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1867–1872 HENRY CLEWS & CO. WALL STREET BANKING ARCHIVE
Four Original Postal Covers with Financial Correspondence, Gold Transactions, Government Bonds and Revenue-Stamped Documents
Addressed to Hon. Austin Birchard, Founding Treasurer of the Windham County Savings Bank, Fayetteville, Vermont
An unusual and historically compelling collection of original American financial correspondence from the years following the Civil War.
This archive brings together four postal covers and their associated financial papers, preserved as correspondence involving Austin Birchard, a prominent Vermont banker, and the New York financial community.
Three covers bear the printed identification of Henry Clews & Co., Bankers, New York, and are accompanied by original financial documents bearing the firm\'s distinctive 32 Wall Street letterheads.
The fourth cover contains an important handwritten record of a $1,000 loan secured by United States government bonds, including a subsequent notation documenting settlement of the transaction in 1872.
THE CONTENTS — FOUR RELATED CORRESPONDENCE GROUPS
1. DECEMBER 31, 1870 — HENRY CLEWS & CO.
Original New York postal cover addressed to Austin Birchard in Fayetteville, Vermont, with accompanying financial papers.
The documents record a gold transaction involving:
A tangible record of gold trading during the post-Civil War monetary period.
2. MAY 2, 1871 — HENRY CLEWS & CO.
Original printed banking-house cover, bearing a New York circular date stamp and 3¢ green Washington postage.
Accompanying documents from the firm\'s 32 Wall Street office record another gold transaction:
Together, the two gold transactions offer a particularly interesting glimpse into a period when gold commanded a premium over United States paper currency.
3. AUGUST 26, 1870 — HENRY CLEWS & CO.
Original Henry Clews & Co. postal cover bearing a 3¢ green Washington stamp and New York August 26 circular date stamp.
Accompanied by two documents:
May 15, 1867 financial receipt: A Henry Clews & Co. form bearing the firm\'s 32 Wall Street identification, with an entry for $1,000 at 108, totaling $1,080.
This document also bears two original United States revenue stamps, including a 10¢ blue stamp and a 1¢ red stamp, with cancellations.
August 17, 1870 banking-house letter: An attractive original letter on elaborately printed Henry Clews & Co. stationery, acknowledging correspondence and enclosures from Austin Birchard.
The ornate letterhead advertises the firm\'s banking services, including government securities, gold, exchange, deposits, and loans.
4. NOVEMBER 28 — GOVERNMENT BOND COLLATERAL CORRESPONDENCE
A separate postal cover addressed to:
Hon. Austin Birchard
Fayetteville
Windham Co., Vermont
The cover bears a 3¢ green Washington stamp and a New York postmark.
Enclosed is a remarkable handwritten financial document dated November 2, 1868, at Fayetteville, Vermont.
The document acknowledges receipt of two United States $500 government bonds, bearing 6% interest, as collateral security for a $1,000 note signed by Mary R. Stoddard and Abiel Stoddard.
The note was payable to the Windham County Savings Bank, with semiannual interest.
The receipt is signed by Austin Birchard, Treasurer of the Windham County Savings Bank, and bears an original 5¢ United States documentary revenue stamp, manuscript-canceled:
“Nov 2, 1868 — A. B. Trea\'r”
The cancellation corresponds with the date of the receipt and Birchard\'s initials and position as treasurer, directly connecting the revenue stamp with the documented financial transaction.
On the reverse is an additional handwritten record dated December 3, 1872, concerning the subsequent disposition of the bonds, return of the $1,000 note, and an additional $30 payment.
Together, the writings document both the original collateral arrangement and its later settlement.
WHO WAS AUSTIN BIRCHARD?
Austin Birchard was a prominent figure in the financial life of southern Vermont.
The Windham County Savings Bank was chartered in 1853, and Birchard became its founding treasurer. He served for approximately twenty years, retiring on January 1, 1874, at the age of eighty.
His long tenure placed him at the center of local banking during the Civil War and the important financial changes that followed.
This collection offers a rare opportunity to examine original correspondence and financial records associated with his work.
HENRY CLEWS AND WALL STREET HISTORY
Henry Clews was one of the notable American financiers of the 19th century.
His banking activities were closely associated with the financing of the Union government during the Civil War, the marketing of government bonds, and the expanding securities markets of postwar America.
The firm\'s original correspondence, gold transactions, and distinctive printed stationery make these documents particularly interesting to collectors of Wall Street history and early American banking.
Clews later became an author and chronicler of Wall Street, preserving his observations of the markets and financial events of his era.
GOLD, GOVERNMENT BONDS AND REVENUE STAMPS
The collection brings together several important aspects of post-Civil War American financial history:
Gold transactions expressed at premiums over paper currency.
Original documents from a prominent New York banking house.
United States 5-20 government bonds used as collateral.
A substantial $1,000 loan transaction involving a Vermont savings bank.
Original documentary revenue stamps reflecting the federal taxation of financial instruments.
A manuscript-canceled 5¢ revenue stamp bearing the date and initials of the bank\'s treasurer.
Period postal covers linking New York\'s financial district with rural Vermont.
CONDITION AND COMPLETENESS
All items are original period documents showing age and handling consistent with their approximately 150-year history.
The covers exhibit varying degrees of wear, including edge tears, rough openings, creases, toning, and areas of missing paper. Some have significant damage along their opening edges.
The financial papers exhibit original folds, scattered discoloration, and handling wear. The revenue stamps remain affixed to their respective documents.
The November 1868 collateral receipt has writing on both sides, including the later 1872 settlement notation.
Please examine all photographs carefully. The scans form an important part of the description.
AN UNUSUAL, COHERENT FINANCIAL HISTORY ARCHIVE
What makes this offering especially appealing is the relationship among its components.
These are not simply unrelated old envelopes or banking forms. They document a continuing financial relationship involving the same Vermont banker, with correspondence spanning multiple years and transactions.
The archive offers a window into how gold, government securities, credit, and banking operated during the years immediately following the Civil War.
An excellent acquisition for collectors of Henry Clews memorabilia, Wall Street history, early American banking, Vermont history, documentary revenue stamps, and 19th-century postal history.
Offered together as one historical archive.
Free shipping to USA addresses.
