Description:

19th Century New York
New York, NY, ca. 1818-1846
New York Merchant Receipt Book
Diary/Journal

[NEW YORK.] Manuscript Volume, Receipt Book of Henry H. Stevens, 1818-1846. 195 pp., 8.5" x 6.75".

New York merchant Henry H. Stevens kept this receipt book for nearly three decades. He had them write and sign receipts on the pages, or he pasted receipt slips he received onto the pages of this volume. Several pages detail expenses related to Stevens's investment in voyages of the brig Panther in 1830-1831.

The receipts are for payment for the purchase of a variety of goods, including sugar, coffee, tea, tobacco, flour, pepper, almonds, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, beans, potatoes, raisins, figs, rum, brandy, wine, boots and shoes, hats, clothes, soap, and coal. Many of these items Stevens purchased in wholesale quantities and resold to his customers.

In addition, there are receipts for a license for the firm of Stevens & Underhill, cooperage, cartage, cost of shipping boxes to New Orleans, subscriptions to the Mercantile Advertiser, the Philadelphia Journal of Health, the Commercial Advertiser, and the New York American, advertising in the Evening Post, promissory notes, and a voyage to Mobile. The volume also includes receipts for several drafts by Stevens on his father and brothers' firm, E. Stevens & Sons.

After his marriage in 1836, the receipts were more often related to household goods and the rental and upkeep of his house on Broadway. Among the more unusual items were a mahogany crib, a hair mattress and a hair pillow, and a ladies' writing desk.

Henry H. Stevens (1797-1869) was born in Manhattan, New York, to Revolutionary War veteran Ebenezer Stevens (1751-1823). Like his father and several older brothers, he became a merchant in New York City. Early in his career, he was in partnership with Henry Underhill in the firm of Stevens and Underhill (1818-1822). In 1836, he married Catherine Clarkson Crosby (1812-1882), and they had at least four children. He died in Poughkeepsie.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 8.5" x 6.75"
  • Medium: Diary/Journal

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