Date: 14 July 1799
Port of Loading: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Destination: Boston, Massachusetts
Ship: Hamilton
Master: Thomas Howard
Document Type: Printed English-language Bill of Lading completed in manuscript.
This is an attractive late eighteenth-century merchant shipping document recording the overseas shipment of goods from Amsterdam to Boston during the closing years of the Early American Republic. Bills of lading served as the legal contract between the shipper, carrier, and consignee and are among the most important surviving records of early Atlantic commerce.
Cargo
The handwritten entries record a shipment including:
- Seven pipes of Geneva [gin]
- Five bags of mace
- Two bags of tapioca
- One bale
- New netting
- Two boxes of Madeira staves [or similar merchandise]
[The exact wording of the final commodity is somewhat difficult to decipher from the photographs.]
Destination
Consigned for delivery at the port of Boston, one of the principal commercial ports of the early United States.
Outstanding Features
- Dated 14 July 1799
- Attractive engraved bill of lading form.
- Original red wax merchant\'s seal with surviving pink silk ribbon.
- Signed by the ship\'s master, Thomas Howard.
- Period manuscript entries throughout.
- Fine example of Dutch-American maritime commerce shortly after the American Revolution.
Historical Significance
This document reflects the vibrant trade between the Dutch Republic and the young United States. Amsterdam remained one of Europe\'s leading commercial centers, exporting luxury foods, spirits, spices, textiles, and manufactured goods to American ports. Bills of lading like this accompanied cargo across the Atlantic and functioned simultaneously as a receipt, contract of carriage, and document of title.
The shipment of Geneva gin, mace, and other imported commodities illustrates the diverse merchandise entering Boston during the Federal period.
Condition
Very Good.
- Original laid paper.
- Red wax seal intact with original silk attachment.
- Strong manuscript entries.
- Light overall toning.
- Normal fold wear.
- Minor edge losses and corner wear.
- Reverse shows expected embossing from seal.
The survival of both the wax seal and silk tie is a particularly desirable feature.
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