Help reading this bill from 1846

Discussion in 'Ephemera and Photographs' started by Bookahtoo, Mar 3, 2017.

  1. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Someone gave me a box of paper today - I don't think anything else in the box was related to this piece of paper.
    It appears to be a bill from 1846 for $236.78. I can't read the handwriting well enough to figure out what the bill is for and I really want to know, because, well, I'm nosy! :D

    DSCN6582.JPG
     
    Bookahtoo, Mar 3, 2017
    #1 + Quote Reply
    lauragarnet likes this.
  2. bobsyouruncle

    bobsyouruncle Well-Known Member

    ? white rags not sure what the rags would be for ? making paper
     
    bobsyouruncle, Mar 3, 2017
    #2 + Quote Reply
    lauragarnet likes this.
  3. lauragarnet

    lauragarnet Well-Known Member

    4031 White Rugs...?:confused:
     
    lauragarnet, Mar 3, 2017
    #3 + Quote Reply
    bobsyouruncle likes this.
  4. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Oh - I thought that said white rugs! :eek:
     
    Bookahtoo, Mar 3, 2017
    #4 + Quote Reply
    bobsyouruncle likes this.
  5. bobsyouruncle

    bobsyouruncle Well-Known Member

    now..I'm really interested! hope you solve this one
     
    bobsyouruncle, Mar 3, 2017
    #5 + Quote Reply
  6. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Well the rugs only added $5 to the bill.
    If I could read the second name of the billing company, I might be able to find out what their business was.
     
    Bookahtoo, Mar 3, 2017
    #6 + Quote Reply
  7. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    I'd go with rags. There was a Tileston & Hollingsworth Paper Company in Boston at that time.

    They're in a book called : Rag Paper Manufacture in the United States, 1801-1900

    Image2.jpg


    link
     
    moreotherstuff, Mar 3, 2017
    #7 + Quote Reply
    Figtree3, judy, bobsyouruncle and 1 other person like this.
  8. afantiques

    afantiques Well-Known Member

    It is 4031 white rags at 5 and 3/4 cents each. If paper was involved that was clearly what they were for.

    The extra $5 might have been carriage.
     
    afantiques, Mar 3, 2017
    #8 + Quote Reply
    bobsyouruncle and Figtree3 like this.
  9. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    It says 4301 white rags @ 5 3/4¢, which does work out to $231.78. Then it says 'add ____ $5.00', but it doesn't say why. Could very well have been shipping - or a warehousing fee.

    A City of Boston Directory for 1848-9 shows Kennedy and Austin as a Paper Warehouse.

    zzzz.jpg

    link
     
    moreotherstuff, Mar 3, 2017
    #9 + Quote Reply
    bobsyouruncle and Figtree3 like this.
  10. terry5732

    terry5732 Well-Known Member

    Adjusted for inflation, those rags would be $1.61 each today.
     
    terry5732, Mar 3, 2017
    #10 + Quote Reply
    Lucille.b likes this.
  11. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Wow! You, my friends, truly are amazing and brilliant! Thank you!
    Can anyone read the whole bill to me?
     
    Bookahtoo, Mar 3, 2017
    #11 + Quote Reply
  12. terry5732

    terry5732 Well-Known Member

    Just pay it before it goes to collections
     
    terry5732, Mar 3, 2017
    #12 + Quote Reply
    Aquitaine, cxgirl, jackolin and 1 other person like this.
  13. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    Thanks for that link moreotherstuff. Maybe this bill does have something to do with some of the other paper in the box. I'll have to go through it with a fine tooth comb tomorrow.
     
    Bookahtoo, Mar 3, 2017
    #13 + Quote Reply
  14. Bookahtoo

    Bookahtoo Moderator Moderator

    hah, hah Terry - too late for me. :eek::D
     
    Bookahtoo, Mar 3, 2017
    #14 + Quote Reply
    judy likes this.
  15. moreotherstuff

    moreotherstuff Izorizent

    It's a receipt for a payment to Kennedy and Austin. The line below the fold say rec'd payment, and below that it says Kennedy and Austin.

    I don't know about the first word in each of the 2 main lines

    The first looks to me like Mapes. Maybe reading it wrong? Might be a contraction of 'makers' or 'manufacturers'? Might be the name of someone at the company.

    The second might be Basof? Name of someone at Kennedy & Austin? Maybe 'Bus of' as in 'business of'?

    Don't know.

    If you're looking at the other papers, check them for watermarks.

    The price seems expensive to me for rags, but if they had to be sorted, clean, white linen, then maybe so.
     
    moreotherstuff, Mar 4, 2017
    #15 + Quote Reply
    judy likes this.
  16. Figtree3

    Figtree3 What would you do if you weren't afraid?

    Figtree3, Mar 4, 2017
    #16 + Quote Reply
  17. Bakersgma

    Bakersgma Well-Known Member

    I think the first "word" in the first line is the abbreviation for "Messeurs" (not sure exactly how to spell that archaic term now. "Misters" if you will) - Back then, when 2 "s"s appear together the first was written as an f.

    The next line "Bot of" - Bought of.
     
    Bakersgma, Mar 4, 2017
    #17 + Quote Reply
    Figtree3, Aquitaine and moreotherstuff like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted
Similar Threads: Help reading
Forum Title Date
Ephemera and Photographs Help Reading Handwriting, Please! Jan 15, 2020
Ephemera and Photographs Help needed to price an old airlines Waybill May 17, 2026
Ephemera and Photographs Help with group photo...........................................h/c 3 Jan 22, 2026
Ephemera and Photographs Worthpoint Help Jan 1, 2026
Ephemera and Photographs Help With A Trio of Redheads Sep 19, 2025

Share This Page