Letter and order from Frank Otard to Otard Dupuy & Co concerning tariffs, the Maine Law and Ives Beecher & Co, 1867-08-20
Frank Otard discusses a poor harvest, high US tariffs, the Maine Law and smuggling from Canada, then sends a forty-fifths order from Ives Beecher & Co with vintage, colour, cask and shipping specifications.
Commercial correspondence
French
English
Frank Otard
Otard Dupuy & Co
New York, New York, United States
Cognac, Charente, France
New York–Cognac; Canadian market
Cognac trade
Brandy order
Tariffs
Maine Law
Smuggling
Canada
Harvest
Ives Beecher & Co
Patterson & Boulton
New York
United States
Newyork, 20 Aout 1867
[[label: Address panel]] per St "Russia" Messrs Otard Dupuy & Co Cognac Charente France
[[label: Documentary page 2]] Newyork, 20 Aout 1867 Messrs Otard Dupuy & Co Cognac J'ai recu Messieurs votre lettre du 1 aout et vous confirme la mienne du 13 ditto. Je regrette d'apprendre que le resultat de la recolte sera aussi minime que vous semblez le craindre, et que par contre vos prix s'en ressentiront; les ordres ne seront pas enormes attendu que le commerce est fort calme par suite du tarif elevé qui nous ronge pour le moment. Il est difficile de dire le temps que durera ce haut droits mais aussi longtemps que le systeme actuel douanier subsistera aussi longtemps les affaires s'en ressentiront. Nous avons le Maine Law dans quelques etats et c'est la raison qui nous empeche d'avoir des ordres de Boston et d'un autre coté les eaux de vie que vous vendez au Canada sont souvent
[[label: Documentary page 3]] smuggled through the lines. Vous pourrez etre assurés que nos amis vous donneront des ordres, mais pour cela il faut une nouvelle administration qui changera le systeme prohibitif en systeme plus liberal et plus en rapport avec les besoins de l'epoque. Messrs Ives Beecher & Co m'ont remis un petit ordre de: 1850 P. 5/5 I B. Co 1856 " 5/5 no 1/40 1858 " 10/5 1860 " 5/5 '64 " 5/5 '65 " 10/5 ensemble 40/5 de vos eaux de vie pr 1er premier envoie. les quarts ne doivent pas contenir moins de 16 veltes autrement ils seraient sujets a etre saisis (les 1850 seulement en Double fut). Messrs Patterson & Boulton en presence de l'etat du marché ne desirent pas envoyer un nouvel ordre pour le present. J'ai prevenu nos amis au sujet de la recolte et j'ai ecrit de tous les cotés; ma prochaine vous renseignera davantage. Agréez, Messieurs, l'assurance de mon entier devouement. Frank Otard
[[label: Documentary page 4]] No. 125. Messrs Ives Beecher & Co. N.Y. 20th August 1867. I. B & C No 1 a 40 5 fifths Pale 1850 - double casks - 5 " " 1856 10 " " 1858 5 " " 1860 5 " " 1864 10 " " 1865 40 fifths. } usual proof. To be shipped by first vessel - B/L. to "their address."
[[label: Documentary page 5]] [Blank reverse of the enclosure; no intentional writing.] [[notes]] Editorial notes: Only show-through from the written side is visible; no separate text is transcribed.
[[label: Address panel]] per Steamer "Russia" Messrs Otard Dupuy & Co Cognac Charente France
[[label: Documentary page 2]] New York, 20 August 1867 Messrs Otard Dupuy & Co Cognac I have received, Gentlemen, your letter of 1 August and confirm mine of the 13th ditto. I regret to learn that the result of the harvest will be as minimal as you seem to fear, and that on the other hand your prices will feel the effects; orders will not be enormous given that business is very quiet as a result of the high tariff that is eating away at us for the moment. It is difficult to say how long these high duties will last but as long as the current customs system remains so long will business feel the effects. We have the Maine Law in some states and that is the reason that prevents us from having orders from Boston and on the other hand the brandies that you sell to Canada are often
[[label: Documentary page 3]] smuggled through the lines. You can be assured that our friends will give you orders, but for that we need a new administration that will change the prohibitive system into a more liberal system and more in keeping with the needs of the time. Messrs Ives Beecher & Co have given me a small order for: 1850 P. 5/5 I B. Co 1856 " 5/5 no 1/40 1858 " 10/5 1860 " 5/5 '64 " 5/5 '65 " 10/5 together 40/5 of your brandies for 1st first shipment. the quarters must not contain less than 16 veltes otherwise they would be subject to being seized (the 1850 only in Double cask). Messrs Patterson & Boulton in view of the state of the market do not wish to send a new order for the present. I have warned our friends about the harvest and I have written on all sides; my next will inform you further. Accept, Gentlemen, the assurance of my entire devotion. Frank Otard
[[label: Documentary page 4]] No. 125. Messrs Ives Beecher & Co. N.Y. 20th August 1867. I. B & C No 1 to 40 5 fifths Pale 1850 - double casks - 5 " " 1856 10 " " 1858 5 " " 1860 5 " " 1864 10 " " 1865 40 fifths. } usual proof. To be shipped by first vessel - B/L. to "their address."
Original item in Neruda Archives.
Private collection, Neruda Archives.
Publicly available images, transcriptions, translations, metadata and descriptions may be copied, shared, reproduced and republished, in whole or in part, for non-commercial purposes, provided that Neruda Archives is clearly credited and the relevant item identifier and stable URL are preserved. This permission includes non-commercial scholarly, educational, editorial, exhibition, website and social-media use. Automated machine use, including crawling, indexing, text and data mining, retrieval, embeddings and AI training by commercial and non-commercial systems, is permitted, provided provenance is retained where technically feasible and the item identifier and stable URL are preserved in source records or associated documentation. Commercial publication, commercial reproduction, resale, advertising use, paid access to a database or dataset and bulk redistribution of images require prior written permission. For the avoidance of doubt, permission is not required merely because an AI system or its operator is commercial. The images displayed and downloadable on this page are public access copies, and the permissions above apply to those files. Access to non-public source scans (preservation masters) or files specially prepared for print, where available, requires prior written agreement. Attribution may not be removed or replaced by false or misleading attribution.
Open public access. The images displayed and downloadable on each item page are public access copies. Non-commercial reuse of those images and of public transcriptions, translations, metadata and descriptions is permitted with clear credit to Neruda Archives and preservation of the relevant item identifier and stable URL. Automated use and AI training are permitted for commercial and non-commercial systems with provenance retained where technically feasible. Commercial republication, resale, advertising, paid database or dataset access and bulk image redistribution require prior written permission. Access to non-public source scans (preservation masters) or files specially prepared for print, where available, requires prior written agreement.
Open metadata and AI use; non-commercial public reuse
Neruda Archives
Neruda Archives, NRA-L-000474.
Every complete capture, documentary role, address panel, date, names, organizations, commercial context and material postal evidence was independently checked against the authoritative images and related Cognac correspondence; unresolved readings remain explicit. Date evidence: The dateline and the enclosed order both give New York, 20 August 1867; the address-side docket agrees. Origin evidence: New York is written in the dateline.
Image-checked raw transcription
Image-checked English translation
Exact
5 documentary sides: Documentary page 1; Documentary page 2; Documentary page 3; Documentary page 4; Documentary page 5; 5 digital images.