In February 1806, a young Bostonian named Frederic Tudor decided to sell winter. He harvested 130 tons of ice from his family’s pond in Massachusetts and loaded it onto the ship *Favorite*, bound for the tropical island of Martinique. The venture was widely mocked. The Boston Gazette called it a ‘slippery speculation,’ and the ship's crew worried the melting cargo would sink them. Though most of the ice survived the 25-day trip, it melted on the docks. The islanders had no way to store it and no idea what to do with it. Tudor lost $4,500 on the shipment, but proved the concept's potential by earning $300 in a single night making and selling ice cream to fascinated locals.
The Ice King
In 1806, Boston's Frederic Tudor shipped 130 tons of frozen pond water to the tropics, launching a global trade that vanished with refrigeration.
Chapter 1
A Slippery Speculation
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Part of
Frequently Asked Questions
How did they keep the ice from melting on long voyages?
The ice was packed in layers of pine sawdust inside ships with double-walled hulls. Sawdust, a free waste product from lumber mills, was an excellent insulator that stayed dry and did not rot. This method reduced melting losses from over 60% to less than 10%, even on trips lasting four months.
Why did Frederic Tudor's first ice shipment fail financially?
Although the ice survived the three-week voyage to Martinique, the venture lost $4,500. The islanders had no ice houses or other facilities to store the product, and they were unfamiliar with how to use it. The ice melted on the docks before it could all be sold.
What caused the natural ice trade to end?
The trade collapsed in the early 20th century due to two main factors. First, the invention of mechanical refrigeration allowed factories and homes to produce their own ice year-round. Second, industrial runoff polluted the ponds, making natural ice a public health risk.
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