Hanau, J. N.

XI/38/130, 2 boxes

Hanau was based in New Orleans from where most of his letters were sent apart from the occasional one or two from places such as Memphis or Louisville the latter a refuge from the yellow fever that struck New Orleans in December 1843. Most are addressed to NMR but a good proportion are addressed to NMR and de Rothschild Frères jointly and some are to August Belmont, with whom Hanau was on the friendliest terms. A letter dated 2 November 1847 from Ludwig Hanau in Savannah informs that J. N. Hanau is on his way to New Orleans after a trip to Europe and reports on the markets in tobacco and cotton in the various places in which the writer stayed on his journey. It appears that Ludwig was also closely connected with Belmont. In 1848, Hanau handles letters between NMR and Lionel Davidson, the steady traffic of which has been impeded by the war. Hanau reports on the tobacco and cotton trades and advises NMR on purchases for the European market. The letters give detailed reports on prices of these and other commodities and included in the series are regular printed market reports. Letters also deal with various state bonds and bills.

The termination of the relationship with Hanau may be attributable to Alphonse de Rothschild, who wrote back from his American tour, "Hanau, of whom everyone, even strangers, has only the worst to report, is in the highest degree ruinous for us, and this has to be prevented in the future." (14 January 1849)

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