Lot 238
[Morris, Robert] Tobacco Shipment From America to France, 1785. A 1785 folded letter from "Le Normand," the receiver-general of finances of France, in French, to Tench Tilghman & Co. in Baltimore, one page on laid, watermarked paper, plus integral address leaf, 9 x 7¼", Paris, February 12, 1785. Acknowledging receipt of a shipment of tobacco from Virginia and Maryland "on the ship 'Arethuse' Captain Dennis Butler, in the amount of £25,288.54 which you have put into the account of Robert Morris, with whom I am in business….This ship arrived safely at Le Havre and the only thing that remains is the regret that the 30 'bundles' of the York River did not reach you in time to complete the cargo…." Fine. Postal markings show that the letter was sent by ship from the French seaport L'Orient (PAQ. L'ORIENT) and there is an orange stamp (PAYE PAR?) with 31 cent manuscript rate and €1.10 transatlantic rate; two seal tears affect one number. In 1785, Robert Morris secured a contract giving his firm a monoply on the American tobacco trade with France. Tench Tilghman was a former aide to George Washington. An early record of early commerce in the American tobacco trade.
Estimated Value $400 - 500.
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| Realized $230 |
