Marie E. Crosthwaite household account book : manuscript.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Author/Creator:

Baber, Marie Eugenie Emma, 1843-1916, compiler.

Contributor:

Faye and Gerson Blatnick Special Collections Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Home economics.

India.

India--History--British occupation, 1765-1947.

India--Social life and customs.

Genre:

account books

codices (bound manuscripts)

Manuscripts, English -- 19th century.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Jarndyce Antiquarian Booksellers (London, England), 2020.

Physical Description:

1 volume (256 pages) ; 32 x 21 cm

Production:

Gooty, India, 1875-1878.

Biography/History:

This account book was probably kept by Marie Eugenie Emma Baber who was born in Manutoddy, Madras, India on October 15, 1843. Baber married Charles John Crosthwaite (1841-1881) in India on December 30, 1874. Together they had three children before Charles’s death. At some point after Crosthwaite’s death, Baber moved to Kent, England. Baber married Edward Young (1854-1927) in Kent and together they had four children. Baber died in Kent on November 24, 1916, and is buried in St. Margaret’s Cemetery in Rochester, Kent.

Summary:

The Marie E. Crosthwaite household account book was written by Marie E. Crosthwaite in Gooty, India between 1875 and 1878. The book contains the accounts and financial considerations related to running a British Indian household during British Raj. The volume is bound in half leather with marbled paper covers and was printed at “Madras Mail” by J.J. Craen. It is divided into sections that include calendar (p. 3), cash account (p. 6-29), house account (p. 31-150), wine & beer (p. 152-173), Dhoby’s list (p. 175-222), wages (p. 223-226), visiting memoranda (p. 227-242), and correspondence (p. 243-256).Some of these sections are more comprehensively used than others. There are very few entries and numerous blank pages in the cash account, wine & beer, and visiting memoranda sections. The House account, Dhoby’s list, wages, and correspondence sections, however, are very well-used. The house account includes a daily log of money spent on various grocery items from October 1875 through December 1878. Dhoby’s list records items sent out for laundry cleaning services. This section does not contain pricing, but rather an inventory of the specific items sent and returned. The Dhoby’s wages are recorded in the wages section. The wages section records the monthly wages for each member of the household staff. This staff includes an Ayah, butler, cook, cook’s matey, Tunneecatch, sweeper, punkah men, gardener, water man, housekeeper, grass cutter, Dhoby, dog boy, and matey. Finally, the correspondence section includes an itemized log of the daily incoming and outgoing correspondence from October of 1875 through March of 1876. Most of the correspondence is to and from “Mama.”

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Faye and Gerson Blatnick Special Collections Fund.

Cited as:

Marie E. Crosthwaite Household Account Book (Oversize Ms. Codex 2261). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

OCLC:

1515506371