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]

Volume 23: Mexican-American Fruit and Steamship Corporation, board of directors and stockholders minutes, book 2, 1924-1926

Tulane University Special Collections