(1838-42) Token HT-119, N. Orleans Henderson & Gaines LA

Coin Details

Description

This brass token advertises Henderson & Gaines, importers of and dealers in china, glass, and earthenware at 14 Canal Street, New Orleans. The obverse identifies the firm and address, while the reverse details additional inventory: "Japan and Britannia Wares, Plated Castors, and Cordial Stands, Lamps, Looking Glasses & C. & C." The token measures 33mm in diameter. Canal Street was New Orleans' widest and most prominent commercial boulevard, dividing the French Quarter from the American sector of the city. The firm's location at 14 Canal Street placed them at the center of the city's retail commerce, accessible to both the Creole population of the Vieux Carré and the American merchants who dominated the uptown business district. Henderson & Gaines is documented in the Historic New Orleans Collection's exhibition "Goods of Every Description: Shopping in New Orleans, 1825–1925." The firm's extensive inventory—imported china, glassware, earthenware, japanned tinware, Britannia metal tableware, plated castors, cordial stands, lamps, and looking glasses—reveals a high-end household goods establishment serving New Orleans' prosperous planter and merchant classes. These luxury goods would have been imported from England, France, and China through New Orleans' busy international port.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Brass, 33mm. Henderson & Gaines china and glassware importers.

Cross References

Rulau HT-119