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CHARLES GOFF : 1825 - 1828 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT LEDGER OF EARLY 19TH CENTURY COMMERCE AND MARITIME ECONOMY HANDWRITTEN BY A MAIDEN LANE NEW YORK MERCHANT WHO WOULD ALSO PLAY A ROLE IN AMERICA'S GLASS INDUSTRY

4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. On offer is a superb commercial record of shipping into New York City at the beginning of its unprecedented growth in the early 1800's. Measuring approximately 12 1/2 inches by 8 inches, this ledger has 144 pages and is about 71% complete. The spine of the ledger has been damaged but all pages are intact. The handwriting is quite legible. Attached to the ledger are 2 file cards with a number of details. These cards were attached much later and could be removed without difficulty. Charles Robert Goff was a shipping agent in New York City during the 1820's. Goff operated from a location on Manhattan's historic Maiden Lane. Records show he was located at the foot of this famous street along the East River at 164 Maiden Lane. Charles Goff is listed in many directories from the period as a commercial merchant and records show that for a time he was also an agent for the Redford Crown Glass Company which "played a very important role in the development of the American glass industry" (New York City Directory for 1834, Longworth p. 313). This is one of a number of directories in which he is listed as a shipping agent. The ledger covers the time period Nov, 1825 through July 1828. It contains a detailed record of goods that passed through his hand from incoming ships to a variety of customers. This fascinating handwritten volume reflects merchant's waterfront location as numerous vessels arrive to offload cargo shipped from various ports such as Darien, Boston, Philadelphia, Newark, Savannah, Springfield, etc. The ledger offers a compelling chronicle of New York City trade during this early period with an array of merchandise shown here such as letter paper, oranges, figs, oil, rice, French cologne, champagne wine, blacking, lemons, lead pencils, black ink, ox hides, Red Russia skins, playing cards, reeds, sour flour, rum, raisins, currants, mackerel, wrapping paper, printing paper, balsa, ebony, Georgia sawed wood, pearl, etc. The list of ships he dealt with include the Pheasant, Augusta, Wave, Ocean, Louisa Matilda, Osprey, Eclipse, Dispatch, William and Emmeline, Express, Turk, Echo, Globe, Mirror, Advance, Laura, Greek, Gentile, Adams, Tobacco Plant, Anna Maria, Gazelle, Globe, Margarett, Rapid, Mechanic, Chariot, etc. This is an amazing early artifact of New York City's maritime trade. His location in Maiden Lane put him right in the middle of New York's commercial heart. Maiden Lane is a famous street running east to west located in what is today the Financial District of New York City's borough of Manhattan. Its eastern end is at South Street, near the South Street Seaport, and its western end is at Broadway near where the World Trade Center stood, where it becomes Cortlandt Street. One of the first major pathways in colonial New Amsterdam, the street originally received its name of "Maagde Paatje" describing a "footpath used by lovers along a rippling brook". The street was formally laid out in 1696, the first street north of still-palisaded Wall Street. Maiden Lane was the scene of many notable events such as the 1712 New York Slaves Revolt, the establishment of the first professional theatre in the United States. In 1790, Thomas Jefferson rented a house at 57 Maiden Lane when he moved to New York to serve as the Secretary of State under George Washington. His dinner on June 20th, 1790 at that house with Alexander Hamilton and James Madison produced the Compromise of 1790, whereby Hamilton won the decision for the national government to take over and pay the state debts, while Jefferson and Madison obtained the national capital (District of Columbia) for the South. This is a superb reference book for any historian or researcher looking at commercial activities in the early Republic, or more specifically, New York City. The Erie Canal connecting the Great Lakes to New York and the Atlantic Ocean had just opened, making New York City the most important transhipment point in America for shipping between the vast interior of North America and European posts. It also had a profound impact on coastal shipping and New York eclipsed Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston. Goff was in the middle of it all. And his ledger reads like an encyclopedia of ocean shipping. A naval historian would find the many references to ships such as Osprey, Gazelle, Anna Maria and dozens more a fascinating look into their histories. This is an outstanding window into the shipping commerce of New York City as it began its drive to becoming one of the most important business centres in the world.. Illustr.: /. Manuscript. Book Condition: Good

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