1879-1935 Painstaking Handwritten Ledger of Expenses, Chock Full

Regular price $45.00

The span of time covered in this full ledger makes it pretty amazing to begin with, documenting more than fifty years worth of expenses and telling us quite a lot about life being led. It seems to me that there are two different hands that wrote in it—the first running 1897-1893, which is less comprehensive and less interesting (though very pretty) than the bulk of it, which looks to have been kept by a Mrs, S.J. Martin, who documented everything!!! Her handwriting poignantly reflects her aging over the years, becoming increasingly shaky toward the end, when she also takes to documenting her blood pressure and weight, and when Cream of Wheat and bananas seem to become the staples of her diet. There is no detail overlooked (brand of soap, size of safety pins, etc) along with prices of everything, and there are tickets and notes stuck or stapled in. Quite a thing..a whole life! 

6 1/2” x 8” and maybe about 150 pages, most filled front and back. Except for a few pages near the beginning the writing is dark and clear, and throughout the condition of paper is good and clean.