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Original 1894 Chambers, Roy & Co., Limited "Commission Merchants" Lithographed Collection Letter
Up for sale is a beautiful, highly detailed piece of late 19th-century Crescent City mercantile history. This is an original, intricately designed transmittal bank document from the prominent wholesale firm Chambers, Roy & Co., Limited, operating out of 36 Tchoupitoulas & 34 New Levee Streets in New Orleans, Louisiana.
📜 HISTORICAL CONTEXT: CHAMBERS, ROY & CO.
Operating in the heart of the New Orleans trade district between Natchez & Gravier streets, Chambers, Roy & Co. was a premier wholesale grocer and commission house in the 1890s. The firm specialized in high-end global imports, dealing heavily in bulk shipments of staple foods, foreign wines, liquors, and proprietary tobacco blends.
This document captures a snapshot of their distribution network, listing three separate regional sight drafts sent to Banker R.A. Graves to collect from local regional debtors:
Julius Mandle: $35.30
H.F. & E.A. Rozier, agt.: $19.75
D. Silver: $45.74
(Total batch transaction value of $100.79—the purchasing equivalent of over $3,700 today).
🌸 WHAT IS JAPONICA?
Prominently featured in the centerpiece vignette is their proprietary brand "Extra Fancy Japonica". At the turn of the century, "Japonica" was a highly marketed grade designation used primarily for top-tier Southern-grown white rice. Grown heavily across Louisiana and Texas coastal plains, Japonica rice varieties (originally introduced from Asian seed stocks) were celebrated for their short, plump grains and superior cooking quality. The vignette beautifully features the branding stamped directly over a delicate blooming Camellia japonica flower motif.
🎨 RARE NEW ORLEANS LITHOGRAPHER IMPRINT
A massive selling point for printing history and ephemera enthusiasts is the crisp regional attribution. Located on the right side of the main header vignette, directly beneath the “Fumado” proprietary tobacco product box illustration, is the clear, original lithographer credit line: "Koeckert & Walle Litho's N.O." (New Orleans).
Koeckert & Walle was an acclaimed 19th-century Gulf Coast stone-lithography firm renowned for their crisp engraving work on commercial label art, tobacco vignettes, and liquor invoices. Finding signed work from this house is highly desirable for Louisiana collectors.
🔍 POSTAL, BANKING & CASHIER MARKINGS
The Bounce Stamp: Features a wonderful, bold two-line stamp across the lower center in grey/purple ink reading "Returned Unpaid / AUG 28 1894", showing that the bank held the draft for a week per the printed instructions before returning it to New Orleans as a non-payment.
Paper Integrity: Very good antique condition. Features beautiful, scrolling typography and two traditional file spindle punches at the very top edge from the bank cashier's original archival ledger. Clean margins with natural age toning and standard mail folds.
Please review the high-resolution photos carefully to examine the handwriting, paper texture, and lithographer signature.
An outstanding crossover addition for collectors specializing in Rice & Food Advertising, New Orleans / Louisiana Industrial History, Victorian Lithography Trades, or Southern Banking Ephemera.
📦 SHIPPING & HANDLINGItems are packaged safely flat between heavy, rigid cardboard sheets inside a secure mailer to ensure zero bending or folding during transit. Ships USPS fully insured and trackable.
