(Castilian red), barberry (yellow), and indigo to give it the desired 

 color. These materials were purchased from Meggeson Laplante 

 and Company or Samuel Wetherill and Sons, of Philadelphia, 

 or from Anthony Girard in New York.^^*^ Within the Brandywine 

 milling community, Cardon supplied "Leather for [the] powder 

 yard," as well as belt leather to textile millers William Young, 

 Victor and Charles du Pont and Company, Duplanty, McCall and 

 Company, and John Siddall/^' Cardon also sold these firms dye 

 drugs and bark, presumably quercitron. Besides this, the textile 

 manufacturers purchased fleshings and remainders for glue, plus 

 hundreds of bushels of hair.^^^ In 1817, even "The Sunday School 

 society" purchased ten and one-half bushels of hair from the tan- 

 nery, but for what purpose is not clear.^^'^ 



Generally, the tannery at Hagley operated exactly as did 

 other leather factories. It produced the same product, used the 

 same raw materials, utilized the same transportation facilities, 

 and traded in the same market. Aside from an accelerated process 

 of manufacturing leather (which at the time was of questionable 

 value), A. Cardon and Company was a typical early nineteenth- 

 century tannery, suffering most of the stringencies of the period. 



Following the depression of 1819, Cardon complained of the 

 "depreciated state of leather" and of "the scarcity of Money." 

 His correspondence was gloomier still in 1822, and after the failure 

 of two customers, he wrote that "the profits are already scant 

 enough on leather . . . [so] secure the most you can of our share 

 as well as yours, and of course you had better take 10 shillings 

 per pound than nothing at all.""°° 



Earlier he had told one concern that it was "utterly impossible 

 for us to send you any cash at present."""^ By the end of 1824, the 



'^^ Letter book, Cardon and Company to Anthony Girard, December 2, 1816; and to Meggesson 

 Laplante and Company, December 9, 1816, et passim. In addition see day book, 1815—1822, Cardon 

 and Company, December 31, 1816; June 11, 1817; December 31, 1817; et passim. 



1^^ For leather sold to the gunpowder yards see E. L du Pont de Nemours and Company in account 

 with A. Cardon and Company, June 30, 1821, in accounts current, Cardon and Company, 1815-1827. 

 For belt leather sold to Brandywine textile manufactures see ledger, Cardon and Company, 1816- 

 1825, May 5, 1817 (Wm. Young); July 9, 1817 (V. & Ch. du Pont); July 5, 1817 (Duplanty and 

 McCall); January 3, 1821 (John Siddall). 



1*' See the accounts of the above mentioned cotton and woolen millers in day book, Cardon and 

 Company, 1815-1822, and ledger 1816, 1825. 



'"« Day book, 1815-1822, December 31, 1817. 



200 Letter book, April 19, 1820, to G. and H. P. Shannon; December 20 1822, to Timothy Abbott 

 and Company. 



201 Letter book, June 20, 1822. 



68 



