In the cities, of course, there were both wholesale and retail dealers in the various com modities. The wholesale establishments not only imported such articles as were in most de mand, but dealt in those products of home man ufacture upon which they might realize the greatest profits. The shops of the retail deal es, however, resembled the country stores in that they sold almost everything that any cus tomer might demand. It was only in the more pretentious establishments of the larger cities that there was any apparent tendency toward separate classification, in one or two instances dry-goods and notions being sold to the exclu sion of everything else. In one sense of the word these conditions were largely due to the circumstances of the people. The custom of supplying as many of their wants as possible by the use of articles manufactured at home naturally reduced the sale of shop-made prod ucts, while the habit of trading by barter, in stead of for cash, also had a tendency to retard the development of any large retail meats.
During the five-year period prior to 1800, the imports of foreign merchandise paying ad valorem duties into the United States aggre. gated $212,000,000, of which the textile imports represented about two-thirds. New York then, as now, was the chief importing city of the country, and the kind and- character of the im portations were cottons, woolens, silks, velvets, linens, laces, edgings, hosiery, gloves and shawls, including damasks, dimities, callirnancoes, du rants, Cabarets, platillas, listadoes, mamoodies, gurrahs, cossas, baftas, russets,, satinets, •duffels, britannias, etc. These goods came chiefly from India and China, and from the cities of Amster darn, Hamburg, London and Liverpool, and the most important importing houses in New York were those of Bethune & Smith, Miirray's Wharf ; John Knox, 97 Water street; McCready' & Reid, 97 William street; Hector & Scott, 125 Pearl street; John & William Tabele, 260 Pearl street ; Benjamin I. Moore, 103 William street; Charles J. Vogel & Company, 92 Maiden Lane; Richard & John Thorne, 141 Pearl street; Wil liam Blackstock & Company, 163 Pearl street; A. S. Norwood, 127 William street, and Robert & John Sharp, 93 Maiden Lane. Of these firms, A. S. Norwood dealt extensively in car pets and rugs, besides handling dry-goods more largely, than any other house, while, among the other firms. that sold dry-goods in connection with other foreign and domestic commodities, one must mention those of Archi, bald Gracie, 52 Pine street; James Stuart, 10 William street; Eben Watson & Company, 36 Old. Slip; Ferguson & Crichton, 84 Broad way; Rogers & Lambert, 232 Pearl street; H. G. Rutgers & Company, 145 Pearl street;
Rutgers, Seaman & Ogden, 93 Front street; Thomas Buckley, 241 Front street ; Suydam & Wyckoff, 21 South street ; Robert Weir & Com pany, 16 Gold street; John Knox, 97 Water street ; Thomas Warren, 61 Maiden Lane; John McGregor, 84 Broadway; as well as Minturn & Barker, Thomas Napier & Company, Robert Lennox, Frederick de Peyster, Gouverneur & Kemble, John Murray & Sons, and others.
The 15 years that elapsed between the beginning of the century and 1815 witnessed some trying ordeals for the trade and industrial interests of this country. These troubles began with the French complications; they were accen tuated by the Embargo and Non-Intervention acts, and they finally culminated with the war with Great Britain. With such restrictions upon our import trade, the wholesale business of the country stagnated, but, as was quite nat ural under such conditions, the effect had a tend ency to foster our home industries. In 1803, our trade interests, both at home and abroad, were seriously influenced by the panic in Great Britain. In 1804 the first consignment of American cotton was made to Elijah Warren, of Philadelphia, Pa., by Almy & Brown, of Providence, R. I., and the former at once be-. came their agent for yarns and thread, and finally, for stripes, plaids, checks, tickings, ging hams, etc. During the next two years, however, the value of domestic cottons, produced by the New England factories and sold in Philadel phia, amounted to only $17,670.
When the Embargo went into force, in 1807, our foreign trade, as a matter of course, was almost entirely suspended. At this time, how ever, there were not more than 4,000 cotton. spindles in use in the entire United States, for progress in this line of industry had been slow., the close of the year, however, the num ber had doubled, and, by 1809, there were no less than 17 mills in operation in Providence, R with 2,296 spindles, producing fully 510,000 pounds of yarn. About 1,000 looms were also in operation weaving cotton cloth. • The census report for 1810 gave some very clear of the more or less rapid ad-. vancement .-that had been made in all the branches of the textile industry, especially in the manufacture of cottons and woolens, Ac cording to the report of the Treasury meat,' the. American product in cottons and woolens, exclusive of clothing and other goods,. amounted to scarcely less than $46,000,000, in 1810. Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin had effected such a change both in the pro duction and manufacture of cotton that it had, suddenly become one of the nation's leading products.