Printer's Ledger

Object/Artifact

-

Windham Textile and History Museum

The image depicts a large old book resting on a wooden surface. The book’s binding appears worn and frayed along the edges, suggesting it has been handled frequently over the years. Its cover features a simple geometric design, with visible signs of wear and discoloration. The pages within are yellowed and irregular, some slightly curled or torn, indicative of its age and use.

The image depicts a large old book resting on a wooden surface. The book’s binding appears worn and frayed along the edges, suggesting it has been handled frequently over the years. Its cover features a simple geometric design, with visible signs of wear and discoloration. The pages within are yellowed and irregular, some slightly curled or torn, indicative of its age and use.

Name/Title

Printer's Ledger

Entry/Object ID

2025.42.01

Description

A cloth-bound ledger or record book with blank, ruled pages, containing pasted-in printer's proofs for customers in the greater Willimantic, CT area. Also contains a hand-written index. The cloth cover is faded green with black design work. Customers include a wide variety of local businesses, churches, clubs, political groups, etc. Entries are date from c. 1940 to c. 1965. The name of the printer is not noted, but is hypothesized to be the Hall and Bill Company, Willimantic largest printer during that period. The company opened in the late 1800s and closed in the early 1990s.

Use

In the era before digital printing, print shops routinely kept "proofs," copies of printed materials, in case their customers desired a reprint of a similar document in the future. Frequently, the proofs were pasted into blank account books, record books, or ledgers, to make them easy to find.

Collection

General Collection

Made/Created

Artist

Hall & Bill Printers and Publishers

Date made

circa 1940 - circa 1965

Time Period

20th Century

Place

Neighborhood

Willimantic, CT

City

Windham, CT

Continent

North America

Region

Northeast

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Book, Record

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Administrative Records

Nomenclature Class

Documentary Objects

Nomenclature Category

Category 08: Communication Objects

Dimensions

Height

14 in

Width

9 in

Depth

7 in

Colors

Color

Green, Black

Color Notes

Color refers to the cloth cover.

Location

Location

* Untyped Location

Archives U1-B-1

Category

Storage

Date

June 14, 2025

Condition

Overall Condition

Poor

Condition Detail

Back cover present, but torn off from spine

Date Examined

Jun 14, 2025

Examined By

Eves, J.

Provenance

Provenance Detail

Found Object

Created By

historian@millmuseum.org

Create Date

June 14, 2025

Updated By

historian@millmuseum.org

Update Date

June 22, 2025