Item #45678 [Archive] Copybook with 100 Retained Copies of Business Correspondence from Tammany Sachem & Early New York Merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren and his son. Cortlandt Van Beuren, Englebert Van Beuren.
[Archive] Copybook with 100 Retained Copies of Business Correspondence from Tammany Sachem & Early New York Merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren and his son.
[Archive] Copybook with 100 Retained Copies of Business Correspondence from Tammany Sachem & Early New York Merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren and his son.
[Archive] Copybook with 100 Retained Copies of Business Correspondence from Tammany Sachem & Early New York Merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren and his son.
[Archive] Copybook with 100 Retained Copies of Business Correspondence from Tammany Sachem & Early New York Merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren and his son.
[Archive] Copybook with 100 Retained Copies of Business Correspondence from Tammany Sachem & Early New York Merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren and his son.
[Archive] Copybook with 100 Retained Copies of Business Correspondence from Tammany Sachem & Early New York Merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren and his son.

[Archive] Copybook with 100 Retained Copies of Business Correspondence from Tammany Sachem & Early New York Merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren and his son.

New York; Brooklyn: 1803-1825. [approx. 100] pp. Folio. Quarter calf over marbled boards. Good, lacks spine, loss to boards, contents edge worn, browned, and soiled, missing pages, scattered tearing, few portions pasted over with printed material, occasional fading. Item #45678

Cortlandt Van Beuren (1759-1820) was a successful New York City business and property owner. He had served as Sachem of the Tammany Society, and was affiliated with a number of social and business organizations. In addition to this, he had political ties, serving as the Republican Citizens Committee in 1797, as well as a nominee for the New York State assembly in 1804. Van Beuren ran a successful grocery business for about a decade before opening his Front Street location in 1801. He was joined by partner Michael Schoonmaker, and later his son Englebert K. Van Beuren (1793-1873), who took over the business after Cortlandt’s death in 1820. Though the business was a grocery in name, once established at Front Street, the offerings became centered around gun powder, shots, and related gun paraphernalia. New York records show he made application for a powder magazine (1).

This collection contains over 100 retained copies of correspondence pertaining to the business of New York City merchant Cortlandt Van Beuren (1759-1820), and his son Englebert Kemmena van Beuren (1793-1873), spanning from 1803 through 1825.

The earlier batch of letters are from Cortlandt Van Beuren (New York), and range from 1803 through 1808, with the letters from 1808 signed as Van Beuren & Schoonmaker. Most of the pieces concern the sale of gun powder and shot. Clients include Pigou, Andrews, and Wilks (London); Thomas Walker, Maltby & Co. (Liverpool); Henry Staats (Albany); Henry Wilkins (Baltimore); Orrin Day (Catskill) via Jacob McHenry (Broome County, NY); and Lentz & Hertzog (Philadelphia). In addition, there are a few pieces of accounting correspondence, and one letter dated February 8th, 1807, in which Van Beuren tells Joseph Boerum that he & others others have found him to be disappointing in his inability to deliver ordered gun powder.

The entries temporarily cease after 1808, and resume in 1820, with Cortlandt’s son, Englebert K. Van Beuren, now at the helm. This later group ranges from 1820-1825, with some pieces coming from Englebert alone, while others include his partners Deforest, C. Hasbrook, and (later) James Taylor. Some of the correspondence is personal, such as an 1820 letter to Captain Aldridge requesting that citrus trees be planted upon his arrival, however the majority relate to business. Recipients include: Norman Squire; B. Livingston; J.R. Hurdenburgh[Hardenburgh]; Daniel Rogers; George F.H.Rend & Co.; Jos. Walker Malby & Co; Smith & Hamilton; Paul Beck; Stanley Lockwood; James Hooker; Garland Thompson; Asa Farwell; Pigou, Andrews, and Wilks; Joseph West & Co.; Newton Lyon & Co.; Bevan & Porter; Palmer Patten & Co.; and Robert Armstrong.

References: 1. Diane F. George: American Apotheosis: Ceramics and the Production of National Identity in Post-Revolutionary New York City (CUNY 2022) for detailed discussion of Cortlandt Van Beuren; 2. Walter Barrett: The Old Merchants of New York City. 2nd Series (1885), Vol.2, p.227; Marie Lorraine Pipes: Evidence of Public Celebration and Feasting..." in Tales of Gotham, Historical Archaeology, Ethnohistory and Micro History of New York City (Springer, 2013, p. 265-284).

Price: $1,000.00