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The Daniel Pratt New Orleans Connection
Photos by Tom C. Lenard Auburn University Media Production Group Daniel Pratt, the founder of the Daniel Pratt Gin Company, by 1860 had placed more than fifteen thousand gin stands in the hands of cotton planters and made thousands of gin parts to service his own and other gins. So large a production required an Intricate system for sale and distribution. Some orders were mailed direct from the planter to the factory and filled without the aid of a middle man. But as was natural, factors who sold the planters cotton and filled orders for his purchases became leading agents in the sale of Pratt’s gins. In the late fifties the following commission houses were authorized agents for the sale of Pratt’s gins: S. Mims and Company, Montgomery, Alabama; Campbell and Company, Mobile, Alabama; Hale, Murdock, and Company, Columbus, Mississippi; Fleming and Baldwin, Natchez, Mississippi; E. M. Apperson, Memphis, Tennessee; Mather, Hughes, and Saunders, Galveston, Texas. There were special orders from other factorage houses. However, as early as 1846, Pratt decided to become his own commission merchant at the largest center of gin sales, New Orleans, Louisiana. He purchased property in New Orleans and erected at 15 St. Charles St. a large three story brick building for storage and sale of his gins, gin parts, and various other products of his manufacture. He brought H. Kendall Carter, whom he had known in Macon, Georgia, and who also invested in the firm, to New Orleans as a partner. The firm operated under the name of H. Kendall Carter and Company, cotton factors and general commission merchants, from .1846 to 1858. In 1858 the firm became Daniel Pratt and Company when Pratt bought the Interest of H. Kendall Carter, and became sole owner. By entering the commission merchant business at this large center of trade, Pratt eliminated the middle man’s profits on many of the products of his industry. However, Pratt found it impossible to handle the sale and distribution of his gins soley through commission houses. In 1860 he had fourteen full-time agents in the Mississippi River Valley cotton area alone, each with a certain part of the area assigned to him. These agents were paid either on a salary or commission basis, or a combination of the two, and were both salesmen and mechanics. They Installed and serviced Pratt gins and contacted prospective buyers. Pratt advertised his gins in leading southern newspapers and periodicals, and especially in the Agricultural press. The building Mr. Pratt had built is located at 125 St. Charles Avenue (15 St. Charles St. early street address). The building since 1899 has been known as Kolb's restaurant, until recently a New Orleans tradition. The three story building has been home to Daniel Pratt’s art studio playing host to many famous artist of the 1850’s. George Cooke a famous Maryland artist managed the studio on the top floor. Later the Building was home to the Louisiana Jockey Club and in 1981 was declared a National Historic Landmark. The complex pulley and belt-driven fans which graced the Kolb’s grill room was first admired by thousands of visitors to the 1884 Cotton Centennial as the forerunner to modern air conditioning. Special Thanks to Mrs. Pamela Arceneaux of The Historic New Orleans Collection for her expertise in locating this part of our company’s early history. She traced the address by the artist name George Cooke and French street address and changes. We understood that the top floor still has picture hanging rails. This building is still standing but in need of repair. 05/05/20008 |
