#MB81
1832-1837
Four autograph signed letters, all Quartos (ca. 27x20 cm or slightly smaller). In all 10 pp. Of text. Brown ink on folded, all addressed, stamped and docketed on the last blank pages. Fold marks, minor holes on three letters after opening, in one case slightly affecting the text, otherwise a very good collection.
Four interesting letters addressed to noted American merchant William Shepard Wetmore, concerning his business dealings and market conditions in South America and New York. Two letters are written by his business partners in Chile “Alsop and Co” (Valparaiso, 25 April and 29 November 1832); one – by a Cadiz merchant A. Burton “on the instruction of Mr. John Cryder,” another partner of Wetmore (12 February 1833), and one – by a New York merchant Thomas P. Bucklin.
The letters discuss various matters of Wetmore’s trade, including arrival and departure of ships with his cargo, market fluctuations, business climate, quarantines, latest deals etc. The correspondents relate to a number of goods and articles which Wetmore traded with, including silk, copper, mercury (in other letters – quicksilver); the market conditions are reported about flour, sugars, various textiles (shirtings, cotton, silk etc.), tea, soap, gun powder, rice and others. Overall a nice collection of informative business letters regarding the dealings of an important American merchant.
William Shepard Wetmore entered the mercantile business at the age of 14, as an employee of Edward Carrington & Co. Of Providence, Rhode Island. In the 1820s he conducted active trade with the United States, England and South America, in partnership with Valparaiso import merchant Richard Alsop. In 1825 they were joined by Philadelphia native John Cryder. Four years later Wetmore retired and returned to the United States with a large fortune. In 1833-1839 he ran a successful business in Canton, as Wetmore & Co., trading in Chinese tea, silk, opium and other goods. His partners were Samuel Archer and John Cryder. In the 1840s Wetmore worked in New Your, having established a commission merchant firm of Wetmore, Cryder & Co. He retired in 1847 and permanently lived in his famous mansion Chateau-sur-Mer, the first of the Gilded Age mansions in Newport, Rhode Island.
