The tobacco dispute of 1816 — Antwerp vs. Frankfurt

An unrecorded legal publication revealing early 19th-century transnational trade tensions.

In the late summer of 1816, an ambitious shipment of 50 barrels of Virginia tobacco left Antwerp, bound for Frankfurt. The merchants behind it — I.B. van Damme & Sons — entrusted their German counterparts, Neufville Mertens & Comp., to sell the tobacco on their behalf.

What followed was not smooth business, but a bitter legal feud. The Frankfurt firm sold the tobacco far below the agreed price, sparking years of litigation between the Belgian exporters and their German agents. This rare publication meticulously documents the dispute, offering a fascinating glimpse into early 19th-century international commerce, contract law, and merchant ethics.

The publication is printed by E. Scherer of Frankfurt, a little-known printer whose works seldom survive. This makes it an exceptional addition for collectors of legal history, economic history, or the tobacco trade.