Unloading Coffee at One of the Covered Piers of the New York Dock Company
When a coffee ship arrives in New York, not much time is lost in discharging the cargo. As soon as the vessel is securely moored to the pier, and the government's permission to "land and deliver" is secured, the hatches are removed, the coffee is hauled out of the hold by block and tackle and swung off in slings to the pier, where dock laborers carry the bags to their proper places. If each cargo consisted of one consignment to a single importer, and contained only one variety of coffee, unloading would be a comparatively simple affair. In general practise, however, the cargoes consist of a large number of consignments and a variety of grades, necessitating a careful sorting as unloading progresses. Accordingly, even before the unloading begins, the dock is chalked off into squares, each square having a number, or symbol, representing a particular consignment. As the bags come up out of the hold, the foreman of the laborers, who has a key to the brand marks on the bags, indicates where each bag is to be placed. Coffee to be reshipped, either by lighter or rail, is heaped in piles by itself until loaded on to the lighters or freight cars.
Storing Coffee by Marks and Chops
Hoisting Coffee into the Storage Warehouses Adjoining the Brooklyn Piers
RECEIVING AND STORING COFFEE AT NEW YORK