It is the 20th anniversary of the return of one of my favorites from our collection- an antebellum sheriff's notebook from 1842-1877. Read on and click through the ledger slideshow.
The book was bound by Burges and Walker of Stationers' Hall, located at 85 East Bay St. The two worked together from 1838 to 1843, and Burges was previously employed as a City Printer during the 1830s, perhaps making him the go-to bookbinder for city supplies.
The book is bound in calf leather with a simple design before opening to multicolored marbled paper. It contains a bright orange ad from the manufacturer, showcasing their different typefaces and products. The book is in fragile condition, with the spine barely attached and every touch leaving behind remnants of tannins.
It appears that the book once belonged to Hon. Robert Elfe (1797-1853). Elfe was elected Sheriff in 1842, the same year the book was made and purchased. He was formerly a judge and senator from St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish and even applied to the role of Clerk of Council. Elfe conducted the sheriff sales- or reselling of repossessed goods, houses, and enslaved people- and recorded the figures in this ledger until 1852. The book was later taken by Union soldier John Carlton Merritt (1844-1932). Merritt served in the Civil War between 1862 and 1865 before returning home to upstate New York with the book, perhaps as a wartime spoil.
Merritt's signatures, practice alphabets, ink smudges, notes, and math problems are littered throughout the pages, adding a layer of interest to this artifact. The book lived on as a family account book briefly during the 1870s, with pages filled out by Merritt's mother and sister.
An unexpected addition includes a series of leaves pressed into the book's back pages by an unknown contributor. Most leaves are long gone, leaving behind shadows of their existence, but one fern remains perfectly preserved.
In 2004, the ledger went up for auction at M & S Rare Books, Inc. in Providence, Rhode Island. Working with City officials, Charleston historian and archivist Harlan Greene acquired the ledger and it returned home to the Records Management Division of the City of Charleston. [Click here to read more about Greene]
This account book teaches us a lot: how paper was used in the 19th century, how the city operated sheriff sales in the antebellum period, how objects move about time and place, particularly during war, and about the Great Memory Loss encountered by our city [read more here]. It also serves as a reminder that our possessions today are artifacts tomorrow, no matter how insignificant they may seem.
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