Issued at the Port of New York on October 31, 1833, this official import certificate documents the arrival of one barrel of white wine from Gibraltar aboard the American brig Antelope. At the time, customs duties collected at New York represented the single largest source of federal revenue, making routine import paperwork like this a critical component of the nation’s financial machinery.
The certificate bears the signature of Samuel Swartwout, who served as Collector of the Port of New York during the height of the Jacksonian era.Appointed in 1829 by President Andrew Jackson, Swartwout controlled the most powerful revenue office in the United States, overseeing the flow of international commerce through America’s busiest harbor. While this document reflects legitimate trade and proper customs procedure, Swartwout’s tenure would later become infamous. In 1838, he fled to England after it was discovered he had embezzled more than $1.2 million in public funds—then the largest financial scandal in American history.
Documents signed by Swartwout occupy a unique place in early federal history, standing at the intersection of lawful commerce and systemic corruption. This certificate survives as a rare, tangible witness to the everyday operations of a customs system that both fueled American growth and exposed the vulnerabilities of early federal administration.
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