Revolution-Era Letter Written by Martin Oster, French Vice Consul in Virginia, to French Vice Consul in Baltimore François Moissonnier, Discussing a Payment to Jewish Merchant Moses Myers of Norfolk and an Ongoing Commercial “Operation” During the French Revolutionary Wars.
Norfolk, Virginia: February 7, 1794. With Norfolk, VA straightline postmark. Folded letter measuring 8 x 12 ½ inches. Folded letter, one small area of loss, otherwise Fine. Item #List3728
During the French Revolutionary Wars, Virginia ports became important centers of Atlantic commerce linking the early American republic with Revolutionary France. French consular officials operating in cities such as Norfolk and Baltimore coordinated merchant credit, shipping, and procurement operations, with France depending heavily upon American commercial networks for supplies and finance.
Offered here is a French Revolutionary consular financial letter written from Norfolk, Virginia and dated “19 Pluviose l’an 2 de la République Française une & indivisible” (February 7, 1794), signed by French Vice Consul Martin Oster and addressed to the French Vice Consul at Baltimore, François Moissonnier. Written under the printed heading “Vice Consulat de l’Origine” and marked “Finances No. 1,” the letter concerns a substantial draft of 5,000 dollars issued through prominent Norfolk merchant Moses Myers, among the leading Jewish-American commercial figures of the early republic. Through his shipping, banking, and commission business, Myers helped facilitate Atlantic trade moving through Virginia ports during the French Revolutionary period. He was also the first Jewish resident of Norfolk, where his house from this period still stands in the historic district.
Oster informs the Baltimore vice consul that he has drawn a bill of exchange for 5,000 dollars through Myers, payable ten days after presentation, and explains how the transaction has been entered within the existing consular accounting system rather than assigned a separate series of accounts. The letter further references a larger commercial “operation” under the supervision of another French agent, Citizen Petry, and notes that notice of the transaction has also been sent to the Consul General. It is possible that the operation in question related to the procurement of flour, grain, or other provisions, as Revolutionary France depended heavily upon American supplies during the period.
The letter employs the formal rhetoric of the French Republic—“une & indivisible,” concluding with the characteristic “Salut & fraternité”—while also revealing the machinery of merchant credit, consular finance, and wartime trade operating through the ports of Norfolk and Baltimore during the 1790s.
Price: $950.00
Status: On Hold