1869 Antique Manuscript: 900 Official letters of Treasurer of Rail Road Company

Description: This is the original letter book of Treasurer W.H.Hains of the B&O Rail Road Company. Not only is its content important as a primary source of the revenue and business interests of 19th century railroad company, but also for the sheer number of letters stored in this book. Around circa 900 letters and notes are addressed to bank clerks, railroad company presidents, investors, and employees. The book consists of 499 leaves (998 pages) with each leaf containing around 1 to 3 letters. Each leaf contains letters only on one side, as the ink is clearly seen on the other side. The paper is of a special kind; the very thin yet very durable material was designed to copy letters almost like a x.erox machine. After applying oil, the ink from the original letter would pass through and onto the copy book paper; there was no need to copy the contents of the letter by hand. As one may imagine, the process was time consuming, and this special blank book was not cheap either. The first set of pages consists of space for you to list addressees, and is on ordinary paper. The special leaves are numbered 1 to 499 Condition. Leather spine is missing. Wear and scuffs on the covers. Creases are evident on some of the pages. In some places the ink is very blurry, probably due to occasional mistakes in the copying process. As this is a manuscript with original content (the originals of the circa 900 letters are either scattered in different locations; or destroyed from fire, flood, or liquidation) the condition is of second importance.

Price: 199.99 USD

Location: Staten Island, New York

End Time: 2024-11-05T20:38:59.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD