Correspondence - D.F. Kalkman to F. Konig, 1839

The contents of this collection can be divided into two groups:

Correspondence -- Business/ Personal

Business records and related materials

The business correspondence is largely from firms within and outside of the United States which dealt with Konig during the active years of his business. Correspondents here include: David Arts (Hagerstown, Maryland), W.P. Baum (Pittsburgh), James [UNK] (Washington, D.C.), A.F. Dellinger (Cinncinati, Ohio), E and S Frey (Baltimore), D.F. Kalkman (Bremen, Germany), Marshes and Shepard (Sheffield, England), James Mellor (Wheeling, West Virginia), J.W. Seidel (Fuerth, Germany), and Wolff and Hoppe (St. Louis, Missouri).

The nature of this correspondence is mainly for the purchase of goods which Konig offered for sale. A sample of these goods would be as follows: ivory combs, violins and violin accessories, harmonicas, tableware and cutlery, children's toys and numerous other articles which were referred to as fancy goods. With the exception of Marshes and Shepard, D.F. Kalkman and Sons, and J.W. Seidel the firms listed above were all buyers of Konig's goods. The three firms mentioned directly above were ones from which Konig purchased his materials. A more detailed explanation of the firms and the bulk dates for their correspondence will be found in the Series Description.

The second section of the correspondence is made up of a small amount of personal letters from members of the merchant's family. Individuals writing to Konig were: Frederick Benhring (nephew -- Maple Grove, Virginia, fl. 1821-1840), Sophia Kearney

(Konig's sister -- New York, c. 1839), Brantz Mayer (brother-in-law, Baltimore, fl. 1839, 1844), Charles F. Mayer (Nephew, Baltimore, fl. 1839-53). (The above dates are for years of correspondence only.) Added personal correspondence is found in Container 1 of MS. 522. In this container the incoming letters to Charles F. Mayer are found. Mayer's only correspondence is from his cousin and future wife Susan Keim of Reading, Pennsylvania. The letters of Susan Keim are of a highly personal nature. The nature of the other family correspondence is of a monetary nature (i.e. Konig's relatives falling upon hard times). Further studies of family correspondents [UNK] located in the Series Description.

The second group of the collection is the business records of the firm. The contents here are mainly domestic and foreign invoices, shipping, bonds, receipts, and other related materials. The purpose behind these financial documents is to establish a [UNK] record of Konig's profits and losses from 1790 to 1853. These records play an important part towards a better understanding of the manner in which a small business operated during this time and serve as a good indicator for the economic fluctuations of the period.

Using the correspondence and the business records as a whole enables an individual to obtain a full picture of the inner and outer workings of the business community and foreign trade in the United States during the late eighteenth and early middle nineteenth centuries. This is the main scope behind the Konig Papers spanning nearly seventy years and covering a business from beginning to end. The Konig Collection is one of the most complete records on the subject of a small business during this time-period.