THE NEW ENGLAND BUSINESS DIRECTORY 1860

Boston: Adams, Sampson, & Co, 1860. First Edition. Hardcover. Collectible Very Good. 1st printing of this very scarce business directory covering six states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut. 1/2 leather and boards, the paper over boards containing both title and several pictorial ads. Text of listings and other info runs 912pp, much of the print font quite small to accommodate thousands and thousands of listings. Following this main section are over 208pp of ads, many with pictorial engravings. On the fore edge is printed in abbreviation the six states with a small thumb index to assist the reader to open up to a given state. I have named Samuel Colt to the authorship to draw attention to the fact that following page (664) Colt has four pages (two leaves) one a color paper. The heading is: "The Pioneers of Civilization COLT'S REVOLVING BREECH FIREARMS (small pictorial device showing five firearms) PISTOLS, RIFLES, CARBINES AND SHOT GUNS." Under this heading is "Simple Reasons for preferring Colt's Arm to all others." The second page shows a target with pin point marks on it, "Col. Colt's Military and Sporting Rifles" with text. Third page is a price list. Page four prints a "CAUTION" that has to do with a discussion of patents. But of course the huge bulk of this book is the listing of thousands of businesses in New England, divided state by state. Leading them are several pages of INDEX TO HEADINGS which remarkably lists each type of business with columns showing how many of each are in each of the six states. Following that is a POPULATION OF NEW ENGLAND section, county by county. And there is a list of telegraph stations in the entire United State. The section listing railroads in New England. The information just goes on and on. Vg condition with moderate wear to paper on the boards removing some text, but not very much. The leather spine has wear but is stable. Very scarce.