1851 Jamaica, LI NY Andrew Suydam / W. B. Foster Receipt for 2 Bags Guano
$ 10.56
Description
1851 Jamaica, LI NY Andrew Suydam / W. B. Foster Receipt for 2 Bags Guano. Guano was a highly valued natural fertilizer made from seabird deposits imported primarily from Peru and Pacific islands, widely used to improve exhausted farm soils and increase crop production. The receipt records the sale of two bags of guano, along with weight and pricing calculations. Expected fold creases from posting. Wear and a small tear along the right edge. Elsewhere, n o major issues to note. Attractive b old legible writing. Overall, in good condition. You will receive the exact piece shown in the photos - please have a good look at the photos to access condition. It measures approx. 2 5/8" x 6 1/4" Transcription of text: Front Side Transcription Mr W. B. Foster Jamaica July 15/1851 Bot of Andrew Suydam 2 Bags Guano 174 75 52.9 @ 8.45 $8.38 Rec’d Payment Andrew Suydam Reverse Side Transcription received Jul 18 Andrew Suydam $8.38 Observations This 1857 receipt documents the purchase of guano fertilizer, one of the most important agricultural imports of the mid-19th century. Guano was a highly valued natural fertilizer made from seabird deposits imported primarily from Peru and Pacific islands, widely used to improve exhausted farm soils and increase crop production. The receipt records the sale of two bags of guano, along with weight and pricing calculations. Andrew Suydam was likely associated with the well-known Suydam family, an old Dutch-descended Long Island and New York family active in farming and commerce during the 1800s. Agricultural guano receipts from the 1850s are historically interesting because the fertilizer trade became so economically significant that Congress passed the Guano Islands Act in 1856, allowing Americans to claim guano-rich islands for fertilizer production. ================================================================ Jamaica in the 1850s through the 1860s was still a semi-rural Long Island village, though it was rapidly transforming into one of the most important transportation and commercial centers in Queens County. Originally settled by the Dutch and English during the 17th century, Jamaica had become the county seat of Queens by the 19th century and served as a hub for courts, trade, inns, churches, and local government. During the 1850s the village economy centered around farming, livestock, carriage traffic, blacksmithing, and small mercantile businesses. Stagecoach routes and turnpikes connected Jamaica with Brooklyn, Flushing, Hempstead, and eastern Long Island communities. The village was especially important because of the Long Island Rail Road, which had reached Jamaica in the 1830s and by the 1850s had made the community a major rail junction. Railroad growth increased commerce and encouraged boarding houses, hotels, taverns, and service trades. The Civil War era brought additional economic activity. Many residents served in New York regiments during the war, while local farms and merchants supplied food, horses, and materials to nearby urban markets. Jamaica’s population remained relatively modest compared to Brooklyn or Manhattan, but the village was steadily becoming more urbanized. Architecturally, mid-19th century Jamaica still retained many wooden homes, Dutch-influenced farmhouses, barns, and small commercial buildings lining unpaved or partially improved roads. Large estates owned by old Long Island families—including descendants of early Dutch settlers such as the Bergen, Remsen, and Van Wyck families—were still prominent in the surrounding countryside. By the late 1860s Jamaica was increasingly tied economically and socially to New York City. Improved transportation and rising land values gradually shifted the village from an agricultural community into a suburban commercial center, setting the stage for the explosive growth that Queens would experience later in the 19th and early 20th centuries. **Shipped securely in a new poly bag, sandwiched in chipboard, inside a new rigid mailer via USPS Ground Advantage service w/ tracking** Click HERE to see matchbooks I have available. Click HERE to see transit and trade tokens I have available. Click HERE to see billheads I have available. Click HERE to see letterheads I have available. 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