Belmont, August & Co. General and Private Business Correspondence

XI/62/0-30; XI/62/31-44 (000/871), 73 boxes

Belmont correspondence can be found in the series of two departments: The American Department (series II) and the Correspondence Department (series XI).

This series contains early and later Belmont correspondence. Letters covering the middle period (1881-1920) will be found in II/51/0-37. Go to Belmont papers in the American Department »

The early letters date from Belmont's first days in New York when he was handling business on behalf of NMR with the agents in Havana, his original destination. For at least the first year of the correspondence, Belmont wrote in German, but the bulk of the correspondence is in English. The private letters show Belmont dealing with the purchase of stock on behalf of NMR, shipping specie, handling bills and trading in tobacco, lead and quicksilver. Belmont provides a commentary on the markets and assesses political developments. There is a good deal of information in the series on all aspects of the American railroads including the organisation of railroad companies, new extensions to lines and the issue of railway bonds to cover construction costs. General correspondence within the series is made up of routine advices of payments on letters of credit and acknowledgements of NMR's remittances. The entire series provides a clear picture of the operation of an agency.