hides or transported leather between Wihnington and the princi- 

 pal markets of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New York. The 

 river and the turnpike roads were the main arteries. The Warner 

 packet was used for freight, either the sloop Ma7'v Ann or the 

 sloop Fame, but for business trips to Philadelphia Cardon pre- 

 ferred the steamboat.^" For a "Jo^i^ney to Philadelphia" on 

 September 5, 1817, he submitted the following expense account i^'*^ 



Steamboat going 1.00 



Breakfast . 50 



Stamp paper .35 



Stay in Philadelphia 7.50 



Steamboat coming back and baggage 1 .25 



10.60 

 Brandywine 9ber 9th 1817 



A. Cardon. 



A tannery required a variety of raw materials and services. 

 The obvious ones were hides and bark, but others were necessarv, 

 such as dyes, acid, and lime, as well as the services of wagoners, 

 smiths, and millwrights. A ready source of hides was a prerequi- 

 site, and the regional cattle industry provided an abundant supply. 

 To supplement this, Delaware tanners turned to Philadelphia, 

 Baltimore, or New York. 



Typically, Cardon sought hides wherever he could find them and 

 bought wherever the price was right. The South American hides 

 were desired for sole leather in the early nineteenth century, and 

 these were obtained from various sources. For example, Cardon 

 wrote to John Vaughan in Philadelphia: 



We yesterday saw in the papers the arrival of the Ship Hope from Monte- 

 vedo with Hides consigned to G. Strawbridge. Would you be so kind as to 

 ascertain if the hides are of 1st. quality . . . [and] what price is asked. '"^ 



Similarly, through importers in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New 

 York, hides from Buenos Aires, La Plata, and La Guaira were 

 obtained for tanning at Hagley.^^*^ 



The trade in hides took many forms, and the following letter to 

 a Baltimore merchant is typical: "Let us know the time you might 

 be ready to send on the Hides that we could send a waggon load 



'" Letter book, December 9, 1816, et passim. 



'"^A. Cardon's expense statement, November 5, 1817, in bills miscellaneous, Cardon and Com- 

 pany (OSOR, Tannery, box 1). 



^'''^ Letter book, Cardon and Company, March 9, 1822. 



'-" Letter book. Cardon and Company, December 4, 1819; January 12, 1822; and January 19, 1822. 



64 



