The Joseph Dow trunk archive · Document gallery 64

Holyoke expenses and receipts, 1853–1854

21 photographs · 8 document groups

Photographed by Whit from the recovered Joseph Dow collection. Descriptions draw on visible names, dates and subjects; uncertain readings remain provisional. Reading copies are turned upright, and each image links to the unchanged full-resolution original.

JDT-D491 · A decorative Boston stationer’s cover

The illustrated cover names B. B. Mussey & Co. of Boston and surrounds its central figures with an elaborate ornamental border. It introduces the small account book as a purchased writing object before its pages became a record of daily life.

1 photograph

JDT-D492 · March–May 1853: travel, reading and daily purchases

Dated Holyoke expense pages record journeys involving Hampton, Boston, Springfield and Holyoke alongside newspapers, stationery, apples and other small purchases. Scientific American appears repeatedly. Rail fares and everyday reading sit together in the same columns, connecting mobility with an active appetite for news and technical information.

3 photographs

JDT-D493 · June–August 1853: correspondence and life away from home

The accounts continue with postage, envelopes, newspapers, travel and board. Small amounts accumulate beside larger fares and accommodation charges. These pages are particularly useful for reconstructing routine: what was bought repeatedly, how letters circulated and where the account keeper traveled.

3 photographs

JDT-D494 · Autumn and winter 1853: board, newspapers and travel

The dated entries continue through September, October, November and December. Board charges, fruit, postage and newspaper purchases share space with journeys and entertainment. Rather than separating household and intellectual life, the notebook shows how both were paid for from day to day.

4 photographs

JDT-D495 · 1854: expenses, lectures and subscriptions

Pages dated January, April and May 1854 continue the Holyoke record. Scientific American, illustrated and metropolitan newspapers, journeys, food and lecture-related entries appear among the expenditures. Precise dates and amounts offer anchors for comparing the book with correspondence elsewhere in the archive.

3 photographs

JDT-D496 · Receipts: money received rather than spent

The heading changes from expenses to receipts. Brief entries identify incoming sums and their sources, making this page an essential counterpart to the much fuller spending record. It also helps prevent treating every monetary entry in the book as a purchase.

1 photograph

JDT-D497 · Loose inserts and small household accounts

The photographs first show papers resting on the book, then unfold a signed receipt and lists of purchases including books, writing supplies, postage and household goods. The final leaf is stained and faint. Preserving these inserts with their host volume records their physical association without assuming every entry belongs to the same transaction.

5 photographs

JDT-D498 · The publisher’s trade advertisement

The back cover advertises Benjamin B. Mussey & Co. as publishers, booksellers and stationers at 29 Cornhill, Boston. A multiplication table and lists of stock turn the cover into a practical reference and a commercial advertisement, framing the private accounts inside.

1 photograph

Collection photographs supplied by Whit. Descriptions are finding aids, not full transcriptions. Names, dates and associations remain provisional where the handwriting is uncertain.