1888 Philadelphia Traction Co Oats Invoice L K Passmore Grain Commission
$ 6.86
Description
1888 Philadelphia Traction Co Oats Invoice L K Passmore Grain Commission. This 1888 commercial invoice from L.K. Passmore & Co., Grain Commission Merchants, documents a significant transaction with the Philadelphia Traction Company, providing a tangible record of the urban infrastructure's operational logistics during the late 19th century. The receipt, originating from the firm's offices at No. 12, Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia, details the purchase of 467 and 16/100 bushels of oats at a price of 43 and 1/100 cents per bushel, culminating in a total of $201.03 before additional recharges brought the final amount to $203.37. The Net Cash terms printed on the document underscore the period's commercial practices, demanding immediate payment for commodities. The Philadelphia Traction Company, a major operator of horse-drawn street railways before the widespread adoption of electric trolleys, required substantial quantities of oats to fuel its equine-powered transit system, making this grain commission slip a vital artifact of pre-electrification urban transport logistics and the ancillary industries that supported municipal mobility. The document's materiality reveals its history through characteristic foxing, slight discoloration consistent with iron gall ink and acidic paper, and a small tear in the upper left corner. The clerical handwriting, recording the receipt number 26162 and the meticulous fractional pricing, exemplifies the precise bookkeeping necessary for high-volume commodity trading. The presence of Recharges and the notation Cor of suggests this was a working document subject to accounting verification and potential adjustments. As a surviving piece of Philadelphia's commercial ephemera, this invoice offers a window into the city's grain trade, the economic ecosystem centered around its Chamber of Commerce, and the practical realities of sustaining a traction company during the Gilded Age, making it a significant primary source for historians of urban development, transportation, and 19th-century American commerce. PLEASE NOTE: This item may be folded in order to fit the mailer. Whenever possible, it will be folded using folds or creases that were already in the document.
