Boston City Directory 1859-1860 Over 500 Pages + More Than 88 Pages Ads!

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Boston City Directory for Year Ending June 31, 1860With Many Illustrated Advertisements Description Boston Directory, for the Year Ending June 30, 1860, : Embracing the City Record, A General Directory of the Citizens, and a Business Directory. [cover title: Boston Directory for the Year Commencing July 1, 1859] Boston: Adams, Sampson, & Co. 1859 This is a scarce hardcover title of Boston history, the famous Boston Directory for 1859-60; 628 pages of Boston citizens and most interestingly, page after page of vintage ads, sometimes with small engravings or illustrations, of Boston and American commerce and manufacturing; railroads, corset makers, malt wine brewers, machinists, foundry stoves, iron ships, jewelry, clothing, locomotives -- a snapshot of America at the beginning of its industrial might. The Boston Directory was one of the most important personal and commercial references in early America; intact copies are quite hard to find, as the books were used and then thrown away.WorldCat (OCLC) lists only one copy worldwide.. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book are the 88 pages of ads which offer a comprehensive overview of Yankee industry and commerce; the directory itself is a detailed source of information on Boston, including its banks, commercial firms, railroads, tow boat companies, etc. As mentioned, in the advertising section (and also at times in the commercial section) are numerous engraved or illustrated vignettes of building facades, machines, locomotives, wooden Indians (for snuff and tobacco dealers), carriages, baby carriages, etc. "The Boston Directory of Boston, Massachusetts, was first published in 1789. It contained "a list of the merchants, mechanics, traders, and others, of the town of Boston; in order to enable strangers to find the residence of any person." Also included were listings for public officials, doctors, bank directors, and firemen. The directory was issued annually after 1825; previously it had appeared irregularly.The number of listings in each directory reflected fluctuations in the population size of Boston. In 1789, the directory included some 1,474 listings; by 1875, there were 126,769. Publishers included John Norman (1789); John West (1796-1803); Edward Cotton (1805-1818); Charles Stimpson (1820-1846); George Adams (1846-1857);] Adams, Sampson & Co. (1858-1865); Sampson, Davenport & Co. (1865-1884); Sampson, Murdock & Co. (1885-1903); Sampson & Murdock Co. (1904-ca.1930); R.L. Polk & Co. (1944-ca.1980).,This book is hard cover, bound in the original printed paper over hardcover boards, with cloth spine. It measures 9 ¼” by 6’, 628 pages (540 of directory, 88 pages of ads); it is in fair antiquarian condition; the hinges are starting but holding; the boards show wear and age toning, tearing and staining, spine with edge fraying, title in gilt legible but fading, pages with old humidity stains, page 3 corner torn, pages are firmly bound; a nice old doodle on the back of one blank, all in all, though, a pleasing copy of a scarce book of Boston memorabilia. Shipping & Payment Terms WE ARE LOCATED IN CANADA. US Customers – For books under $200 we ship twice or more a week using the US Postal Service via our courier from Canada to the US. We are able to offer competitive rates with this service, but if you require quicker shipping, please inquire. For books over $200 we ship via CanadaPost from Toronto. Canadian customers -- we may have to charge HST/GST for Canadian purchases. However, shipping is generally lower than on ebay’s shipping cost calculator. Email me with your province and I’ll be happy to calculate HST and shipping. We are happy to combine shipping! For our international customers, import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding/buying. These charges are normally collected by the delivering freight (shippin... read more

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