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Auction: 326 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 1225

Chouteau, Pierre (1758-1849). French Creole fur trader, merchant, and politician. Important autograph letter signed by Chouteau. In French, written in New York, September 20, 1842, to Kenneth McKenzie in St. Louis. In reference to McKenzie's difficulties: "I would rather have tried to make even a bad arrangement ... instead of doing nothing .... The fate of the Company is already known to you & as there are people looking ... to amalgamate us into its fall, I need all the credit I can get here .. .I desire ... that between now and next Spring, that the Credit & the Paper of the House, will be as good, as desirable in Wall Street as it is in St. Louis ... For that one must sell & realize. Because my friend Crooks has left me in the direst circumstances." "All my attempts at borrowing against your properties have been useless ... After the awkward situation in which I found myself on behalf of the Company I had made a heartfelt promise to myself never again to endorse ... You are probably the only person for whom I would ... " "Sales in London ... are, in general, quite satisfactory, but the beaver has done terribly ... I dare not make a prediction about the price of (buffalo) robes. At least one third of the firms have folded ... The losses on the sales of robes since 1837 have been enormous."
At the time of this letter, Chouteau owned the Western Department of the American Fur Co., and Ramsay Crooks the Northern Department. The business depression of 1837 had caused difficulty across the nation and soon after interest in beaver pelts declined. The great days of the fur trade had gone for good, and here we see Chouteau and McKenzie trying to survive the crash. Chouteau did well enough to later invest in railroads. From the Collection of John Herzog.

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