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Letterbook of Benjamin Clapp and of Edward S. Hill & Co.

 
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Title
Letterbook of Benjamin Clapp and of Edward S. Hill & Co.
Creator
Benjamin Clapp (1789-1872)
Description
Letterbook of Benjamin Clapp, 1822-1833, and of Edward S. Hill & Co., 1833-1836; most of the letters were written from New York City. A letter of December 31, 1833, was written to inform the recipient (B. Dean & Co.) that the firm of B. Clapp & Co. had been dissolved on February 1, 1833, although a few letters between February and December were signed by Clapp. Edward S. Hill & Co., a looking glass manufacturer, then took over the letterbook, and about half the letters are from that company. The Clapp letters are mostly related to his business activities, though some relate to personal matters. Some letters were to sawyers, directing how he wanted lumber sawn for his business. Other letters directed the recipients to send chair stuff or bedsteads to him. He also wrote about looking glass plates, frames, and gold leaf. Mahogany, maple, birch, and beech woods are mentioned in various places. Interesting bits of information found their way into the business letters. For example, on Sept. 27, 1822, Clapp wrote that he was at his factory in Worwosink [i.e. Warwasing?], Ulster County, and planned to stay there "until the fever abates in the city." In other letters, he mentioned the poor economy, the hiring of workers, or the price of cotton. On November 10, 1824, he wrote about establishing factory to make looking glass frames using water power. In 1833, Clapp ordered saws, and drew a rough sketch of a saw blade at the bottom of a letter of June 7, 1833. The letters of Edward S. Hill & Co. pertain to the business of making and selling looking glasses, including orders, shipping, and financial information. Clapp was a cabinetmaker and looking glass maker in New York City. He was born in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in 1789, the son of Sylvia Fobes Gushey [or Gushee] and Eleazer Clapp. After a stint in the cotton manufacturing trade in Lowell, Massachusetts, he moved to New York City around 1814, where he became a cabinetmaker and looking glass maker. In 1827, he moved to Wappingers Fall, Dutchess County, New York, but maintained his business in New York City. In Wappingers Fall, he started a sawmill, where he made mahogany veneer for the furniture trade. He closed this business in 1844 and then opened a cotton mill, from which he retired in 1865.
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