Catalogue of Teas, Saved from ship Yumchi, for Sale at Auction on Monday, May 8th, 1848. Auctioned by an original stockholder in an early iteration of the New York Stock Exchange.
New York: 1848. Pamphlet. Auction catalog for auction held at Judd's Stores, by L. M. Hoffman & Co. (Wall Street) and J. Rudderow & Co., (Pearl Street). L. M. Hoffman auctioneer was the well known New York firm, named for Lindley Murray Hoffman. The Yumchi and the loss of most of its cargo, some 8,000 chests of mostly green tea, is recorded in Niles Weekly Register (1848, Vol 75, p112).
The original Hoffman auctioneer firm (Hoffman & Seton, 67 Wall Street) was founded by Martin Hoffman, descendant of an early Dutch New Amsterdam family. Martin Hoffman was successful enough to be able to make his son Lindley Murray Hoffman (born 1793 and the auctioneer for this sale), a Tontine stockholder. The Tontine, founded 1793, was an investment in the trading entity which eventually became the New York stock exchange, and also the building where early merchants met to do business; only 203 shares were subscribed at $200 a share. Subscribers received a part of the net income of the establishment; their shares became more valuable as the other subscribers died off. The Tontine became known as the Tontine Coffee House and was a precursor to the 1817 New York Stock Exchange.
The auction catalog lists teas being auctioned off, with annotations next to the lot descriptions of the purchaser. The categories identified include Lots, Marks, Chops, Quantity, and Descriptions. The teas listed include: Young Hyson, Gunpowder, Hyson Skin, Souchong, Oolong, and Ningyong. Names of buyers include: Wetmore & Co., Weston & Gray, Dennison Wood, and Grinnell. 166 lots altogether were auctioned off. Printed with a variety of elaborate type fonts. Original folds, lightly foxed, mostly at front page. 8vo, 8pp. Very good overall. Item #21652
Price: $350.00