Arranged by topic, as follows: business papers for the offices in New Orleans and New York; papers dealing with business partners, organized geographically by foreign country; a section on steamships arranged alphabetically by name of ship; and minutes of internal divisions.

The collection consists of 17 boxes and 44 volumes. It is 30 linear feet.

Date Acquired: 00/00/1981. More info below under Accruals.

Subjects: Fruit trade -- Latin America -- History., Fruit trade -- Louisiana -- New Orleans., Latin America -- Commerce -- North America -- History., Louisiana -- History -- 20th century., New Orleans (La.) -- Commerce., Standard Fruit & Steamship Co., Steamboat lines -- History -- 20th century., Steamboats -- History -- 20th century.

Forms of Material: Annual reports., Certificates of incorporation., Clippings (information artifacts), Contracts., Correspondence., Financial records., Minute books., Minutes., Reports., Tax records.

Languages: English, Spanish;Castilian

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection is composed of the business records of Standard Fruit & Steamship Co. and related bodies, including the files of Salvador D'Antoni as well as administrative records throughout the corporate evolution of the company. Items include business papers, blueprints, newspapers, correspondence, minute books, articles of agreement, financial papers, minutes, contracts, telegrams, reports, clippings, and pamphlets.

Biographical Note

The history of the Standard Fruit and Steamship Company traces the success of two Italian immigrant families in building a small fruit stand into a large trading conglomerate, chiefly the efforts of the four Vaccaro Brothers and Salvador D'Antoni in developing a fruit-export business from Honduras. This New Orleans-based firm united with Fruit and Steamship Company, Bragman's Bluff Lumber Company, Standard Navigation Company, Bluefields Lumber Company, Eastern Seaboard Corporation, and Southern Banana Corporation. The company owned plantations, railroads and lumber camps in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Islands, as well as a fleet of steamships. The family businesses continued to extend and combine until 1926 when the company was reorganized with a group of bankers into the Standard Fruit & Steamship Corporation. In earlier and later years it was also known as the Standard Fruit & Steamship Company.

Subject/Index Terms

Fruit trade -- Latin America -- History.
Fruit trade -- Louisiana -- New Orleans.
Latin America -- Commerce -- North America -- History.
Louisiana -- History -- 20th century.
New Orleans (La.) -- Commerce.
Standard Fruit & Steamship Co.
Steamboat lines -- History -- 20th century.
Steamboats -- History -- 20th century.

Administrative Information

Repository: Louisiana Research Collection

Accruals: Additional records donated in 1984 by Thomas L. Karnes.

Alternate Extent Statement: 30 linear feet

Access Restrictions: Collection is open to the public. No known restrictions.

Use Restrictions: Physical rights are retained by the Louisiana Research Collection. Copyright is retained in accordance with U.S. copyright laws.

Acquisition Source: Standard Fruit & Steamship Company.

Acquisition Method: Gift.

Preferred Citation: Standard Fruit & Steamship Company records, Manuscripts Collection 653, Louisiana Research Collection, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118

Processing Information: Collection processed in 1986 by Sue McGrady Woodward.

Finding Aid Revision History: Finding aid information entered in Archon by LAC Group in 2011. Revised by LAC Group 4/21/11.

