New York
Having made his fortune in China working with Russell & Co, the largest US opium smuggling enterprise into China at the time of the Opium Wars, and shortly after the launch of his business, Low returned to New York. There, he set up his New York headquarters on Fletcher Street, in a building shared with his father’s business. In 1849-1850, Low erected the A. A. Low building at 167–171 John Street, now part of the historic South Street Seaport historic area. The firm was situated at its Burling Slip building from 1850 to after the turn of the century.
Low launched his own fleet of clippers, among which were the Houqua, the first streamlined ship, named after his Chinese business partner who had died in 1843, and the Samuel Russell, named after the founder of the mercantile company in which Low had worked as a clerk. Two other of Low’s clippers, the Contest and the Jacob Bell, were subsequently destroyed by Confederate privateers during the Civil War.
Low was known for his business astuteness and shrewdness. He is said to have instructed his captains in China to wait and let competitors purchase the first tea pickings, and to purchase the following tea pickings at a lower price. Because of the speed of his clippers, he still managed to reach New York before his competitors.
Read more about this topic: Abiel Abbot Low
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