boot legs of every kind," '"'' and in 1824 they even purchased "20 

 Buffaloe Hides" which presumably were tanned/'" Leather from 

 Hagley sold in Philadelphia for twenty-six to thirty cents a pound 

 and was presumed by the manufacturer to be "among the best in 

 this Country." ^'^ 



Baron Klinkowstrom "saw a bundle" of leather at Hagley in 

 March 1818 tanned by a new process. The process was un- 

 doubtedly the Seguin method or a slight modification of it, and 

 Klinkowstrom judged the leather produced "as fine as West Indian 

 leather in firmness and strength." A less reliable observer, John 

 Palmer, was also impressed by this process of tanning which tanned 

 "a hide as well and as thoroughly in two months as in ten years." 

 When Klinkowstrom had inquired about Cardon's methods he 

 lound it was a secret, one which would "not be a mystery for any 

 long time here."^'' Unfortunately, research has not verified 

 Klinkowstrom 's prediction and, even today, the exact details of 

 Cardon's technique remain a mystery. 



The firm's business practices were more conventional than their 

 methods of tanning. Like other tanners, they usually purchased 

 hides from curriers and returned leather in payment. The currier 

 then sold the leather at a two and one-half to three percent com- 

 mission, after which he credited the tanner with the proceeds of 

 the leather sales. In the case of Cardon and Company, the ac- 

 count usually was in the currier's favor, with Cardon merely 

 receiving credit for the leather sold to be applied against the next 

 order of hides. ^'^ 



By 1821, the "Tan Yard at Hagley on the Brandywine" processed 

 3000 hides and 350 cords of bark annually. The cost of raw mate- 

 rial (bark and hides) was ?12,0()0, and the eight men employed by 

 the firm received a total of ?2400 a year in wages. Cardon listed 

 the product manufactured as "Principally Sole leather," with no 

 mention of morocco. The capitalization of the firm now stood at 

 ?16,000, but by Cardon's own admission "the increase of the prices 

 of raw Hides which has lately taken place, and the depreciation in 

 the price of leather render at present this Branch of manufacture 



"'" Letter book, June 27, 1817. See also letters of April 15 and November 3 and 4, 1817. 

 ''" Day book, 1823-1827, A. Cardon and Company (OSOR). 

 ''' Letter book, A. Cardon and Company, March 1, 1819. 



''2 Scott, op. cit. (footnote 142), p. 54; and Palmer, Journal of Travels in the United States of North 

 America, p. 21. 



'''Letter book, A. Cardon and Company to Timothy Abbott, |uly 11, 1824. 



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