Other Note: OCLC Number: 298132161

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1: History and business papers, undated, 1901-1928],
[Box 2: Business papers, 1929-1938],
[Box 3: Business papers, 1939-1945 August],
[Box 4: Business papers and Cuba, 1945 September-1957, 1906-1927],
[Box 5: Cuba and Haiti, 1928-1947, 1939-1945],
[Box 6: Haiti, 1946-1948 August],
[Box 7: Honduras, 1906-1932],
[Box 8: Honduras and Jamaica, 1933-1963, 1925-1947],
[Box 9: Mexico, 1910-1947],
[Box 10: Nicaragua, 1923-1931],
[Box 11: Nicaragua and Panama, 1932-1947, 1920-1928 August],
[Box 12: Panama and steamships: Amapala to Kosmos],
[Box 13: Steamships: Louis Geraci to Worden],
[Box 14: Steamships Yoro-Yuma, other blueprints, Castle and Cook, United Fruit Company, Newspapers and printed material],
[Box 15: Haiti diplomatic correspondence],
[Box 16: Vaccaro minute books, 1918-1920, 1927-1935],
[Box 17: Serials],
[Volume 1: Abbott Motors, Incorporated, minute book, 1923-1927],
[Volume 2: Alonzo Church and Company, Incorporated, 1928-1931],
[Volume 3: American Fruit and Steamship Corporation, minute book number 4, 1929-1932],
[Volume 4: American Fruit and Steamship Corporation, minute book 5, 1933],
[Volume 5: Banana Distributing Company and Gulf Banana Dispatch Company, 1926-1930],
[Volume 6: Bluefields Lumber Company minute book, 1921-1922],
[Volume 7: Bluefields Lumber Company minute book, 1921-1927],
[Volume 8: Bragman's Bluff Lumber Company, Incorporated, minute book, 1921-1926],
[Volume 9: Bragman's Bluff Lumber Company, Incorporated, board of directors minutes, 1926-1934],
[Volume 10: Bragman's Bluff Lumber Company, Incorporated, corporate records, 1935-1942],
[Volume 11: Bragman's Bluff Lumber Company, Incorporated, minute book, 1935],
[Volume 12: Ceiba Steamship Company, corporate records, 1915-1921],
[Volume 13: Cerveceria Hondurena, Sociedad Anónima, a history, 1916-1966],
[Volume 14: S. DiGiorgio and Company, Incorporated, 1918-1922],
[Volume 15: Eastern Seaboard Corporation, number 1, 1930],
[Volume 16: Eastern Seaboard Corporation, finance committee, 1930-1933],
[Volume 17: Eastern Seaboard Corporation, collateral trust indenture, 1930],
[Volume 18: Gravier Realty Company minute book, 1912-1923],
[Volume 19: The Grunewald Hotel minute book, 1917-1923],
[Volume 20: Mexican-American Fruit and Steamship Corporation, executive committee minutes, 1924-1926],
[Volume 21: Mexican-American Fruit and Steamship Corporation, executive committee minutes, 1925-1928],
[Volume 22: Mexican-American Fruit and Steamship Corporation, board of directors and stockholders minutes, 1923-1924],
[Volume 23: Mexican-American Fruit and Steamship Corporation, board of directors and stockholders minutes, book 2, 1924-1926],
[Volume 24: Mexican-American Fruit and Steamship Corporation, board of directors and stockholders minutes, book 3, 1927-1930],
[Volume 25: New Orleans Independent Laundries, Incorporated, board of directors minutes, 1929-1940],
[Volume 26: Seaboard Steamship Corporation, board of directors minutes, 1933-1941],
[Volume 27: Southern Banana Corporation, number 1, 1923-1925],
[Volume 28: Southern Banana Corporation, number 2-A, 1926-1927],
[Volume 29: Southern Banana Corporation, number 3, 1927-1934],
[Volume 30: Southern Banana Corporation, number 4, 1935-1941],
[Volume 31: Southern Steamship and Banana Company, 1910-1924],
[Volume 32: Southern Steamship and Banana Company, 1926-1938],
[Volume 39: Standard Fruit and Steamship Company Banana Handling Committee, 1953-1955],
[Volume 40: Standard Fruit and Steamship of Mexico, board of directors and stockholders minutes, 1932-1941],
[Volume 41: Standard Navigation Corporation, 1936-1949],
[Volume 42: United States Development Company, minutes of directors and stockholders, number 2, 1923-1931],
[Volume 43: Wawa Boom, Incorporated, 1927-1932],
[Volume 44: Winship Fuel Oil Service, Incorporated, 1922-1932],
[Volume 45: Yoro Steamship Company, 1915-1921],
[Volume 46: Zito Trading Company, Incorporated, 1917-1925],
[Volume 47: Castle and Cook, Incorporated, annual report, 1969-1977],
[Volume 48: Castle and Cook, Incorporated, report, 1970s],
[All]

Box 3: Business papers, 1939-1945 August

Folder 1: Business papers, 1939 January

Correspondence concerning notes of Standard Fruit held by five major banks.

Folder 2: Business papers, 1939 February

Newspaper clipping about the sale of three banana ships: Whipple, Wordon, and Sama.

February 4. W.B. Allen, Vice-President, Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, to Salvador D'Antoni, President, Standard Fruit and Steamship Company, New Orleans: concerns note, now due, and satisfactory collateral.

February 16. Memorandum outlining Standard's debt and conference of bankers.

Folder 3: Business papers, 1939 April-June

Resolution of Standard Fruit concerning debt.

Folder 4: Business papers, 1939 July

July 10. D.B. Williams memorandum to Charles Leftwich: clarification of statements by Lemann, legal advisor, concerning crude oil contracts. Carbon copy.

