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Capture a tangible piece of history with this unique, cloth-bound vintage notebook. This fascinating volume serves as a dual-purpose record: it functions both as a late-19th/early-20th-century instructional guide for penmanship and formal letter writing, and as a primary source ledger documenting daily agricultural labor, construction, and personal accounts between 1916 and 1928.
Item Highlights
This well-preserved, cloth-bound ledger, featuring a geometric cover design, provides an intimate look at the daily life and commerce of the early 20th century.
Educational Content: Includes beautiful examples of formal business correspondence, letter-writing etiquette, and handwriting practice. Notable entries include a letter from 1917, biographical notes on Benjamin Franklin, and a descriptive passage by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Historical Ledger Records: Contains detailed accounts of agricultural activities (pigeon farming, tobacco cultivation, harvesting) and construction/labor tasks (cementing at local factories, hauling materials, and building forms).
Period Specifics: The entries span the crucial transition years of the 1910s and 1920s, featuring specific mentions of local landmarks and businesses of the era.
Specifications
Format: Cloth-bound ledger/notebook.
Date Range: 1916–1928 (with instructional content dating to the late 19th/early 20th century).
Condition: Vintage, with authentic signs of age consistent with a working ledger of this era.
What’s Inside
This ledger acts as a snapshot of early 20th-century life, tracking everything from the price of feed and pigeons to specific construction jobs in the community. It is an exceptional find for collectors of vintage ephemera, historians, or anyone interested in the handwritten record of American life.
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This page contains examples of business correspondence.
It includes a "Letter ordering Mdse" from Thomas Dodds in Newburg, N.Y., dated January 15, 1917.
Below this is the corresponding "Answer Enclosing Invoice" from Peter Hyde & Co., dated January 17, 1917, confirming the shipment.
The bottom of the page features the mock invoice for the transaction, listing items such as candles and sugar.
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This page is titled "Heading of a letter.".
It lists nine different examples of formal letter headings, each containing a specific location and a date.
The locations include various cities across the United States, and the dates span from the late 19th to early 20th century, specifically between 1876 and 1902.
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This page shows two distinct letter formats.
The first is a "Letter of Application" written by a sixteen-year-old named Charles Hastings on August 1, 1916, applying for a vacant clerkship position.
The second is a "Letter of Friendship" addressed to "My Dear Mother," dated January 8, 1916, wherein the writer expresses feelings of deep homesickness.
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The first page of the book features basic handwriting practice.
It includes a partial alphabet ("abcdefghijklmo") at the top alongside some other scribbled text.
Further down, the name "Earl C. Peters" is practiced twice, once in red ink and once in black script.
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The top half of this page is titled "Forms of Conclusions" and lists various letter sign-offs, such as "Your affectionate son" and "Yours respectfully".
The bottom half contains a handwritten biographical essay titled "The early life of Benjamin Franklin".
This text covers his birth in Boston in 1706, his apprenticeship to his older brother as a printer, and his eventual journey to Philadelphia.
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This image displays pages 4 and 5 of a ledger from 1916.
Page 4 belongs to Earl C. Peters, logging items like screenings, pigeons, and tobacco ribs, along with notations of cash payments.
Page 5 documents a specific record of pigeons sold.
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This page contains the conclusion of a letter discussing homesickness and studies, signed by someone named Henry James.
Below this is a section labeled "Letter Writing," which features a letter addressed to "My Dear Brother" from Gilbert H. Lyte dated May 4, 1898.
The page ends with an addressed mock-up letter to the American Book Co. in New York.
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This image shows the front cover of a vintage, cloth-bound notebook or ledger.
The word "RECORD" is printed diagonally across the center within a decorative geometric border.
A modern US one-dollar bill is placed next to the book for scale.
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Page 11 features a handwritten transcription of a descriptive passage titled "An Old Fashion School".
The text describes a schoolroom overseen by Master Ezekiel Cheever, noting elements like a large fireplace, a birch rod, and the schoolmaster's stern appearance.
The piece is attributed at the bottom to the author Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864).
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This image displays pages 2 and 3 of the ledger, also dating to 1916.
Page 2 is an account for "A. J. Peters," tracking agricultural or farm items like wire, pigeons, oats, and pigeon feed over several months.
Page 3 logs an account for "E. M. Mann," recording the sale of screenings and pigeons, alongside indications that the account was paid.
Summary of Ledger Pages
image_11.png: Records labor from October 1920 to October 1921, including threshing corn, hauling manure, hay making, and harvesting, much of which is marked as "Paid".
image_12.png: Details work performed in 1923, focusing on cementing tasks at various locations (including a toy factory, and streets like Plain & Manor St.) and hauling materials.
image_13.png: Continues the 1923 record, noting work like "digging out Harry Ponge," "taking fences out," and ongoing cementing jobs through July.
image_14.png: Chronicles 1923 work from April through late May, documenting cementing at locations such as "Clint Manns," "Levans Mill," and "14th St.," along with building forms and bridges.
image_15.png: Documents H.T. Peters’ labor from November 1922 to December 1922, including cementing at "Futers" and "Arcade garage," and a final entry for "working on farm".
image_16.png: Records activities from October 1922 to November 1922, detailing tasks like "cementing at chestnut St.," "hauling dirt at Dudley watch co.," "picking apples," and "sowing grass seed".
image_17.png: Covers labor from August 1922 to early October 1922, featuring tasks such as "toppping, suchering & cutting [tobacco]," "making cider," and "digging sweetpotatoes".
image_18.png: Logs work from July 1922 through August 1922, with a focus on agricultural tasks like "hoeing tobacco," "mowing weeds," and "hauling sand".
image_19.png: Documents H.T. Peters' labor from May 1922 through July 1922, including "planting tobacco," "hay making," and cementing at various sites.
image_20.png: Records work for E.H. Kauffman spanning late 1920 to May 1922, listing tasks such as "hauling manure," "hay making," "harvesting," "threshing," and "trimming trees".
image_21.png: This page contains an entry for February 20, "Each book $4.00," with a total of $4.00. Another entry notes "Charley Manning February book" with amounts of $14.00 and $15.00.
image_22.png: This page details agricultural tasks, including "15 baskets" of tomatoes. It also lists "5 hrs setting tobacco" and "14 1/2 hrs tobacco & tomatoes".
image_23.png: This page is a record of "What I bought" in 1917, listing purchases of squabs, pigeon feed, and bag feed throughout April, May, and June.
image_24.png: This page contains architectural measurements and calculations, including dimensions for a kitchen, bathroom, and "bed room". It also includes notes like "2 1/4 ceiling" and "6 triangle".
image_25.png: This page tracks H.T. Peters’ labor from August 1928 through October 1928, primarily consisting of cementing and hauling sand at various locations, including "Eagles," "Levans Dam," and "7th St & Walnut St".
image_26.png: This page lists "Booths Bills" for February 1928, recording payments for individuals like "John Millhouse," "Martin C. Eshleman," and "Jacob C. Eshleman," as well as expenses for "gold oranges" and "tobacco".
image_27.png: This page records H.T. Peters' work in 1928, including "cutting trees," "cementing Eagles," "sawing logs," "hauling wood," and "hauling cinders".
image_28.png: This page logs H.T. Peters' cementing work from October 1928 through November 1928 at various locations, such as "Dunkard Church," "New St," "Cherry St," and "Spruce & 11th St".