La vie est belle!
J&E Stevens ledger and the bell toy manufacturers of East Hampton
I just purchased a J&E Stevens ledger . It's huge, 16" tall, 12" deep and 3" thick leather bound with J&E S Co. in gold lettering. It lists all the financial transactions of J&E Stevens for a period from 1891 to 1895. The size and weight are as formidable as the penmanship is flowery and legible.
Prior to my buying this ledger Barbara Rockwell had sold one to a rare book dealer. It then went to the University of Connecticut library in Storrs CT.
http://www.lib.uconn.edu/online/research/speclib/ASC/findaids/steve...
Barbara had another 8 ledgers. I contacted a mechanical bank collector I've known for several years, Bill Jones, to let him know about these. He purchased them and is working on scanning and digitizing some of the information. I will be sending him mine to rejoin it's siblings. Bill Jones, can be contacted via www.mechanicalbanks.org or bj@mechanicalbanks.org"
Barbara sent me 168 photos of the bell toy related entries in the other Ledgers. One of the first files I opened, part of the 1881 to 1888 ledger, had some gems of information. First it showed the two Watrous companies, the father's, David Watson Watrous, Watrous & Co. and the son's, John Lazarus Watrous, J. L. Watrous Co, being billed separately. It also shows the name change of the father's company when his son joins, fom D.W. Watrous to Watrous & Co.. There is also note, "Mr. Watrous senior called with his team March 1st 1889 (the 9 is very faint) and took his brass patterns with him." Information like this comes along so rarely, any tid bit is a treasure.
I'm looking forward to seeing what else is in the ledgers. Perhaps the answer to where the tale that J&E Stevens made the wheels for the bell toy makers of East Hampton can be found here. If anyone else knows where that tale started I'd love to know more.
Prior to my buying this ledger Barbara Rockwell had sold one to a rare book dealer. It then went to the University of Connecticut library in Storrs CT.
http://www.lib.uconn.edu/online/research/speclib/ASC/findaids/steve...
Barbara had another 8 ledgers. I contacted a mechanical bank collector I've known for several years, Bill Jones, to let him know about these. He purchased them and is working on scanning and digitizing some of the information. I will be sending him mine to rejoin it's siblings. Bill Jones, can be contacted via www.mechanicalbanks.org or bj@mechanicalbanks.org"
Barbara sent me 168 photos of the bell toy related entries in the other Ledgers. One of the first files I opened, part of the 1881 to 1888 ledger, had some gems of information. First it showed the two Watrous companies, the father's, David Watson Watrous, Watrous & Co. and the son's, John Lazarus Watrous, J. L. Watrous Co, being billed separately. It also shows the name change of the father's company when his son joins, fom D.W. Watrous to Watrous & Co.. There is also note, "Mr. Watrous senior called with his team March 1st 1889 (the 9 is very faint) and took his brass patterns with him." Information like this comes along so rarely, any tid bit is a treasure.
I'm looking forward to seeing what else is in the ledgers. Perhaps the answer to where the tale that J&E Stevens made the wheels for the bell toy makers of East Hampton can be found here. If anyone else knows where that tale started I'd love to know more.
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