Gustave Elsberg, merchant, formed a business association with Jacob Amberg in Westport, Kansas, in 1855. The firm was called Elsberg and Amberg and traded in goods throughout the eastern United States and northern Mexico. In 1856 the firm moved its offices to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Elsberg spent much of his time in New York operating as a purchasing agent for Elsberg and Amberg, as well as for other New Mexico mercantile firms including those of Adolph Letcher and Charles Ilfeld.
In 1869, Elsberg filed a legal complaint against Amberg for breach of contract and fraud. Other New Mexico merchants including Herman Ilfeld, Samuel B. Wheelock, Stephen B. Elkins, Adolph Letcher and Charles Ilfeld were named in the suit.
From the guide to the Gustave Elsberg Papers, 1869-1897, (University of New Mexico. Center for Southwest Research.)
