These April 1852 letters from Price, Walsh & Co. are excellent because they reveal something historians often miss: quality competition in the Rio Grande tobacco trade. They also show how carefully Stillman monitored accounts and shipments.
Letter 1
Price, Walsh & Co.
New Orleans — April 7, 1852
Transcription (reconstructed)
Gentlemen,
In the above we send duplicate copy of the 5th and which we trust is the Brownsville.
Since then we have nothing to report but to return thanks for an order received today from one of the commission houses here for 75 bales, and stated to be by your kind recommendation of us.
We are much obliged.
And are gentlemen,
Very truly yours,
Price Walsh & Co.
Letter 2
Price, Walsh & Co.
New Orleans — April 5, 1852
Transcription (reconstructed)
Messrs. Charles Stillman & Co.
To Price Walsh & Co.
Feby 24 — To sales invoice ........ $1136.50
Mar 31 — By cash allowance ........ $47.04
Balance to your favor ........ $9.36
Gentlemen,
Above we furnish statement of account showing $9.36 to your favor in reply to your favor of the 12th ult.
We feel satisfied that no one in your market can undersell you otherwise than by offering an article considerably inferior to the tobacco which you have at present.
We are well aware that many buyers have been here and have supplied themselves with inferior tobacco, some of which we have sold as low as $6 per bale.
But in the long run we consider this a bad policy, and generally attended with complaints and loss of trade to the parties who supply themselves with such tobacco.
Your instructions have always been to send you a good article, and we have endeavored to comply with them.
We remain gentlemen,
Your very truly,
Price Walsh & Co.
What These Letters Reveal
These letters add several important pieces to the story.
1. Stillman's Reputation in the New Orleans Market
The April 7 letter states clearly:
an order received today from a commission house here for 75 bales, by your recommendation
That means Stillman was actively referring business to suppliers in New Orleans.
In other words, he was functioning as a regional trade broker, not just a storekeeper.
2. A Tobacco Quality War
Price & Walsh complain that other buyers are purchasing inferior tobacco at $6 per bale.
That is extremely cheap.
They warn that low-quality tobacco causes:
• complaints
• loss of reputation
• lost customers
This shows that merchants along the Rio Grande competed not only on price but also on product reputation.
3. Stillman's Business Strategy
The most revealing line:
“Your instructions have always been to send you a good article.”
This confirms Stillman’s business model:
He preferred quality goods rather than the cheapest possible imports.
That approach probably helped him dominate the Rio Grande trade.
Price, Walsh & Co., April 1852
Two letters from the New Orleans firm of Price, Walsh & Company in April 1852 reveal an important aspect of frontier commerce: reputation.
By this time large quantities of tobacco were being shipped toward the Rio Grande, and merchants competed aggressively to supply the trade. Some dealers were selling tobacco for as little as six dollars per bale, but Price & Walsh warned that such bargains often meant inferior goods.
Low-quality tobacco, they wrote, usually led to complaints and the eventual loss of customers.
Charles Stillman appears to have taken a different approach. His suppliers noted that his standing instructions were always to send “a good article.” Maintaining that standard, even at higher cost, helped establish the reliability of the goods sold through his Brownsville firm.
The letters also show that Stillman’s influence extended beyond his own business. Price & Walsh thanked him for recommending them to another commission house in New Orleans that had just placed an order for seventy-five bales of tobacco.
Even in routine correspondence, the documents reveal the growing commercial network that linked Brownsville, New Orleans, and markets deep into northern Mexico.
One More Fascinating Detail
Notice the phrase:
“many buyers have been here”
This suggests that Rio Grande merchants were traveling to New Orleans personally to buy tobacco.
That means Brownsville traders were already part of the larger Gulf commercial circuit, moving between:
New Orleans
Matamoros
Brownsville
Monterrey
San Luis Potosí
Exactly the trade system this series is uncovering.
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