Cape May, New Jersey: (1894-1908).
Price: $5,000.00
Hardcover. Commercial Ledger Book. Folio (9” x 14”). 834pp., with tabular entries in manuscript. Contemporary leather over boards with blind tooling, marbled endpapers. Paper label with manuscript letter “B” mounted on front cover and spine. The leather is worn with scattered tears and chips at the edges of the boards, much of the spine is perished, else very good with the binding neatly reinforced with two near contemporary wide leather thongs mounted with brass hardware on the front and back covers. Interior pages are clean and easily legible.
An outstanding and voluminous ledger book kept by Joseph P. Henry (1850-1911). As stated on his business ink stamp on the front fly leaf, Henry was a respected “Practical Painter” and purveyor of “Paints, Oils, Glass, &c. Wholesale & Retail” at Cape May, New Jersey. In a local Biographical History published in 1900, Henry is described as the “leading painter of Cape May”. The large number of clients and associated multiple entries recorded in the ledger book confirm his high standing in the community and high demand for his work and goods. From painting City Hall and the Fire Engine House, the Congress Hall Hotel and park carousels, Victorian houses, schools, and churches, Henry's contract work and materials are entered into the ledger along with other contractors who purchased his goods. In addition, Henry’s crew lettered signs, upholstered elevators, hung wallpaper, glazed and gilded, including “painting black board in colored school” (p. 175).
The ledger documents the multiple materials and colors used, the costs, and the diversity of his clientele. Over 70 clients are recorded in the ledger. Henry's detailed accounts, covering nearly 15 years from 1894-1908, contains a wealth of information of interest to historians, researchers, and specialists in architectural conservation. Cape May’s architectural history has been richly preserved and its historic district includes over 600 late Victorian houses, hotels, and commercial buildings. An important primary source ledger documenting Cape May's rich architectural history. A representative partial list of a sampling of Henry’s clients is available. Reference: *Biographical, Genealogical and Descriptive History of the First Congressional District of New Jersey, Vol. 2* (1900).
Item #598081
