Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Farmer's ledger

Call number

Ms. Codex 1587
(Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 4919617
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/4919617

Publisher

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Origin

Date

1774-1777

Summary

Ledger of miscellaneous accounts of an unidentified farmer, probably in New England, covering the years 1774-1777. Often includes the nature of a given debt, credit, or other transaction, as well as listing the name of the individual who holds the debt or credit. Some of the names that appear throughout the ledger are those of Thomas Henderson, Anthony Hill, Isaac and James Townsend, Nathaniel Tomkins, and Reverend Robinson. Most of the transaction consist of debts and credits for the sale or purchase of produce; shoe and clothes repair (perhaps done at the farm); payment of farm laborers; and for farm tools and materials, such as ashes. A few more detailed accounts for the farm production of specific items such as grains (wheat, buckwheat, corn, oats, rye, flaxseed, and flour) and meat (pork and beef) are scattered throughout the volume. Expenses related to household management, including expenses for food, accessories, clothing, and books, are also present and recorded under family expenses. Most entries of the ledger contain a large number of unspecified sundries, both in case of accounts with external counterparts and for household expenses. The present manuscript, whose foliation starts with f. 697, was formerly part of a larger volume.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title supplied by cataloger.
   

Watermark

Large, unidentified watermark containing a shield, a lily, and a crown.

Extent

40 leaves : 365 x 241 bound to 371 x 246 mm

Foliation

Paper, 40; 697-736; contemporary foliation in ink, upper left verso. Some openings present matching foliation with the same arabic numeral on the left and right sides.

Support

Paper

Binding

Contemporary suede, partly detached, over cardboard. Very faint, stamped floral ornament on both covers. Marbled pastedown inside upper cover.

Layout

Written in 8 columns with vertical bounding lines in lead; the first three small columns on the left with the date of a transaction, the large column in the center with the debtor or creditor and a brief description of the credit or debt, and the last four small ones on the right with the amount of the debt and credit. Horizontal bounding lines in ink are sometimes used to separate different series of accounts. Long lines are also used.

Script

Written in a cursive script by a single hand.

Subjects topical

• Accounting--United States--18th century
• Farm management--United States--18th century
• Farm life--United States--18th century

Genres

• Codices
• Accounts
• Credit records
• Ledgers (account books)
• Manuscripts, American--18th century

Licenses

• Text

  This description is ©2016 University of Pennsylvania Libraries. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

• Text

  All referenced images and their content are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/