The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, Delaware  19735

Telephone: 302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:         Shute, Isaac S.

Title:               Bills,

Dates:             1843-1849.

Call No.:         Col. 579         

Acc. No.:        99x79

Quantity:        42 items (1 folder)

Location:        34 J 4

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Isaac S. Shute was evidently a merchant, and seems to be the merchant of that name who lived in Exeter, New Hampshire.  He was born in 1818 and died in 1900.  He was the son of Emma Smith and Robert Shute, and married Mary E. Morrill (1824-1890).

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

Forty-two bills from a number of Boston merchants, mostly dealers in dry goods, to Isaac S. Shute.   Shute bought a large assortment of textile fabrics, including flannel, gingham, delaine, linen, prints, velvets, sheeting, long cloth, taffeta, crash, vesting, cold cambric, patch, tweed, and plaid lining, as well as doeskin.  In addition, he purchased items needed to turn fabric into finished clothing: pearl and gilt buttons, hooks and eyes, ribbon, edging, binding, pins, thread, and needles.  Shute also bought a variety of other goods, including such dress accessories as neck stocks, silk cravats, lawn handkerchiefs, combs, cotton hose, sunshades, and rubber braces; as well, the bonnet board and whalebone that he bought could have been used to make clothing or accessories.  He purchased other items that were used in a home: pipe stems, lozenges, paper, glass candlesticks, sets of knives and forks, a cutlery set, slates, snuff boxes, tooth brushes, harmonicas.  The purchase of a power loom seems a little odd.  On a few of the bills, Shute made notes about items available in a particular store, and on the back of a bill dated August 6, 1846 is a list of plates, mugs, pitchers, etc., that may have served as an inventory of some sort.  The quantity of goods Shute purchased and the fact that he received discounts on some of his purchases indicates that he was buying stock for a store, rather than for his own household.  A number of the bills have printed billheads.

 

           

ORGANIZATION

 

Most of the bills are in chronological order.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

Collection is open to the public.  Copyright restrictions may apply.

           

 

PROVENANCE

 

Purchased from Peter L. Masi.

           

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

Topics:

            Textile fabrics - Prices - 19th century.

            Notions (Merchandise).

Dry-goods.

Neckties.

Buttons - Prices.         

Flatware - Prices.

                        Umbrellas and parasols.

                        Cutlery - Prices.

                        Merchants - Massachusetts - Boston.

                        Business records - Massachusetts - Boston.

                        Bills.

                        Invoices.

 

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 34 J 4

 

 

All accession numbers begin with 99x79.

 

All bills are addressed to Isaac S. Shute, unless otherwise noted.

 

 

.1         receipted bill: Mackintire & Co., Bosont, June 24, 1843, paid for neck stocks

 

.2         receipted bill: S. T. Ames, Boston, Sept. 6, 1843, paid for mixed doeskins, edging, pearl buttons, etc.

 

.3         receipted bill: J. Bowker Jr. & Co., Boston, Jan. 18, 1844: paid for prints and Cocheco something;

                        Printed billhead: importers and dealers in foreign and domestic dry goods

 

.4         receipted bil: Henry J. Holbrook, Boston, March 29, 1844, paid for linen, prints, velvets;

                        Printed billhead

 

.5         receipted bill: A.N. Moore & Co., Boston, May 31, 1844: paid for prints, Scotch lawn handkerchiefs, etc.

 

.6         receipted bill: N. L. Sweet, Boston, May 31, 1844: paid for 30 yards of linen[?], and boxes of hooks & eyes

 

.7         receipted bill: H. J. Holbrook, Boston, May 31, 1844, paid for printed velvet, fancy prints

 

.8         receipted bill: John Fosdick, Boston, July 11, 1844, paid for cassimere and doeskin;

                        Printed billhead: dealer in dry goods

 

.9         receipted bill: Norcross & Wood, Boston, July 11, 1844, paid for Fitchburgh sheetings, prints, long cloth, black ribbons;

                        Printed billhead: wholesale dealers in foreign and domestic dry goods, cloths, cassimeres, vestings, tailors’ trimings, &c.

 

.10       receipted bill: Norcross & Wood, Boston, Aug. 2, 1844, paid for black cloth;

                        Printed billhead: wholesale dealers in foreign and domestic dry goods, cloths, cassimeres, vestings, tailors’ trimmings, &c.

 

.11       receipted bill: Elias B. Paine, Boston, Nov. 8, 1844, paid for prints and patch;

                        Printed billhead: wholesale dealer in British, French & American dry goods

 

.12       receipted bill: Hazen J. Burton & Co., Boston, Dec. 25, 1844: paid for taffeta;

                        Printed billhead: dealers in foreign and domestic dry goods

 

.13       receipted bill: Hazen J. Burton & Co., Boston, March 21, 1845: paid for Portsmouth sheeting;

                        Printed billhead: dealers in foreign and domestic dry goods

 

.14       receipted bill: E. Allen & Co., Exeter, April 3, 1845: paid for fancy doe and wblk doe [doeskin]

 

.15       receipted bill: S.H. Norris, Boston, April 11, 1845: paid for prints, white cotton hose

 

.16       receipted bill: Geo. H. Chapman, Jr. & Co., Boston, April 11, 1845: paid for bonnet board, paints, combs, whalebone;

                        Printed billhead: importers and dealers in French, English and German fancy goods, combs, cutlery, needles, pins, … buttons, pocket books, razor strops, &c.

