<P> The first shipments took place in 1806 when Tudor transported an initial trial cargo of ice, probably harvested from his family estate at Rockwood, to the Caribbean island of Martinique . Sales were hampered, however, by the lack of local storage facilities, both for Tudor's stock and any ice bought by domestic customers, and as a result the ice stocks quickly melted away . Learning from this experience, Tudor then built a functioning ice depot in Havana and, despite the U.S. trade embargo declared in 1807, was trading successfully again by 1810 . He was unable to acquire exclusive legal rights to import ice into Cuba, but was nonetheless able to maintain an effective monopoly through his control of the ice houses . The 1812 war briefly disrupted trade, but over subsequent years Tudor began to export fruit back from Havana to the mainland on the return journey, kept fresh with part of the unsold ice cargo . Trade to Charleston and to Savannah in Georgia followed, while Tudor's competitors began to supply South Carolina and Georgia by ship from New York or using barges sent downstream from Kentucky . </P> <P> The price of the imported ice varied according to the amount of economic competition; in Havana, Tudor's ice sold for 25 cents ($3.70 in 2010 terms) per pound, while in Georgia it reached only six to eight cents ($0.90--$1.20 in 2010 terms). Where Tudor had a strong market share, he would respond to competition from passing traders by lowering his prices considerably, selling his ice at the unprofitable rate of one cent ($0.20) per pound (0.5 kg); at this price, competitors would typically be unable to sell their own stock at a profit: they would either be driven into debt or if they declined to sell, their ice would melt away in the heat . Tudor, relying on his local storage depots, could then increase his prices once again . By the middle of the 1820s, around 3,000 tons (3 million kg) of ice was being shipped from Boston annually, two thirds by Tudor . </P> <P> At these lower prices, ice began to sell in considerable volumes, with the market moving beyond the wealthy elite to a wider range of consumers, to the point where supplies became overstretched . It was also being used by tradesmen to preserve perishable good, rather than for direct consumption . Tudor looked beyond his existing suppliers to Maine and even to harvesting from passing icebergs, but neither source proved practical . Instead, Tudor teamed up with Nathaniel Wyeth to exploit the ice supplies of Boston on a more industrial scale . Wyeth devised a new form of horse - pulled ice - cutter in 1825 that cut square blocks of ice more efficiently than previous methods . He agreed to supply Tudor from Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reducing the cost of harvesting ice from 30 cents ($7.30) a ton (901 kg) to only 10 cents ($2.40). Sawdust to insulate the ice was brought from Maine, at $16,000 ($390,000) a year . </P> <P> The trade in New England ice expanded during the 1830s and 1840s across the eastern coast of the U.S., while new trade routes were created across the world . The first and most profitable of these new routes was to India: in 1833 Tudor combined with the businessmen Samuel Austin and William Rogers to attempt to export ice to Calcutta using the brigantine ship the Tuscany . The Anglo - Indian elite, concerned about the effects of the summer heat, quickly agreed to exempt the imports from the usual East India Company regulations and trade tariffs, and the initial net shipment of around a hundred tons (90,000 kg) sold successfully . With the ice fetching for three pence (£ 0.80 in 2010 terms) per pound (0.5 kg), the first shipment aboard the Tuscany produced profits of $9,900 ($253,000), and in 1835 Tudor commenced regular exports to Calcutta, Madras and Bombay . </P>

Where did they get ice in the 1800