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Original group of 10 commercial documents associated with Jesse and E. H. Sutliff of Cherry Valley, Otsego County, New York: eight letters and two receipts dated 1851–1861, with correspondence from Albany, New York City, and Rochester.
The group records the movement of country produce, wholesale goods, and credit through mid-19th-century New York. Particularly good content concerns hops, butter, apples, sugar, molasses, merchant accounts, and railroad freight.
Highlights include:
- December 29, 1856, Southworth, Slauson & Co., New York: a detailed account letter discussing hop sales, including 26 bales marked “Wm. Oaks” and $339.60 in net proceeds awaiting instructions for crediting. The writer reports a dull hops market, with good lots bringing about 8 cents, and butter at 20–24 cents.
- November 3, 1857, Bishop & Trowbridge, Albany: addressed to E. H. Sutliff at Cherry Valley, discussing 100 barrels of Spitzenburg apples, butter prices, shipments, and a balance from hops sales.
- February 9, 1856, Wilson, Grimwood & Co., Albany: a $100 receipt with handwritten comments on sugar, molasses, and syrup, a small attached printed market clipping, and a Hudson River Railroad freight notation.
- Wilson & Grimwood letters dated October 30, 1851, and November 11, 1854: new fall goods, an invitation to inspect stock, and collection of an overdue account. The 1854 letter includes an account on the reverse.
- Additional pieces from A. & H. Brown & Co.; H. L. Weatherhead with Moseley, Cary & Co.; Wm. H. Waldron of Freeland, Squires & Co.; C. A. Burr of Rochester; and Moseley, Lansing & Co.
Cherry Valley lay within Otsego County’s important agricultural district. These letters date from New York’s rise to national leadership in hops production and offer firsthand evidence of the commercial side of that trade.
Several pieces retain handwritten filing notations on the reverse. The group combines handwritten correspondence, a printed receipt completed in manuscript, and the small market clipping.
Condition varies. Age toning, staining, folds, edge wear, tears, and splits are present. The Bishop & Trowbridge letter has a substantial loss at the lower right, below the main text, and other edge damage. Some folds and edges are fragile. Much of the writing remains readable; please examine all photographs for individual condition.
All 10 documents are offered together as one lot.
Type: Commercial correspondence and receipts
Date range: 1851–1861
Quantity: 10 documents — 8 letters and 2 receipts
Recipients: Jesse Sutliff and E. H. Sutliff
Associated location: Cherry Valley, Otsego County, New York
Places of origin: Albany, New York City, and Rochester
Country: United States
Language: English
Material: Paper
Subjects: Hops trade, agriculture, butter, apples, groceries, dry goods, merchant credit, railroad freight
Features: Handwritten letters, merchant signatures, reverse docketing, account statement, attached market clipping