 

.17       receipted bill: Norcross & Wood, Boston, April 11, 1845, paid for crash, vesting, colored cambric, whalebone, sun shades;

                        Printed billhead: wholesale dealers in foreign and domestic dry goods, woollens, tailors’ trimmings, shoe findings, &c.

 

.18-.19             receipted bill: Button, Richardson & Co., Boston, April 11 and 16, 1845: paid for prints;

                        Printed billhead: importers of European, & wholesale dealers in American dry goods

 

.20       receipted bill: E. Allen & Co., Boston, May 28, 1845: paid for brown tweed and Oxford mx sett

 

.21       receipted bill: E. Allen & Co., Boston, Oct. 8, 1845: with the city of Exeter added in pen, paid for doeskin;

                        Printed billhead: dealers in foreign and domestic woolens

 

.22       list of sundries bought in Boston, Jan. 28, 1846, including from Hellyn(?), bought in Kilby St., bought of Jones & Co., and bought at book auction; goods included pipe stems, sticks, paper, shoe wrapping, and steel pens

 

.23       list of sundries bought in Boston, April 1846, including from Hellyn(?), Peter C. Jones, chapman, Benjamin Gage, and Norcross; goods included lozenges, paper, pasteboard, colored glass candlesticks, cologne bottles, vases, tumblers, and small looking glasses with red frames

 

.24       receipted bill: Bates & Baldwin, Boston, Aug. 5, 1846: paid for crash and flannel;

            Endorsed on back as Gardner, Tremont Row;

 

.25       receipted bill: Dutton, Richardson & Co., Boston, Aug. 5, 1846; paid for furniture patch, fancy print, and something else

            Printed billhead: importers of European, and wholesale dealers in American dry goods

 

.26       receipted bill: Waldo, Noyes & Co., Boston, Aug. 6, 1846: paid for prints

                        Printed billhead: importers of dry goods, and dealers in woolens;

                        On back: list of goods, such as plates, bakers, dishes, pitchers, and chambers, with numbers (probably quantities, not prices);

 

.27       receipted bill: Chs. Scudder & Co., Boston, Sept. 9, 1846: paid for a set of cutlery;

 

.28       receipted bill: Dutton, Richardson & Co., Boston, Sept. 30, 1846; paid for fancy print;

                        Printed billhead: importers of European, and wholesale dealers in American dry goods

 

.29       receipted bill: J.N. Denison & Co, Boston, Sept. 30, 1846, paid for prints and patch;

                        Printed billhead: jobbers of dry goods, and dealers in woolens and tailor’s trimmings

 

.30-.31             receipted bill: James M. Beebe & Co., Boston, Oct. [no day] and Oct. 1, 1846, paid for diaper and something else; also Merrimac prints;

                        Printed billhead: importers of European dry goods, & dealers in woollens, prints, cottons, &c.

 

.32       receipted bill: Haughton, Sawyer & Co., Boston, Oct. 1, 1846, paid for plaid lining;

                        Printed billhead: importers and dealers in foreign and American dry goods,

 

.33       receipted bill: J.N. Denison & Co, Boston, Oct. 1, 1846, paid for print and vesting;

                        Printed billhead: jobbers of dry goods, and dealers in woolens and tailor’s trimmings

 

.34       receipted bill: Robert Stone, Jr. & Co., Boston, Jan. 21, 1847: paid for prints;

                        Printed billhead

 

.35       receipted bill: Mandell, Drinkwater & Co., Boston, Jan. 21, 1847: paid for prints;

                        Printed billhead: importers, and dealers in foreign and domestic dry goods

 

.36       two receipted bills attached to each other: top bill: Chas. Scudder & Co., Boston, March 15, 1847: paid for knives and forks;

            Bottom bill: Jones, Tremont Row, April 13, 1847: paid for delaine

 

.37       receipted bill: E. Allen & Co., Boston, Jan. 21, 1847: paid for doeskin; with American brown cloth and fancy doeskins added in pencil

                        Printed billhead: dealers in foreign & domestic woolens & tailors’ tirmmings

 

.38       receipted bill: G.C. Holman, Boston, June 7, 1847: paid for slates, paints, snuff boxes, tooth brushes, and harmonicas;

                        Printed billhead: importer of German, French and English toys, and fancy articles, musical instruments, willow baskets, slates and slate pencils, accordions, fancy boxes, fans, purses, beads, ivory, shell and horn combs, brushes, &c. &c.

 

.39       receipted bill: Cragin, Greenleaf & Co., Boston, July 7, 1847: paid for flannel, gingham, furniture, prints, delaine, fans, silk cravats, rubber braces, thread, Turkey red handkerchiefs, pongee handkerchiefs, pearl buttons, needles, gilt buttons, etc.;

                        Printed billhead: importers, and wholesale dealers in dry goods

 

.40       receipted bill: James M. Beebe & Co., Boston, July 7 1, 1847, paid for [difficult to read];

                        Printed billhead: importers of European dry goods, & dealers in woollens, prints, cottons, &c.

 

.41       receipted bill: Cragin, Greenleaf & Co., Boston, Sept. 9, 1847: paid power loom;

                        Printed billhead: importers, and wholesale dealers in dry goods

 

.42       receipted bill: Gannett, Balch & Co., Boston, March 14, 1849: paid for cambric, prints, etc.

                        Printed billhead: importers of English, French and German dry goods, and wholesale dealers in all kinds of American cottons, prints & woollens