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Creator
Dutilh & Wachsmuth (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Call number
MssCol 24494
Physical description
.01 linear feet (1 folder)
Language
English; In French, English and Dutch.
Preferred Citation
Dutilh & Wachsmuth letters and accounts, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library
Repository
Manuscripts and Archives Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.

Dutilh & Wachsmuth, a mercantile firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was established by Etienne (Stephen) Dutilh (1751-1810) under the name of E. Dutilh & Co., doing business shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia in 1783. The collection of Dutilh & Wachsmuth letters and accounts, 1783-1806, consists of letters and loose accounts received from European merchants, and an account book of an unidentified Baltimore shipping merchant handling consignments from Haiti for Dutilh & Wachsmuth. Items, in French, English and Dutch, document the firm's trade in cloth, lace, coffee, sugar and other commodities.

Biographical/historical information

Dutilh & Wachsmuth, a mercantile firm in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was established by Etienne (Stephen) Dutilh (1751-1810) under the name of E. Dutilh & Co., doing business shortly after his arrival in Philadelphia in 1783. Dutilh was born in France and his family had mercantile interests in The Netherlands and elsewhere. With the admission to partnership of John Godfried Wachsmuth (1748-1828) in 1790, the firm was known Dutilh & Wachsmuth. A notice of dissolution of the firm E. Dutilh & Wachsmuth appeared in Philadelphia papers in mid-1797. Stephen Dutilh and John G. Wachsmuth each continued as merchants in Philadelphia.

Scope and arrangement

The collection of Dutilh & Wachsmuth letters and accounts, 1783-1806, consists of letters and loose accounts received from European merchants, and an account book of an unidentified Baltimore shipping merchant handling consignments from Haiti for Dutilh & Wachsmuth. Items, in French, English and Dutch, document the firm's trade in cloth, lace, coffee, sugar and other commodities.

Letters to John Godf. Wachsmuth and a receipt to E. Dutilh & Wachsmuth from Wilhem & Jan Willink and N. & J. Van Staphorst & Hubbard at Amsterdam, 1797, concern the insurance and shipment of cargo, its sale value to be credited to United States government funds in The Netherlands. Letters are in English and comprise two originals and a duplicate. Loose accounts, 1783-1806, consist of invoices, statements, and bills of lading from shipping merchants in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Hamburg, among them Jean François & Jacob Dutilh in Amsterdam. These are for shipments consigned to E. Dutilh & Co., Etienne or Stephen Dutilh, E. Dutilh & Wachsmuth at Philadelphia, and a few others.

An unidentified shipping merchant's account book in French, Baltimore, 1794, documents charges on consignments of sugar, cotton, coffee and other items from Cap Français in Haiti, dealing with Dutilh & Wachsmuth of Philadelphia and the firm of Stanislas Foäche, P. Morange & Hardivillier.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Four items relating to shipment for U.S. government and Baltimore account book purchased from Unger, 1924.

Processing information

Processed by Susan P. Waide in 2018.

Note

Formerly part of the Mercantile Collection.

Using the collection

Location

Manuscripts and Archives Division
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018-2788
Brooke Russell Astor Reading Room, Third Floor, Room 328