great interest for the research of social and economic history of Karelia are under-explored. They have not been introduced into the scientific circulation. The article focuses on three customs books of Petrozavodsk issued in 1739. The structure and maintenance of these sources are analyzed in details; their archeographic description is provided; fragments of separate customs articles contained in them are presented. It is noted that these documents help to track commercial relations of Petrozavodsk in the sphere of wholesale commodity trade, to reveal personal and social background of dealers, assortment, volumes, and cost of delivered goods, as well as to establish the order of customs taxation. It is planned to study and publish customs books of Petrozavodsk and Karelia.