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JULIUS RAHMSTORF. Letters Received; 1904, 1908, 1914, 1917, 1919. .1 cu. ft.
Julius Rahmstorf was a fur trapper or trader in Rampart, Alaska.
The collection consists of letters received by Julius Rahmstorf of Rampart, Alaska, primarily concerning the sale of furs. The collection contains eight items of correspondence. Three of the items are from Joseph Ullman, a fur dealer in St. Paul Minnesota. The first item, dated March 24, 1904, is a report of fur sales by Joseph Ullman in London, England, giving changes in prices for twenty-three different types of furs in relation to their January 1904 prices. The second item, a letter dated July 16, 1904, acknowledges the reception and payment for furs from Rahmstorf, and comments on their general inferior quality, mentioning marten furs specifically. The third item, a brief letter dated July 6, 1908, concerns Ullman's intention to pay for a telegram sent collect to Rahmstorf from a representative in Juneau. There is a single letter, dated October 6, 1917, from the fur dealer Alfred Fraser of New York, New York. In the letter, Fraser writes that he is unable to sell Rahmstorf's lynx skins at the price desired and that he will hold the furs until prices improve. Fraser also comments on the current strength of the markets for lynx, wolf, marten, mink, muskrat, and beaver skins. There is a single letter, dated January 10, 1919, from H. Haimowicz, Manufacturing Furrier in New York, New York. In the letter, Haimowicz offers that if the recipient will send him an assortment of his raw furs, he will return them if he cannot pay their preferred price. The letter also provides prices paid for twelve types of furs. There is a single telegram, dated September 12, 1919, from Funston Brothers and Company in St. Louis, Missouri, stating that "Your 2 cross fox available $106." Along with these items concerning the fur trade, are two letters from Timothy Pitka. In the first letter, sent from Ray River and dated July 24, 1914, Pitka asks Rahmstorf to send him his wash basin and a bottle of vanilla extract. In the second letter, sent from Ray Hot Springs and dated March 9, 1917, Pitka asks Rahmstorf to send him some unspecified items, offering to pay eight cents a pound for freight charges.
The collection was acquired by the archives in 2005.
HMC-0835
JAS (12/2005)