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Fahnestock, French and Co. ledger

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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Fahnestock, French and Co. was a firm of merchants operating in the nineteenth century in Chicago, Illinois. Located at 393 West Madison Street, the firm sold the Gold Medal Sewing Machine and was also contracted to sell the Walking Motion Treadle for Sewing Machines by Keith, Baldwin & Co.

Among the clients and business associates for the firm (per the 1871-1872 ledger book) are: Alexander Brown, Ed Benedict, Miss Clements, F. S. Fahnestock, A. W. French, Miss Jenny Graham, Mrs. N. M. Johnson, Robert H. Law, Keith, Baldwin & Sapp, James R. Smith, and N. H. Winter.

The Gold Medal Sewing Machine Company-- which manufactured the sewing machines sold by Fahnestock, French and Co. and other agents-- was located in Orange, Massachusetts, and was re-named the New Home Sewing Machine Company in 1882.

This is a sales, advertising, and commission ledger for Fahnestock, French & Co. of Chicago, Illinois, dating from 1871 to 1872. The ledger is paired with an alphabetized index book corresponding to the ledger. Names included in the ledger and index are: Alexander Brown, Ed Benedict, Miss Clements, F. S. Fahnestock, A. W. French, Miss Jenny Graham, Mrs. N. M. Johnson, Robert H. Law, Keith, Baldwin & Sapp, James R. Smith, and N. H. Winter. The pages of the ledger are numbered and only pages 1-26 are filled in, while pages 27-253 are blank.

The volume includes tipped-in newspaper advertisements for Fahnestock, French & Co. for the Gold Medal Sewing Machine and advertisements seeking sales agents. These advertisements are cut out and pasted onto two pieces of loose paper.

There are also two blank bill heads for Fahnestock, French & Co./Gold Medal Sewing Machine (located at 393 W. Madison Street, Chicago). Also included is a printed pamphlet of instructions to sales agents for the Walking Motion Treadle for Sewing Machines by Keith, Baldwin & Co., dated April 1, 1872. There is also a one-page contract between Sapp, Keith & Baldwin of Cleveland, Ohio, and Fahnestock, French & Co.-- dated October 4, 1871-- granting the latter permission to sell Dr. Sapp's Walking Motion Treadle for Sewing Machines.

Publisher
University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
Finding Aid Author
Alexandra M. Wilder
Finding Aid Date
2017 May 11
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

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Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.

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Account ledger, 1871-1872.
Box 1 Folder 1
Account ledger index, 1871-1872.
Box 1 Folder 2
Advertisements for Gold Medal Sewing Machine (two pages), 1871-1872.
Box 1 Folder 3
Blank bill heads for Fahnestock, French & Co./Gold Medal Sewing Machines (two bill heads), undated.
Box 1 Folder 3
Contract between Sapp, Keith & Baldwin and Fahnestock, French & Co. for sale by the latter of Dr. Sapp's Walking Motion Treadle for Sewing Machines, 1871 October 4.
Box 1 Folder 3
Walking Motion Treadle for Sewing Machines Instructions to Agents, 1872 April 1.
Box 1 Folder 3

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