From Thomas Jefferson to John Woodhouse, 5 May 1805
To John Woodhouse
Washington May 5. 1805.
Sir
Being informed by mr Cathcart1 that you are settled at Marsalla for the purpose of carrying on a trade in the wines of that place which so much resemble those of Madeira, I take the liberty of asking you to send me a pipe of the first quality. be so good as to address it to the Collector of the customs of any port of the United states to which the vessel on which it is shipped may happen to be bound, who will pay charges & forward it to me. by an arrangement with mr Smith the Secretary of the Navy mr Dyson our navy agent at Syracuse will on reciept of the inclosed letter pay you the amount of your bill.2 Accept my salutations & respects
Th: Jefferson
PoC (DLC); at foot of text: “Mr. John Woodhouse merchant at Marsalla”; endorsed by TJ; enclosed in TJ to David Gelston, 5 May. PoC of Dupl (same); at head of text: “Duplicate. the first having gone by the John Adams”; with postscript: “P.S. it is very much the practice to brandy wines for the American market. this is by no means my taste, & I would not have a drop of brandy put into the wine unless experience has proved it will not keep without it”; endorsed by TJ with notation “Duplicte. by Huntress.” PoC of Tripl (same); with variation (see note 2 below); with postscript: “June 28. 1805. Original by the John Adams. Duplicate by the Huntress, which being intercepted by one of the belligerent privateers, this Triplicate is forwarded”; endorsed by TJ with notation “Triplicate of June 28. 05.” PoC of Quad (MoSHi: Jefferson Papers); with variation (see note 2 below); with same postscript as Tripl and additional postscript: “May 4. 1806. Hearing nothing in consequence of the preceding, I send this 4.plicate by the frigate Chesapeak which carries home the Tunisian Ambassador. I am the more anxious for an answer because if the wine answers expectation, I should become an annual correspondent. observing that you are in relations with Genl. Ebenezer Stevens of N. York, it would be as agreeable to me, if more so to you to pay to him your draught on me at 30. days sight. but this entirely at your option”; endorsed by TJ as a letter of 5 May 1806 and so recorded in SJL.
John Woodhouse (d. 1826) of Liverpool first traveled to Sicily in 1770 with the intent of exporting Italian soda ash to England. He changed his objective after noting that one of the regional wines resembled Madeira, an increasingly expensive but popular import to the British Isles. Woodhouse began exporting the wine in significant quantities from Marsala to England by 1773. To ensure it could resist the effects of the voyage, he fortified each pipe with 10 gallons of spirit. The resulting “Marsala” wine proved to be highly successful. In 1800, Woodhouse earned a contract with the British government to supply his wine to the Mediterranean fleet, which spread its reputation. The business thrived and Woodhouse quickly amassed a fortune (William Stigand, Report on the Wine Produce of Sicily [London, 1889], 10, 20-1; Leo A. Loubère, The Red and the White [Albany, 1978], 71-2).
1. Preceding three words omitted in Dupl, Tripl, and Quad.
2. Here in Tripl and in Quad, TJ added: “it is much the practice to brandy wine for the American market. this is by no means my taste, & I would not have a drop of brandy put into that sent to me.”