July 20. D.B. Williams memorandum to B.C. McClellan: about C.G. Robinson and Company and oil contracts. Also past experience with the firms: Superior Oil and East Texas Crude. Carbon copy.

Folder 5: Business papers, 1939 August

Correspondence concerning letter of credit for Panama and Ginocchio, Costa and Company property.

Folder 6: Business papers, 1939 September

Letters of resignation of Directors of Standard Fruit.

Folder 7: Business papers, 1939 October

October 18. D.B. Williams to B.C. McClellan, President, Chalmette Petroleum Corporation: concern over tampered records.

Folder 8: Business papers, 1939 November

Correspondence concerning Ginocchio, Costa property and oil leases.

Folder 9: Business papers, 1939 November

December 1. M.A. Kerwin, London, to Salvador D'Antoni: concerning new contract to sell Jamaican bananas.

Correspondence concerning labor suit, banana production, and oil supply in Mexico.

Folder 10: Business papers, 1940 January-April

Correspondence concerning possible loan, Jamaican banana contracts, and Ginocchio, Costa property.

April 2. H.V. Rolston to Salvador D'Antoni: reply to proposition of employment.

Folder 11: Business papers, 1940 May-June

May 9. H.V. Rolston memorandum to Salvador D'Antoni: possibility of a loan and the present conditions of the corporation.

June 11. H.V. Rolston memorandum to Salvador D'Antoni: cultivation in Honduras and the possibility of an armament program.

Correspondence concerning Ginocchio, Costa (Bunker Hill) property.

Folder 12: Business papers, 1940 July

July 3. PHS to Seymour Weiss, President, The Roosevelt, concerning financial state of the hotel. Correspondence concerning Bunker Hill property and stock investments.

July 31. Balance sheet of inter-company accounts.

Folder 13: Business papers, 1940 August

Correspondence concerning Bunker Hill property and poor quality of Chiapas fruit.

Folder 14: Business papers, 1940 September

September 14. M.L. Freeman, Charles Clark and Company, New York, to Salvador D'Antoni: refinancing with Bank of Manhattan Company.

September 25. Max N. Kohler, Kohler's Snowite Laundry, New Orleans, to Salvador D'Antoni: complaint of mismanagement of Crescent City Laundries and lack of cooperation with Leftwich and Lally.

Correspondence concerning Bunker Hill property.

Folder 15: Business papers, 1940 October 1-9

Correspondence concerning Bunker Hill property, company loan and purchase of debentures.

Folder 16: Business papers, 1940 October 10-19

Draft of financial situation and intent to refinance. Correspondence concerning laundry bonds.

Folder 17: Business papers, 1940 October 21-22

October 21. Justin V. Wolff memorandum to W.A. Blackman: review and comments of loan agreement.

Folder 18: Business papers, 1940 October 23

Correspondence concerning reorganization loan.

Folder 19: Business papers, 1940 October 24-31

Correspondence concerning reorganization loan.

Folder 20: Business papers, 1940 November-December

November 9. W.A. Blackman memorandum to Salvador D'Antoni: disbursement of loan monies.

Correspondence concerning loan and Bunker Hill property.

Folder 21: Business papers, 1941 January-April

Correspondence concerning Bunker Hill property.

Folder 22: Business papers, 1941 May-June

Correspondence concerning Bunker Hill property and cash statement.

Folder 23: Business papers, 1941 July

Spreadsheet showing proposed debentures to replace stock.

Folder 24: Business papers, 1941 August

Correspondence concerning decrease in fruit production in Haiti and request for detailed expense accounts.

Folder 25: Business papers, 1941 September-December

Correspondence concerning Bunker Hill property, request for Pemberton to visit Haiti, banana production in Panama, and report on ship repairs in Belfast.

Folder 26: Business papers, 1942 January-February

Correspondence concerning manner of recording materials and supplies.

Folder 27: Business papers, 1942 March-April

Correspondence concerning Bunker Hill property and bookkeeping methods.

Folder 28: Business papers, 1942 May

Map of Bunker Hill property.

List of ships offered for sale.

Folder 29: Business papers, 1942 June 1-9

Correspondence concerning Almacenes investments, change in rate for discharging bananas in New Orleans, list of vessels insured, desire to carry on business in the face of war, and cost of doing business in Honduras.

Folder 30: Business papers, 1942 June 10-19

Correspondence concerning Haiti concession and discussions with Dartigue.

Folder 31: Business papers, 1942 June 20-30

Correspondence concerning case of Chalmette Petroleum Corporation v. C.W. Edwards and problems of transportation of products from Haiti.

