C. A. Burgess receipt book

1855-1864

Caleb Alonzo Burgess (1817-1896) was a commission merchant in New York City from the late 1840s to the late 1870s. By 1880, Burgess had established himself as a capitalist in mining ventures in San Francisco, where he died on May 24, 1896. The C. A. Burgess receipt book, 1855-1864, contains written and pasted receipts acknowledging Burgess's payments, chiefly at New York, to numerous merchants, their agents, and others for commodities such as cotton, raw silk, rice, flour, sugar, cocoa, pork products, and whiskey; services such as cartage, brokerage and storage; and interests in shared ventures. Entries, dated 1855 November-1864 April, include place and date of payment, quantity and type of goods, signature of payee and, occasionally, destination or point of origin, and ship. Locations mentioned include San Francisco, Mobile, New Orleans, and Australia. Transactions from 1860 forward, roughly three-quarters of the volume, pertain mostly to cotton, identifying quantity, cost, and payee. Also found are payments for mining and telegraph stock, City of San Francisco bonds, office rent, and a few personal expenses. The volume, labelled "Receipts No. 3 C.A.B." on its spine, with an interior ownership note "C. A. Burgess No. 3," is interleaved with blotting paper containing pasted items.