1881 US Customs Form Somers Point NJ Melado Sugar Anson Stimson Document For Sale

This is a circa 1881 U.S. Customs Weigher\'s Special Return of Merchandise form, a primary document detailing the importation of goods through the Port of Somers Point in Great Egg Harbor, Atlantic County, New Jersey. The form, catalog number 921, is a standardized piece of fiscal and commercial ephemera, its edition mark Ed. 2-1-79-10,000 indicating a substantial government print run for bureaucratic use. It records the entry of the schooner Anson Stimson from St. Domingo (modern-day Dominican Republic) on January 31st, 1881, with Henry H. Vansant of Somers Point as the consignee. The cargo consisted entirely of Melado, a type of raw cane sugar or molasses, with the weigher meticulously documenting the gross, tare, and net weights for eleven separate casks, totaling a net weight of 21,675 pounds. The document was officially closed and inspected by John Price on February 2nd, 1881. This artifact provides a granular view of 19th-century mercantile law, tariff collection, and coastal trade patterns. The specific focus on a single commodity—melado—highlights the regional economic dependencies on sugar products. The procedural language, mandating a special return... as soon as the weight... shall have been ascertained, underscores the period\'s emphasis on accurate ad valorem duty assessment. As a filled-in customs form with original manuscript entries, it transcends a mere blank document, becoming a fixed record of a specific transaction within the wider context of Gilded Age commerce, the sugar trade, and the operational routines of a minor but active New Jersey port. The pairing of printed governmental structure with unique handwritten data makes it a significant piece of fiscal philately and maritime administrative history.