David Erskine, First U.S. Consul at Stockholm – Detailed Swedish-American Trade Letter, 1823
An extensive and historically informative commercial letter signed by David Erskine, Stockholm merchant and the first United States consul appointed to Stockholm, reporting on trade between Sweden and the young United States.
Stockholm, December 11, 1823. Three manuscript pages on a large folded sheet with integral address leaf, addressed to Walter Smith, Esq., Georgetown. Signed at the conclusion, “D. Erskine.”
Writing on behalf of D. Erskine & Co., Erskine provides Smith with a remarkably detailed assessment of the Swedish market. He reports a “considerable proportion of orders for American acct.,” estimates Stockholm’s inventory of iron at approximately 22,000 tons, and records current prices for Swedish iron, steel, copper, and alum.
Of particular American interest, Erskine discusses the prospects for goods arriving from the United States. He advises that Maryland and Virginia tobacco, Carolina rice, Alabama cotton, logwood, and whale oil could find profitable sales in Stockholm if shipped early in the coming season. He cautions, however, that tobacco must be of the “very best quality,” because inferior grades were already plentiful and difficult to sell.
Erskine also discusses freight and insurance, goods sent on consignment, commission rates, and remittances through London—providing a revealing firsthand picture of commercial intelligence and Atlantic trade during the early republic.
David Erskine was a Scottish-born merchant established in Stockholm. On May 22, 1818, the United States named him its first consul at Stockholm, a position he retained until 1836. The letter was evidently written in his commercial capacity rather than as an official consular communication.
The integral address leaf bears manuscript docketing, the sender’s name and firm, red postal markings, and a prominent red “SHIP” handstamp, documenting its carriage across the Atlantic.
Condition: Very good for a large commercial letter more than 200 years old. Original mailing folds, scattered handling wear, light toning and minor stains. A substantial seal-related opening or paper loss appears on the interior blank portion of the folded sheet, with remnants of the original sealing area and an old paper reinforcement nearby. The manuscript remains bold, legible, and essentially unaffected. The signature is clear and well preserved.
An extensive and historically informative commercial letter signed by David Erskine, Stockholm merchant and the first United States consul appointed to Stockholm, reporting on trade between Sweden and the young United States.
Stockholm, December 11, 1823. Three manuscript pages on a large folded sheet with integral address leaf, addressed to Walter Smith, Esq., Georgetown. Signed at the conclusion, “D. Erskine.”
Writing on behalf of D. Erskine & Co., Erskine provides Smith with a remarkably detailed assessment of the Swedish market. He reports a “considerable proportion of orders for American acct.,” estimates Stockholm’s inventory of iron at approximately 22,000 tons, and records current prices for Swedish iron, steel, copper, and alum.
Of particular American interest, Erskine discusses the prospects for goods arriving from the United States. He advises that Maryland and Virginia tobacco, Carolina rice, Alabama cotton, logwood, and whale oil could find profitable sales in Stockholm if shipped early in the coming season. He cautions, however, that tobacco must be of the “very best quality,” because inferior grades were already plentiful and difficult to sell.
Erskine also discusses freight and insurance, goods sent on consignment, commission rates, and remittances through London—providing a revealing firsthand picture of commercial intelligence and Atlantic trade during the early republic.
David Erskine was a Scottish-born merchant established in Stockholm. On May 22, 1818, the United States named him its first consul at Stockholm, a position he retained until 1836. The letter was evidently written in his commercial capacity rather than as an official consular communication.
The integral address leaf bears manuscript docketing, the sender’s name and firm, red postal markings, and a prominent red “SHIP” handstamp, documenting its carriage across the Atlantic.
Condition: Very good for a large commercial letter more than 200 years old. Original mailing folds, scattered handling wear, light toning and minor stains. A substantial seal-related opening or paper loss appears on the interior blank portion of the folded sheet, with remnants of the original sealing area and an old paper reinforcement nearby. The manuscript remains bold, legible, and essentially unaffected. The signature is clear and well preserved.
