Recently, I bought an 1880’s ledger book at an antique fair. This one was a detailed expense record for a man named C.W. Walduck. His business card was even inside the ledger, showing his profession was a salesman in Chicago.
I love it when I come across an antique ledger book. I love the simplicity of the lined pages, I love the feel of the old paper, and I love the numbered pages. What a I really love though, is when I come across an old ledger book with interesting entries that were handwritten by someone many years ago.
He seemed to have led quite a lively life, as he expenses recorded for many kinds of entertainment and “vices”. He had entries for dancing school & dances, violin lessons, theater, opera, “around town”, breakfast and whiskey (these were recorded in the same line, but hopefully he didn’t consume them together!), beer, cigars, poker (he noted when he lost), and billiards.
His ledger spanned about 4 years, but about half of the book was filled with entries and the other half was blank. I was curious why someone would stop writing in their ledger halfway through and thought maybe the owner died or something, but it turns out that the reason he stopped recording entries in this book is that he got married. I noticed on the last several pages, that there were notations about a “dear Nan”, and then I came across one entry for “wedding invitations”, and this one stating he paid for a “license to wed “Nan””, for $2.00. He always wrote her name with quotation marks around it, so that may have been a pet name for his girl.
The very last page that contained writing was apparently written on his wedding day, or close to it, as he states, “Bachelor life ceases and so ends my catechism. ~ C.W. Walduck”
I’m assuming he began keeping another ledger once he got married.
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Old ledger pages are fun to craft with and make great images for mixed media projects.
Blessings,
Angie
Oh Angie, I LOVE this ledger! What a tale it tells! I didn’t know about your other antique graphics! They’re wonderful! I can’t wait to take some time to download and use them. Thanks so much!
Very cool to read! So he lived in Chicago, took the train to wed his wife in Ottawa, then brought her back to the States? Wow, he really recorded everything…. didn’t he? 😉
I love the antique ledger too! I only wish I’d loved them about 10 years ago when I’m sure I had a couple of those around here. wah. I’m slowly learning to never throw anything away! Enjoyed this post.
These are so interesting. You can really learn a lot about someone by what they spend their money on.
Thank you -these are divine! xx
I love how things like old ledgers and letters tell a history. Often you have to fill in the blanks as you did, but it is nice to know that yours had a happy ending. Wouldn’t you like to see his new ledger after marrying “Nan”?
I love how things like old ledgers and letters tell a history. Often you have to fill in the blanks as you did, but it is nice to know that yours had a happy ending. Wouldn’t you like to see his new ledger after marrying “Nan”?
How fantastic – to get such a ledger in the first place but then to find it is full of treasure in its history. What a fantastic journey you have been on with this man. Lucky you!
Hugs, Neet xx