Letter from Sydney Octavius Chase to Chase & Company Members (April 8, 1925)
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Sydney Octavius Chase to Chase & Company Members (April 8, 1925)
Alternative Title
Chase Correspondence (April 8, 1925)
Subject
Chase, Sydney Octavius, 1860-1941
Citrus fruit industry--Florida
Chase and Company (Sanford, Fla.)
Florida Citrus Exchange
Citrus--Florida
Description
An original letter of correspondence written by Sydney Octavius Chase to employees at Chase & Company in Orlando. The letter identifies that Chase & Company played an active role in recruiting dissatisfied members from the Florida Citrus Exchange in order to build and extend their own business throughout the state. One marketing strategy Chase & Company implemented included comparing sales numbers between the Exchange and its own production numbers. Members within the company solicited and circulated the information to growers in nearby districts. With an increased membership in the company, Chase hoped that including more growers would help balance out the less productive crops in the previous growing season. The letter also shares some of the doubts and distrust Chase & Company felt toward the Exchange, a state organization comprised of a large number of Florida citrus growers. While members who trusted the Exchange praised the organization as a united group of growers that promoted better distribution and marketing of their citrus products, growers such as Chase & Company were hesitant to hand over all of their power to a larger organization with poor marketing strategies.
Chase & Company was established in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company was known mainly for its agricultural interests and maintained a series of citrus groves throughout Central Florida. The company was based out of Sanford and became one of the city's largest employers into the early twentieth century.
Chase & Company was established in 1884. The company sold insurance and later invested in storage facilities and fertilizer sales. Chase & Company was known mainly for its agricultural interests and maintained a series of citrus groves throughout Central Florida. The company was based out of Sanford and became one of the city's largest employers into the early twentieth century.
Creator
Chase, Sydney Octavius
Source
Original letter from Sydney Octavius Chase to Chase & Company Members, April 8, 1925: Chase Collection (MS 14), box 7, folder 14.10A, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Date Created
1925-04-08
Is Format Of
Digital reproduction of original letter from Sydney Octavius Chase to Chase & Company Members, April 8, 1925.
Is Part Of
Chase Collection (MS 14), box 7, folder 14.10A, Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Florida Citrus Exchange Collection , Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.
Is Referenced By
Folder referenced in Chase Collection finding guide, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.
Requires
Format
application/pdf
Extent
242 KB
Medium
2 page typewritten letter
Language
eng
Type
Text
Coverage
Orlando, Florida
Spatial Coverage
28.538084, -81.378593
Temporal Coverage
1925-04-08/1925-04-08
Accrual Method
Donation
Mediator
History Teacher
Economics Teacher
Geography Teacher
Provenance
Entire Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase and the children of Randall Chase.
Rights Holder
The displayed collection item is housed at Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.
Contributing Project
Special and Area Studies Collections, University of Florida
Digital Collections (UFDC), University of Florida
Curator
Marra, Katherine
Digital Collection
Source Repository
University of Florida, Special and Area Studies Collections
External Reference
"The History of Seald-Sweet." Seald Sweet International. http://www.sealdsweet.com/welcome/our-history.php.
Warner, S.C. "Development of Marketing Citrus Fruits in Florida." Florida State Horticultural Society vol. 36 (1923): 198-200.
"Mayo Dade Offers Helpful Aid on Fruit Picking." Florida Clearing House News, August 25, 1930.
Hopkins, James T. Fifty Years of Citrus, the Florida Citrus Exchange: 1909-1959. Gainesville, Florida: University of Florida Press: 1960.
"Sydney Chase Sr. (1860-1941)." Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Copyright 2012. http://floridacitrushalloffame.com/index.php/inductees/inductee-name/?ref_cID=89&bID=0&dd_asId=600.
Document Item Type Metadata
Original Format
2 page typewritten letter
Collection
Citation
Chase, Sydney Octavius, “Letter from Sydney Octavius Chase to Chase & Company Members (April 8, 1925),” RICHES, accessed October 10, 2024, https://richesmi.cah.ucf.edu/omeka/items/show/773.