American Historical Ephemera & Photography

17 February 1847 to 7 December 1847, 524 pp, 9 x 11 in. with marbled boards (heavy wear, missing rear board, front board completely separated at spine, index detached, some transfers faint).

Alphabetical index at front of book listing addressees and corresponding page number(s) for letters. All letters are penned by "E.W. Hudson" from "Detroit" and contain descriptions of transactions, commodities, shipping, payments, prices, and other detailed business information. 

Elon W. ("E.W.") Hudson was a prominent Detroit citizen and businessman who settled in the area ca 1846 engaging first in shipping-related enterprises. He later went on to purchase and control vessels while engaging in shipbuilding and amassing large real estate holdings as well. The 1847 date on this book places it at the early onset of Hudson's time in Detroit.

[With:] Zack Chandler ship pay journal ca 1871 - 1872. Approx. 62pp utilized, 8 x 10 in. (heavy wear, missing boards, soil). Vessel sailed the Great Lakes throughout the late 1800s. Journal documents journeys primarily on the Buffalo-Chicago route and the crew that manned the vessels, noting names, dates of service, station, terms of service, and wages.

[Also with:] Pages from a ledger with accounting for various ships (appears to be two separate ledgers, some duplicate pages, very few overall pages in the group). -- A group of 3 United States Inspectors Certificates, one for Masters, one to Mates, and one to Engineers.