Halifax Commercial School was founded around 1850 and remained in business until the early 1900’s when it was purchased by a bigger school system. The ledger found its way to me via a Connecticut estate sale.

This ledger had me stumped until I found the school info! It was a workbook from the school and the label shows S. E. Whiston as principal- one of the original founders of the school. Harding M. Gerhardt’s fancy signature is on the fly leaf. However, I was unable to find info about Mr. Gerhardt.

The first handwritten entry in the ledger was in 1892. Gerhardt’s ledger is an example of how people went about learning to do business. From filling out forms and accounting, to typing and sending telegrams, ordering supplies.

The receipts and money were all part of the workbook packet so students could practice their skills. They ran a ‘real’ business complete with invoices, receipts, cash and more.

**Please note that the receipts and such are NOT traded/used except for the school.**

They are a standard form that is filled out by the student. The papers date from 1892, some I believe to be earlier than that. There were several versions of the papers because they looked too close to the Canadian currency of the day. Students got caught passing off the bills as real money in town. Oopsie! That led to some design changes as time went on.

I have a Youtube video about this ledger, its history and bundle information. You can find it here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FV3hT9h_LSg

Each bundle includes:

2 folios/8 pages (front and back) all handwritten
2 folios of blank ledger page from the ledger
selection of the ephemera from the school- assortment of 8 pieces

Ledger pages measure 14 x 8 inches

Price: $15