A special edition, limited to 120 numbered copies for sale, published as part of “The Douro Series”, by The Port Lover’s Library (Isaac Oelgart).
It is not clear whether or not the author had any link to either the Port shipper or the Edinburgh Wine Merchants of the same name, but he does appear to have been connected to the trade in some way. Although interesting, this is not a work of great quality and the text jumps around from one subject to another with little in the way of logical flow. There also appears to be a fair amount of plagiarism of the work of H. L. Feuerheerd from three years earlier.
One for the collector rather than the enthusiast seeking to learn about Port.
Originally published in 1902, this edition was published in 1996.
Publisher: The Port Lover’s Library
Edition: 1996
My Rating:
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This is an entertaining and informative account of the author’s career in the Port trade in England and Oporto. The booklet puts into context the relationship between Cockburn, Martinez, Harvey’s of Bristol and the conglomerates that came to own those historic companies at a level of detail that I have not seen written elsewhere. There is a certain sadness running through prose of the final pages where the author seems to be lamenting the loss of the family-owned nature of the business. Knowing that Cockburn is now back in safe hands made me smile as I read.
Wyndham Fletcher was Managing Director of Cockburn Smithes & Co. in London until his retirement in 1975. This brief account of his time in the Port trade gives a very interesting description of the workings of the trade and the styles of Port available in the years prior to the change in the law regarding the shipment and bottling of Port outside Portugal. This is a very nice item to own and it contains some very interesting and amusing anecdotes that I have not seen in any other publication.
Part of a set published by the Port Lover’s Library titled “