Folder 32: Business papers, 1942 July 1-9

Correspondence with the War Production Board over a change in tonnage and possible use of fishing boats for shipping sisal.

Folder 33: Business papers, 1942 July 10-19

Correspondence concerning the cost of a Haiti-Florida service, sale of stock held in the New Olreans Laundries, Incorporated, and War Shipping Authority orders discontinuance of Cristobal service.

Folder 34: Business papers, 1942 July 20-31

July 27. Charles Leftwich memorandum to Salvador D'Antoni: report of two executive committee meetings with reports on the various divisions.

List of ships with cost and charter credits.

Folder 35: Business papers, 1942 August 1-9

August 1. Charles Leftwich to Salvador D'Antoni: cost of fruit production in Honduras for six months.

Correspondence concerning reduction of cost by eliminating some company officers, stop advertising in foreign divisions, and raise for ship crews.

Folder 36: Business papers, 1942 August 10-19

Correspondence concerning ship charters.

Folder 37: Business papers, 1942 August 20-31

Correspondence concerning banana sales in Haiti and transportation delays.

Folder 38: Business papers, 1942 September 1-19

September 4. William Leftwich to A.J. Chute, President, Aguan Valley Company, Ceiba, Honduras: discussion with John Miceli on Honduran problems concerning native employment and lease of equipment.

September 16. H.V. Ralston to C. D'Antoni: position of ships, their cargo, and destinations.

Correspondence concerning possible production of important fiber materials.

Folder 39: Business papers, 1942 September 20-24

Correspondence concerning ship charters.

Folder 40: Business papers, 1942 September 25-30

September 25. List of supervisory personnel in New Orleans and New York.

Folder 41: Business papers, 1942 October 1-9

Correspondence concerning permission for Standard to use a private code and production of the rubber weed, cryptostegia.

Total loss of Merchant Vessel Matagalpa which was destroyed by fire in Australia.

Folder 42: Business papers, 1942 October 10-19

Correspondence concerning sale of tugs, barges and river equipment from Nicaragua for use in the Amazon.

Tonnage allotment by the War Shipping Authority and fiber production.

Folder 43: Business papers, 1942 October 20-29

Correspondence concerning bare boat charters of several ships.

Folder 44: Business papers, 1942 October 30-31

Correspondence concerning ships, fuel oil, sale of floating equipment and merger of Standard Company and Standard Corporation.

Folder 45: Business papers, 1942 November 1-5

Correspondence on the sale of bananas from Haiti.

November 5. M.A. Kerwin memorandum for Salvador D'Antoni: concerning Emergency Crops for the Board of Economic Warfare such as hemp, rubber and jute.

Folder 46: Business papers, 1942 November 6-9

Correspondence concerning fuel supply for Haiti.

Folder 47: Business papers, 1942 November 10-19

Correspondence concerning ship charters.

Folder 48: Business papers, 1942 November 20-30

November 20. W.E. Turnbull, Tegucigalpa, to Joe Montgomery, United Fruit, New Orleans: letter asking that Standard be notified of new Honduran Navigation Law and they cooperate.

Correspondence concerning loan made by Banco Atlantida to Cerveceria Hondurena and secured by Compania Industrial Ceibena and Compania Embotelladora Hondurena.

Folder 49: Business papers, 1942 December 1-9

Correspondence concerning bare boat charters, fuel oil and plant production.

Folder 50: Business papers, 1942 December 10-31

Correspondence concerning boat charters.

Folder 51: Business papers, 1943 January-February

List of tonnage quotas for American Steamship companies and appointment of personnel for ships.

Folder 52: Business papers, 1943 March

Correspondence concerning charter of boats to Britain, planting in Honduras, and salary increases for the Marine Department.

March 16. H.V. Rolston memorandum to Salvador D'Antoni: concerning the world consumption of bananas and conditions in Haiti and Honduras.

Folder 53: Business papers, 1943 April

Correspondence concerning banana production and allotment of copper sulfate for Honduras.

Folder 54: Business papers, 1943 May

Correspondence concerning the operation of an alcohol distillery at Ceiba.

Folder 55: Business papers, 1943 June

Correspondence concerning Ginocchio, Costa-Bunker Hill property, possible retirement of preferred stock, and banana production in Honduras.

Folder 56: Business papers, 1943 July-August

Correspondence concerning foreign flagships and banana production.

Folder 57: Business papers, 1943 September

Correspondence concerning wage adjustments on Honduran flagships.

