JOHN JACOB ASTOR - MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT SIGNED 07/18/1814 - HFSID 31303
Price: $2,200.00
JOHN JACOB ASTOR
This document lists the monies owed to Astor, then a predominant force in the
American fur industry, by Joseph Winter,
Manuscript DS: "John Jacob Astor", 1p, 7¾x9½, New York, 1814 July 18. Astor, as
"merchant", acknowledges receiving monies owed him. In part: "John Jacob Astor of
the City of New York Merchant being duly sworn deposith and saith that the above
amount is just and true and that the above sum of ten thousand six hundred and
twenty six dollars and thirty seven cents is justly due to him from the above named
Joseph Winter." The receipt is written at the lower margin of a letter from Dr Joseph Winter
Esq/To John Jacob Astor. German-born John Jacob Astor (1763-1848) had entered the
fur business in the late 1780s, opening a fur goods shop in New York City. In 1794, he took
advantage of Jay's Treaty (between Britain and the U.S.), which opened new markets in
Canada and the Great Lakes region at the expense of the Canadians. By 1800, Astor had
become one of the leading figures in the fur trade and was given permission to trade in
ports monopolized by the British East India Company. He established the American Fur
Company in 1808, later forming subsidiaries that included the Pacific Fur Company (which
traded on the Columbia River) and the Southwest Fur Company (which traded in the Great
Lakes area). Although Astor's fur business was disrupted when the British captured his
trading posts during the War of 1812, his operations rebounded five years later, when
Congress passed a protectionist law that banned foreign traders (including Britain) from U.S.
territories. Astor's American Fur Company once again dominated trade in the area
around the Great Lakes, and he had a thriving business, both buying furs from
trappers and Indians and selling provisions and goods to trappers to be traded to the
Indians for pelts. In 1822 he established the Astor House on Mackinac Island as the
headquarters for his reformed American Fur Company. In 1834, with the decline of the fur
trade, Astor withdrew from the company and began focusing his attention on his real estate
holdings. At the time of his death in 1848, Astor was the wealthiest person in the United
States, leaving an estate estimated to be worth at least $20 million. His estimated net
worth, if calculated as a fraction of the U.S. gross domestic product at the time, would have
been equivalent to $110.1 billion in 2006 U.S. dollars, making him the fifth-richest person in
American history. Fragile and worn. Folds, vertical fold touches the "J" in John. Lightly soiled.
Creased. Browned. 2-inch diameter paper loss from removal of 2-inch seal at lower right,
removing some text. Several tears varying from 5 inches to 2 inches long touch text but all intact.
Sheet has separated into two pages.
Following offer submission users will be contacted at their account email address within 48 hours. Our response will be to accept your offer, decline your offer or send you a final counteroffer. All offers can be viewed from within the "Offer Review" area of your HistoryForSale account. Please review the Make Offer Terms prior to making an offer.
If you have not received an offer acceptance or counter-offer email within 24-hours please check your spam/junk email folder.