Up for sale is a remarkable, uniquely "doubled" piece of 19th-century Pennsylvania history. This item is an original 1857 handwritten commercial labor ledger from the historic Pennsylvania canal era that was later acquired and reused as a personal historical scrapbook between 1873 and 1882 by prominent Port Carbon musical director, Frank N. Turner.
The volume features his elegant ownership signature dated August 21, 1882, Port Carbon, PA, on the flyleaf. It offers an incredible split perspective on PA history: the pre-Civil War industrial infrastructure of the 1850s alongside the vibrant social, musical, and collegiate life of the 1870s.
Key Historical Contents & Highlights
1. Industrial 1857 Canal-Era Ledger Pages (Underlying Text)
Before being repurposed, this book was used to track daily operations, accounts, and labor expenses. Visible ledger elements include:
• The "Days Worked" & "Moneys Paid" Logs: Handwritten columns calculating wages (e.g., “20 days cutting up and making wood”) and accounts balanced out with the standard 19th-century bookkeeping stamp “in full”.
• Animal Power Record: Features a fascinating, rare ink entry explicitly tracking local transportation assets: “To an Army Mule” (or "Jon Army Mule"), capturing the physical engines that towed coal barges along the historic PA towpaths.
2. 1878 Port Carbon "Vesper Musical Club" Ephemera
Frank Turner beautifully archived his own musical legacy in town, pasting a complete historical profile of a single community event:
• The Purple Flyer: A crisp, vibrant promotional broadside advertising a benefit concert at Citizens' Hall, Port Carbon, Penna. for the Vesper or Evening Musical Club, performing the cantata "An Hour in Fairy Land" on May 21, 1878.
• The Pink Program: The formal printed program from the evening detailing the show order, vocalists, and a complete roster of the local orchestra ensemble (violins, cello, bass, flute, cornet, trombone, and side drum).
• The Newspaper Review: A matching clipping from May 23, 1878, reviewing the packed-house performance and highly praising Mr. Turner's ability to manage a "perfect army of little folks" playing fairies and trolls.
3. 1870s Easton, PA & Lafayette College Inserts
The scrapbook travels up the valley to track news and culture in neighboring Northampton County:
• Rare 1877 Circus Broadside: A stunning full-page newspaper insert from the Easton Daily Express (June 20, 1877) advertising "The Great Roman Hippodrome, Circus and Menagerie" coming to town, complete with woodcut illustrations of acrobats, exotic animals, and a $10,000 steam calliope.
• Victorian Commerce Ads: The reverse features fantastic localized advertisements from Centre Square and Northampton Street, including The Singer Sewing Machine ($30), H.A. Sage & Co. Summer Wines & Whiskies, and 1870s coal prices from Jno. Meeker's Coal Yard.
• Lafayette College "Grand Exhibition" History: Includes annotated columns detailing 1873–1874 campus life, student humor, professor arrivals, and town-and-gown relations.
Condition Report
• Pages: The paper shows expected, beautiful age-toning, edge-wear, and minor fraying consistent with a 150+ year-old industrial paper artifact.
• Binding/Cover: Chipboard cover barely hanging on to the 19th-century binding. Back cover completely removed.The pages remain bound together, and the pasted ephemera items are securely attached, crisp, and highly legible. One loose page.
• Please review all high-resolution photos carefully to assess condition details, handwritten script clarity, and margins before offerding.
Over 100 newspaper clippings in all.
Shipping & Handling
• Will be shipped securely in a reinforced, moisture-protected box with archival backing to ensure safe delivery.
• Domestic tracking and insurance are included.
Related Items:
Vintage Antique 1870‘s Group Tintype Photograph Michigan City Indiana Victorian
$70.00
Antique 1870's Schepps Cocoanut Lithographed Green Spice Tin NY Monkey Graphics
$74.99
Antique 1870s PA Coal Canal Ledger Scrapbook Frank Turner Vesper Music Program
$500.00
