Thomas Jefferson Papers

Stephen Cathalan to Thomas Jefferson, 2 May 1818

From Stephen Cathalan

Marseilles 2d of May 1818

Dear Sir

Confirming you my here inclosed letter of the 25th April ulto; this is to remit you herewith the invoice of 8 Boxes containing together 192 Bottls old red wine of Bergasse & one Basket Macaroni, I have Shipped on the Ship Fair Trader,1 Gge Fletcher master, for Alexda to be forwarded to you by the collector of that district, amounting to F 257, 70c which please to pass on my credit; you will make me remitance when convenient to you.

You will observe by that Invoice, that I have Shipped also one boxe marked on the top TJSC 9 of 24 Bottles red wine 1814 of Bergasse, which I beg you to divide with your Grand Son, reffering you to what I have mentioned about it in the Said invoice; I will thank you to give me your opinion on that wine after having tasted it.2 Mr Bergasse has offered me Since it is bottled, 50 bottles of the Said wine3 for 30 Bottles4 I would give him in exchange. it is a proof how this wine has improved in quality, after having passed5 the tropick.

The boxes for wine being made to contain6 only 12 or 24 Bottles I could not Send you the exact number of 200 you requested.7 When I ordered that invoice to Mr Bergasse, in order to Save you the high duty on wine in bottles imported in the U.S. great deal higher than when imported in cask, I ask’d him one cask of 60 Gallons8 or 29 to 30 veltes of that wine of 1814 instead of about 200 bottles for you, but he refused it Saying that having but a very Small quantity of that years’ wine remaining unsold in his celar, he could not Sell it9 in casks, (but only in boxes & bottled) as he did last year to me; even Should I pay it to him at the rate of ƒ 1 ⅌ bottle deducting the cost of bottles,.— Corks &c.10 you must observe that I paid him that cask (which produced to me 290 Blles) in May last only F 150. it is true wine has risen much Since & I offered him for Such one11 ƒ 180 with F 10 more for the doble cask; he added that he was also apprehensive it would not be properly bottled on the Spot of Consumption &ca which would of course hurt the reputation of this12 wine.13 as you must have a14 quantity of empty bottles,15 I intend in my first invoice to Send you one cask of his wine 1817. which16 is the best year we have Since 10 years for the good quality of wine & you will See after bottled in your celar how it will improve17 one or two years after, not accounting how much money you will Save in receiving it in Cask.—after having experienced a dryness Since june 1816, in this corner of Europe which threatened to distroy18 not only the crops of corn, wine, olive19 &ca but also20 the vineyard, olive & fig trees, since the 20th Ulto we have at last abundant & nourishing21 Showers of rain which have Saved our pending crops with appearance of plantifull one, as well as our vineyard & fruit trees. our Springs exausted begin to run again & the country around Marseilles is beautyfull indeed now

I have the honor to be very respectfully dear Sir

Your obedient & very humble Servant22

Stephen Cathalan.

Dupl (MHi); in a clerk’s hand, with corrections and signature by Cathalan; at head of text: “Duplicata”; at foot of first page: “Ths Jefferson Esqr &c &c”; with Dupl of second enclosure conjoined; endorsed by TJ as received 30 July 1818 and so recorded in SJL. RC (MHi); with MS of second enclosure conjoined; endorsed by TJ as receieved 1 Sept. 1818 and so recorded in SJL. Enclosure: Cathalan to TJ, 25 Apr. 1818. Other enclosure printed below.

The customs collector at Alexandria was Charles Simms. your grand son: Thomas Jefferson Randolph.

1Dupl: “Treader.” RC: “Trader.”

2RC begins new paragraph here.

3RC here adds “1814—of the 8 Boxes I have Shipped for you.”

4Dupl: “Bottes.” RC: “Bottles.”

5RC here adds “thro or under.”

6Dupl: “countain.” RC: “contain.”

7RC here adds “from me.”

8Dupl: “Galloons.” RC: “Gallons.”

9RC here adds “put up.”

10Instead of preceding word, RC reads “Boxes & packing.”

11RC here adds “for you.”

12Instead of preceding word, RC reads “his Choiced.”

13RC begins new paragraph here.

14RC here adds “large.”

15RC here adds “at your Seat.”

16Dupl: “wich.” RC: “which.”

17Instead of preceding word, RC reads “Turn Good.”

18Instead of preceding two words, RC reads “of loosing.”

19RC here adds “figs.”

20Instead of preceding word, RC reads “of distroying.”

21Dupl: “last aboundant & nurishing.” RC: “Least, abundant & nourishing.”

22Instead of preceding six words, RC reads “your most obedt & devoted Servt.”

Index Entries

  • alcohol; bottles and jugs for search
  • Bergasse, Henry search
  • Bordeaux (wine) search
  • bottles search
  • Cathalan, Stephen (Étienne) (1757–1819); and wine for TJ search
  • Cathalan, Stephen (Étienne) (1757–1819); invoices from search
  • Cathalan, Stephen (Étienne) (1757–1819); letters from search
  • claret (wine) search
  • corks; for wine bottles search
  • corn; as crop search
  • corn; effect of weather on search
  • figs; as crop search
  • food; macaroni search
  • grapes; effect of weather on search
  • household articles; bottles search
  • household articles; corks search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; Invoice from Stephen Cathalan search
  • Jefferson, Thomas; Business & Financial Affairs; orders wine from S. Cathalan search
  • macaroni; sent to TJ search
  • olives; trees search
  • Randolph, Thomas Jefferson (TJ’s grandson; Jane Hollins Nicholas Randolph’s husband); wine sent to search
  • Simms, Charles; as collector at Alexandria search
  • trees; fig search
  • trees; fruit search
  • trees; olive search
  • weather; drought search
  • weather; effect on crops search
  • weather; rain search
  • wine; Bordeaux search
  • wine; claret search
  • wine; tariff on search
  • wine; TJ orders from S. Cathalan search