Letter from B. Hötte Söhne to Messrs... (1819)

NRA-L-000026 / 1819

Letter from B. Hötte Söhne to Messrs Gme Gallien fils & Co with London fur price current, 1819-10-26

French-language commercial correspondence from B. Hötte Söhne in Münster to Messrs Gme Gallien fils & Co in Paris, dated 26 October 1819. The letter and its enclosed market price current concern the fur trade, commercial forwarding, market conditions and postal circulation between Münster and Paris.

Neruda Archives
NRA-L-000026

NRA-L-000026 image 1 showing the Paris address panel, Prusse par Givet routing mark and November 1819 arrival mark. — **Image 1**Address panel, postal marks and routing annotations.

NRA-L-000026 image 2 showing the French business letter from B. Hötte Söhne concerning sealskins and fur orders. — **Image 2**Business letter from B. Hötte Söhne, Münster, dated 26 October 1819.

NRA-L-000026 image 3 showing the tabular price current for Canadian and other furs sold in London in September 1819. — **Image 3**Enclosed price current from a London fur sale.

NRA-L-000026 image 4 showing the recipient's docketing note identifying Münster, Hötte and Sons, and 26 October 1819. — **Image 4**Recipient's docketing note.

Archive Record

Identifier: NRA-L-000026
Date: 1819-10-26
Original date: Münster 26 Octob 1819. / 26 October 1819
Type: Commercial letter with price current
Language: French / fr
Sender: B. Hötte Söhne, Münster
Recipient: Messrs Gme Gallien fils & Co, 25 rue Greneta, Paris
Places: Münster / Paris / London
Extent: 4 web-resolution images; address and postal evidence, business letter, enclosed fur price current, and docketing note
Citation: Neruda Archives, NRA-L-000026.

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Transcript and English translation

working scholarly aid

Address Panel

Original transcript

Messrs Gme Gallien fils & Co
rue Greneta No 25, en la maison de Roulage
Paris

Address Panel

English translation

Messrs Gme Gallien Fils & Co
25 rue Greneta, at the haulage house
Paris

Postal Marks and Annotations

Original transcript

PRUSSE / PAR / GIVET
[1 1/4?]
[crossed out: 105]
4
NOVEMBRE / 4 / 1819

Postal Marks and Annotations

English translation

PRUSSIA / VIA / GIVET
[1 1/4?]
[crossed out: 105]
4
NOVEMBER / 4 / 1819

Letter Text

Original transcript

Messrs Gme Gallien [hole] & Co Paris
Münster 26 Octob 1819.
Selon vos ordres nous avons envoyé
par l'exp de Mr. Em. Müller Pfortzhm
F. M. un petit paquet en toil ciré contenant
10 peaux d'loups marins choisy, 103 [Rms?]
dont nous souhaitons qu'ils arrivent bientot.
Ci joint, nous avons l'honneur, de
vous presenter le prix-court. de la derniere
vente public à Londres.
Quand vous aurez besoin de plusieurs
peaux des renards bleus ou des sacs d'Hamster
dont vous avez recu deja quelques, ou des sacs
des ventres de petitgris travaillés Weissenfels
Couleur bleu a 15 ecus, blanches a 9 ecus,
veuillez bien nous donner vos ordres.
En expectant que vous avez eu
un bonne voyage en retournant de Leipzig
nous avons l'honneur de vous saluer
Vos devoués
B Hötte Söhne.

Letter Text

English translation

Messrs Gme Gallien [hole] & Co., Paris
Münster, 26 October 1819.
In accordance with your orders, we have sent via the forwarding service of Mr Em. Müller in Pforzheim a small parcel in waxed cloth, marked F. M., containing 10 selected sealskins weighing 103 pounds, which we hope will arrive soon.
Enclosed, we have the honour to present to you the price current of the latest public sale in London.
Whenever you require more blue-fox skins or hamster-skin linings, of which you have already received some, or linings of squirrel bellies worked in Weissenfels - blue at 15 écus, white at 9 écus - please be so kind as to give us your orders.
Trusting that you had a good journey returning from Leipzig, we have the honour to greet you.
Your devoted
B Hötte Söhne.

Notes

Gme abbreviates Guillaume. The letter was written on 26 October 1819; the address side records arrival in Paris on 4 November 1819.

Enclosed Fur Price Current

Original transcript

Vente public [tear] Canada
faite à Londres le 1 [tear] Septembr 1819
Quantité peaux de Prix de la
1ere qualité 2de qual: 3me qual:
31,830. Marmottes 3/6 a 3/8 1/6 a 2/ 1/ part seulement vendu.
4,371. d'Ours noirs - rien vendu
567 d° & des oursons noirs - rien vendu
271. d'Ours gris & bruns - rien vendu
60,300 Mardres de Canada 7/ a 8/ 4/6 a 5/ 3/ a 3/6 part seulemt vendu.
10,250. Loutres - pas vendu 25/ a 28/ 9/ a 15.
2,900 Lignes rien vendu.
113 Loups cerviers 14/6 a 16/9 bien melées.
1,363 Chats de loups [sir.] rien vendu
1,600 Loups - rien vendu.
230 Tigres rien vendu.
39,600. Visons. tres fin a 3/2 a 4/ pas vendu, pas vendu.
9,300 Renards rouges. 20/ 10/ a 12/ 5/ a 7/6.
600 d° croisées - 25/ - 10/ a 15.
24 d° argentées très melées [81/ / 103/]
1600 d° de tartare rien vendu; on a offert 1/
2,800 fishers 9/ 6/ a 7/ [3/ /]
les Drawbacks sont encore
a diminuer de ces prix.