September 28. Ernest E.B. Drake, Port Captain, New Orleans, to H.V. Rolston, Standard Fruit: concerns problems of night relief and possibility of a strike.

Folder 58: Business papers, 1943 October

List of stocks in the succession of Felix P. Vaccaro.

October 14. H.V. Rolston memorandum to M.A. Kerwin: concerns wage adjustments for Honduran flag vessels.

Folder 59: Business papers, 1943 November-December

Correspondence concerning succession of Felix Vaccaro, insurance on requisitioned vessels, and sterling accounts on chartered ships.

Folder 60: Business papers, 1944 January

List of steamers sold by Standard Fruit since 1939.

Correspondence concerning estate of Chief Engineer J.G. Nicholson and change in charters of some steamships.

Folder 61: Business papers, 1944 February

Correspondence concerning lack of pipes and fittings for spraying the bananas in Haiti, and contract between Tropical Ice Company and the United States Navy.

Folder 62: Business papers, 1944 March

Correspondence concerning request for more tonnage for the Haiti service, memorandum on Captain MacLean's disgust with Standard Fruit (late Master of the Steamship Gatun), and use of the Steamship Wanks to transport bananas from Haiti.

Folder 63: Business papers, 1944 April

Correspondence concerning transferring of staff to the Marine Department.

Folder 64: Business papers, 1944 May

Correspondence concerning wages on Honduran flag ships and repair of ships.

Folder 65: Business papers, 1944 June

Request for donations to the St. Mary's Recreational Fund.

Correspondence concerning restoration of some areas of the Steamship Atlantida, and copper sulfate for Haiti and Honduras.

Folder 66: Business papers, 1944 July 1-19

Correspondence concerning inability to acquire information within the Standard to facilitate a wage increase, charter-hire of Steamship Wanks and its history with cost figures for voyage to Haiti, and rental of office space in Cristobal, Panama.

Folder 67: Business papers, 1944 July 20-31

July 21. Gilbert Pemberton, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to Salvador D'Antoni, President, Standard Fruit: report of meeting with President Lescot over new contract.

List of points to consider as basis of discussion for a new contract with Haiti.

Correspondence concerning legal council for admirality cases and foreign offices.

Folder 68: Business papers, 1944 August

Correspondence concerning repairs to the Steamship Atlantida, copper sulfate supplies, and recent hurricane destroyed banana crop in Jamaica.

Folder 69: Business papers, 1944 September 1-9

Analysis of contract with Haiti and ship sailing schedule.

Folder 70: Business papers, 1944 September 10-19

Correspondence concerning the importation of Haitian rum for friends in Washington.

Folder 71: Business papers, 1944 September 20-30

Correspondence concerning survey of ship being returned by War Shipping Authority and power of attorney for staff to sign contract with Haiti.

Folder 72: Business papers, 1944 October 1-19

Review of stock transactions when D'Antoni purchased Standard Fruit common stock from Vaccaro Brothers.

Folder 73: Business papers, 1944 October 20-31

Correspondence concerning condition of the Steamship Atlantida.

Folder 74: Business papers, 1944 November

Correspondence concerning bare boat charter and data concerning dispute between Standard Fruit and National Maritime Union.

Folder 75: Business papers, 1944 December 1-13

Correspondence concerning dispute between Standard Fruit and the National Maritime Union; bare boat charter hire of several of Standard Fruit's steamships.

Folder 76: Business papers, 1944 December 14-31

Correspondence concerning National Maritime case and charter of Standard Fruit's ships.

Folder 77: Business papers, 1945 January-February

Report on destructive disease of banana plants. List of vessels allocated to Standard Fruit by War Shipping Authority, including those withdrawn and lost at sea.

Correspondence concerning recapitalization and wages on Honduran flag ships.

Folder 78: Business papers, 1945 March-April

Correspondence concerning refinancing, National Maritime Case, bonuses to be paid officers, purchase of bonds of Cia de Almacenes Atares.

Newspaper clippings describe the passenger service of both United Fruit and Standard Fruit.

Folder 79: Business papers, 1945 May

Correspondence concerning Ginocchio, Costa-Bunker Hill property.

Folder 80: Business papers, 1945 June

Correspondence concerning the Ware Shipping Authority and the return and reconversion of the ships now under charter, the opening of International House in New Orleans, and data on banana importation and sales for 1945.

List of contents of box in the National American Bank with regard to the succession of Joseph Vaccaro and an inventory of property.

Folder 81: Business papers, 1945 July-August

Correspondence concerning Tropical Ice Company and the Bunker Hill property.

Tulane University Special Collections