A Connecticut Shoemaker's Account Book 1825-1856
Manuscript Account Book of Edward R. Clark, Shoemaker.
Haddam Neck, CT: 1825-1856.
142 pp. 1 vols. Small 4to. A Connecticut Shoemaker's Account Book 1825-1856. Contemporary calf spine and corners and boards, covers rubbed and soiled, hinges cracked, internally very good Item #212603
A wonderful look at a craftsman's life in early 19th century Connecticut. Most of Clark's trade came from mending shoes, for which he averaged 40 cents a pair, his steadiest customers being members of the Brainerd family, an old and prolific Connecticut clan, along with various Clarks, Arnolds, Russels, Seldens, Roots, Brookses, and Buckleys. He also farmed, earned two dollars for "two days work loading stone in the quarry" (respectable pay, when he could buy beef or veal for five cents a pound, pasture his cow for 25 cents a week, pay 65 cents for ten pounds of cheese and 92 cents for a gallon of rum), and supplemented his income in other ways. His major costs were hides for his repair business, and expenses involved in building his house, which he seems to have done largely by himself, except for plastering and the construction of a chimney, at a cost of something over a hundred dollars
An evocative record of a Nutmeg State craftsman's busy career.
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