Studies in American History 
21 
As stated above, another indication of the relative popular- 
ity of goods imported from certain countries is the frequency 
of the use of certain trade names. For example, whenever 
one finds salt or hides advertised, they are usually spoken of 
as Spanish salt and Spanish hides. Why was this ? It is cer- 
tain that not all hides and salt were Spanish, for the United 
States produced some hides,®^ and imported considerable salt 
from St. Martins and from Turks Island.®® But Spanish hides 
and Spanish salt must have borne a good name among Amer- 
ican purchasers. When goods were advertised by the name 
by which they were known to the customers they commended 
themselves to the purchasers. What has been said of Spanish 
hides might be said of English or Sheffield steel, or Holland 
gin, or Irish linen. 
Now in looking over the newspapers one soon discovers the 
surpassing frequency with which goods were branded as 
Dutch, Holland, German, and Russian. Goods called Dutch, 
Holland, German, Swedish, and Russian as well as goods 
named after various Dutch, German, and Russian towns came 
very largely thru the Netherlands to the United States. Eng- 
land also brought goods of this description but in much smaller 
quantities than before the war. In the Pennsylvania and 
Maryland papers, at least, these trade names were used as 
prefixes to the names of goods more often than that of any 
other national designation. With the exception of Bordeaux 
wines, French trade names almost never occurred in the middle 
states. One frequently reads of Barcelona handkerchiefs as 
well as Spanish salt and hides and quicksilver. Irish linen 
and servants, and English dry goods and iron were advertised. 
The English trade namxes occurred for the most part in the 
Massachusetts papers. Now contrast with the above, the fol- 
lowing list of names which have been copied exactly as they 
occurred in the newspapers and most of them occurred in 
this form over and over again, some of them hundreds of 
times : 
Brown Hollands; Eussian Duck, Dutch cord, etc.®*’ Haerlem tapes 
threads and laces; Eussia and English duck; Holland Brown, Dutch 
Cordage, Holland ravens duckd” Fine Holland and Flanders linen, best 
Coxe, A Vieiv of the United States of America, 122. 
The customs records of St. Martins examined by the present writer show that 
many American vessels cleared from that island for the United States with salt. 
Massachusetts Centinel, May 21, 1785 ; August 4, 1787. 
™ Boston Gazette, March 1, 1784 ; May 10, 1784. 
3—34488 
