AGREEING TO COVER A $250 DRAFT FOR L. WM. MENGER, IN AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED BY G.W. EMERSON, EL PASO, TEXAS, JANUARY 10, 1893
Three sheets of letterhead stationery for Emerson & Berrien, Dealers in Household Furnishings, and for the Annual Southwest Silver Convention, El Paso, Texas. Three sheets, 29 x 21 cm., approx. 500 words, in a clear hand. Old fold lines, else very good. Emerson writes to Menger saying he has arranged to protect the $250 draft he has made, but advises Menger to "make more strenuous efforts in collections...." He also suggests that "Mr. Campbell borrow $1000 on one of his life insurance policies from a friend at as low rate as possible. The security in case the worst happened would be good." Item #67357
Edward Berrien and G.W. Emerson opened a furniture store in El Paso in 1881, one of the first of its kind in the city. Presumably the person he addressed the letter to was Louis William Menger (1852-1919) who ran the Menger Hotel in San Antonio with his mother after the death of his father William A. Menger. The family sold the hotel and nearby brewery in 1881. Within a month of this letter there were signs of what would become the Panic of 1893, with widespread business failures, bank closures, and unemployment.
Price: $125.00