(American Manuscripts & Autographs) 3 Vols. Palimpsestic Manuscript Business Ledgers. (Evans, Martin et al). (Philadelphia, PA). "Day Book and Journal, January 28, 1842"; "Ledger Book, 10 February, 1842"; "Cash Book, 24 February, 1842." Each in 4to in original marbled boards. Merchants' names roughly but deliberately obliterated in brown ink on the label each volume, with uncertain gloss "Martin Evans. Horatio Allen. Bryn Mawr Station" added in pencil, in a later hand, on paper label of "Day Book and Journal." Approximately 40pp each, the majority of which pasted over with later newsclippings, all consistently reflecting abolitionist affiliations and pacifist leanings; some pages do nevertheless evidence original manuscript clues such as "Dublin", "flaxseed", &c, many clippings having come loose. Significantly later news news fragments (ca 1870, terminus ante quem) treat race and demography ("Early Slavery in Massachussetts" and "Negroes in Railway Cars"); medical oddities ("Besieged by Famished Cats") and antisocial behavior; travel ("Cheap Living in Germany"); and current events, often of the Civil War era ("The Burial Place of Booth." Provenance: By family descent.