1844 Northwest Co. Fur Trade Arrowhead Totem

Description

Beautiful 1844 Northwest Fur Company, Trade Arrowhead Totem. Size 3 3/4" x 1 1/4". Obverse: Hand engraved "1844, Bright Sun, Let Us Live In Peace". Reverse: stamped "N.W. 1844" hand engraved Arrow with "North West Company" in engraved cursive. Please see the high definition photographs.
Provenance: Originally from the Somers
Mountain Museum (in Connecticut) circa 1970, then collectors
Emil A. 'Tex' Mulnite of Windsorville, Connecticut, (Deceased) and Chet Mulka
also of Connecticut.
Most likely "1 of a kind" survivor outside of any museum. Free USPS priority shipping, signature required. 2 Week 100% money back guarantee ( minus shipping)
. If you have any shred of doubt about the authenticity, please do not bid!
The
North West Company
was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to circa 1845. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great wealth at stake, tensions between the companies increased to the point where several minor armed skirmishes broke out, and the two companies were forced by the British government to merge.
The
North American fur trade
was an industry and activity related to the acquisition, trade, exchange, and sale of animal furs in North America. Aboriginal peoples in Canada and Native Americans in the United States of various regions traded among themselves in the pre–Columbian Era. Europeans participated in the trade from the time of their arrival in the New World, extending the trade's reach to Europe. The French started trading in the 16th century, the English established trading posts on Hudson Bay in present-day Canada during the 17th century, while the Dutch had trade by the same time in New Netherland. North American fur trade was at its peak of economic importance in the 19th century, and involved the development of elaborate trade networks.
The fur trade became one of the main economic ventures in North America attracting competition among the French, British, Dutch, Spanish, and Russians. Indeed, in the early history of the United States, capitalizing on this trade, and removing the British stranglehold over it, was seen as a major economic objective. Many Native American societies across the continent came to depend on the fur trade as their primary source of income. By the mid-1800s changing fashions in Europe brought about a collapse in fur prices. The American Fur Company and some other companies failed. Many Native communities were plunged into long-term poverty and consequently lost much of the political influence they once had.