David Dunlop

Scope and content:

The Dunlop family of Petersburg, Virginia, engaged in the manufacture and export of tobacco for more than a century, their interests dating back at least to 1820 when James Dunlop built a large factory. His brothers Robert and David also were involved in manufacturing, and the business of David Dunlop and his descendants is the one represented here by an important, although incomplete, set of records. The proprietorship of the firm varied over the years and is not always clearly defined in the existing records. The Letter Book, 1842-1846, indicates that David Dunlop was operating under his own name. He was also a partner with his brother in the firm of John A. Dunlop & Co. of Louisville, Kentucky, with whom he corresponded. A brother was in the Petersburg Company of Dunlop & Tennant (letter of July 24, 1844). The letters indicate considerable business with Great Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

After the Civil War the succeeding David Dunlop (ca. 1841-1902) was associated with David B. Tennant in the firm of D. B. Tennant & Co. that operated until the latter's death in 1885 , at which time he was reputed to be Petersburg's wealthiest citizen. David Dunlop continued the business under his own name and was at the time of his death one of the largest exporters of manufactured tobacco in the U. S. His products were principally plug and twist, according to Connorton's Tobacco Brand Directory of the United States in 1887 and 1899. His son David Dunlop sold the business to British-American in 1903 when it was registered in New Jersey as David Dunlop (Incorporated). He was president of the new firm and both he and R. L. Dunlop were directors. The corporation continued into the 1920s and possibly later. Information about the company can be found in: David Dunlop's obituary in Tobacco, 33, No. 26 (Oct. 31, 1902), p. 2; Joseph Clarke Robert, The Tobacco Kingdom (Durham, N. C., 1938), pp. 186-187 (which also includes an illustration of an advertising poster); and in the Report of the Commissioner of Corporations on the Tobacco Industry (Washington, 1909). The first entry in D. B. Tennant & Co.'s Journal, 1867-1880 , and those of Jan. 1, 1886 and Jan. 2, 1889, in the Journal, 1880-1890, as well as other entries, document Dunlop's association with Mr. Tennant.

The Tobacco Collection includes one or more examples of Dunlop's advertisements.

The records of David Dunlop extend for almost ninety years, and, although incomplete, they constitute the most substantial group within the collection - and the only one that dates well back into the nineteenth century. A ledger and journal of 1847-1856 and a letter book of 1842-1846 (including an invoice book, 1842-1847) are important volumes from the antebellum period. The letter book records the difficulties of businessmen during the war scare over the Oregon Question in 1845-1846 and Dunlop's reaction to that issue and to President Polk. This volume is also valuable for comment about crop conditions, marketing, etc. After the war D. B. Tennant & Co. is represented notably by its journals of 1867-1890, bills of exchange of 1870-1887, and payroll records of 1878-1879 and 1883-1886. The accounts for David Dunlop during 1885-1903 are the best preserved set. The important ledgers and journals are complete for this period, and the payroll books are almost complete. There are also broken runs of invoice and shipping books, bills of exchange, and others. The strength of the records for the two decades after 1903 is in the elaborate cost, production, and sales records in the cost sheets, details of cost, and general statements. The Leaf Department also has ledgers, journals, and books for statements, insurance, and warehouse storage.

The volume of General Statements, 1904-1905 , includes an inventory of Dunlop for Dec. 31, 1904 . This inventory is published in Nannie M. Tilley, The Bright-Tobacco Industry, 1860-1929, (Chapel Hill, 1948), pp. 690-696.

A folder of miscellaneous papers, 1902-1922 , includes a few accounts from Dunlop. The folder is filed in the first box of the collection.

Contents

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