Enclosed Fur Price Current

English translation

Enclosed fur price current
Public sale of Canadian furs,
held in London on 1 September 1819.
Quantity - type of skin - price of 1st quality - 2nd quality - 3rd quality - remarks
31,830 marmots - 3/6 to 3/8 - 1/6 to 2/ - 1/ - only part sold.
4,371 black bears - nothing sold
567 ditto and black bear cubs - nothing sold
271 grey and brown bears - nothing sold
60,300 Canadian martens - 7/ to 8/ - 4/6 to 5/ - 3/ to 3/6 - only part sold.
10,250 otters - not sold - 25/ to 28/ - 9/ to 15/.
2,900 swans - nothing sold.
113 Canada lynxes - 14/6 to 16/9 - well mixed.
1,363 skins marked "Chats de loups sir." - nothing sold
1,600 wolves - nothing sold.
230 tigers - nothing sold.
39,600 minks - very fine at 3/2 to 4/ - not sold - not sold.
9,300 red foxes - 20/ - 10/ to 12/ - 5/ to 7/6.
600 cross foxes - 25/ - 10/ to 15/.
24 silver foxes, very mixed - 81/ to 103/
1,600 Tartar foxes - nothing sold; 1/ was offered
2,800 fishers - 9/ - 6/ to 7/ - 3/7
The drawbacks are still to be deducted from these prices.

Notes

The enclosure is a market price current from a London public sale of Canadian and other furs in September 1819, communicating quantities, quality grades, prices, unsold lots and customs drawbacks to continental merchants. In this context, loups marins means seals, loups cerviers denotes Canada lynxes, petitgris is squirrel or miniver fur, and fishers are North American mustelids. Lignes and Chats de loups are preserved because their species are not securely identified.

Docketing Note

Original transcript

Munster
Hotte & fils freres
du 26 8bre 1819

Docketing Note

English translation

Later manuscript record
[Münster
Hotte & sons, brothers
26 October 1819.]

Discovery Terms

Historical correspondence
Commercial correspondence
Fur trade
London fur auction
International trade
Market prices
French language

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Historical context A fur consignment and a London price current 3 sources

From Münster to Paris

On 26 October 1819, B. Hötte Söhne of Münster informed Guillaume Gallien fils & Co in Paris that a small waxed-cloth package marked F. M. had been sent through Em. Müller in Pforzheim. The letter describes its contents as ten peaux de loups marins and records the postal route 'Prusse par Givet'; a Paris marking is dated 4 November.^[1]

The enclosed market list

The letter encloses a prix-courant said to derive from the latest public sale in London. It records prices in shillings and pence for numerous kinds of fur and notes a drawback for some entries. The surviving document does not identify the auction organizer or establish the exact customs regime behind every deduction.^[1]

London public sales formed part of a wider international fur market linking North American supply, British auction and merchant networks, and continental processing and resale. That background explains the commercial usefulness of the price current, but it does not justify attributing this particular sale to the Hudson's Bay Company.^{[1, 2, 3]}

Trade names and finished goods

The document offers blue and white foxes, hamster linings and squirrel-belly linings processed at Weißenfels, stating 15 écus for blue goods and 9 écus for white. Historical trade labels in the price list are preserved as commercial vocabulary; uncertain readings are not forced into modern zoological identifications.^[1]

Evidence and limits

The organizer of the London sale, the precise meaning of every drawback and the conversion implied by the stated écus price remain unresolved. Several trade names and one numerical notation in the price current are uncertain. The Oxford and EH.Net sources provide general market context only and do not identify this consignment or auction.^{[1, 2, 3]}

Sources & evidence (3)

Primary source · manuscript and enclosure Neruda Archives, NRA-L-000026, digital images of the letter, postal markings and enclosed London price current. View the archive record Supports the consignment, route, recipients, goods, prices and wording of the price current.
Scholarly overview Jason Saldanha, James Haworth and Christopher McKenna, 'The Hudson's Bay Company: Royal Charters, Rivalries and Luxury Hats in the North American Fur Trade', Oxford Centre for Global History. Read the overview Provides general background on British and North American fur-trade networks.
Scholarly overview Ann M. Carlos and Frank D. Lewis, 'The Economic History of the Fur Trade: 1670 to 1870', EH.Net Encyclopedia. Read the overview Provides economic context for the international fur trade and market organization.

Reviewed 2026-07-29 · Context version 1.0

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