1832 ABINGDON VA STAMPLESS FOLDED LETTER - SHIPPING GINSENG TO CHINA - PRESTON

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1832 stampless folded letter, with black "ABINGDON/VA." cds (irregular circle, 26mm x 28mm), and manuscript "25" rate, addressed to Richard Ashurst & Sons, Merchants at Philadelphia, Pa.2 pg. letter contents, dated at Abingdon, Va., Aug. 8, 1832 , from Jno. M. & F.H. Preston - JOHN M. PRESTON, (1788-1861), a wealthy merchant of Abington, who also served as the Town's first Mayor, and his brother, Fairman Holmes Preston, (1799-1869).Great content concerning sales of ginseng, in which Preston writes that their Ginseng is still unsold, and asks Ashurst to try and sell it for them, and if he cannot sell it, asks that he "have it shipped to Canton from us by the first vessel that sails from your port...and order such articles in return as you think advisable". Preston notes that their ginseng amounts to between 21,000 & 22,000 poundsThe Chinese were avid buyers of American wild ginseng in the 19th century, as their wild ginseng had become scarce. In 1824, just 8 years before the date of this letter, 750,000 pounds of ginseng root was shipped to China from the United States, and ginseng became a vital part of the China Trade, with ginseng going to China from the U.S., and ships returning from China with tea and silks.The letter begins with a discussion of some money matters, and then continues:"Our Ginseng is still unsold. We have now read more

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