Waverly, Pa. Inventory of Goods, A. Bedford, L. Batchelor & Co., May 6, 1850. [caption title of general merchants’ and druggists’ manuscript account book]

—

---

Manuscript inventory book listing assets and liabilities of Bedford, Batchelor & Co., general merchants and druggists in Waverly, Lackawanna, County, Pennsylvania. The business was founded by Dr. Andrew Bedford, a pioneer settler, and Leonard Batchelor. The first store burned in 1849, but was rebuilt quickly, likely suggesting that this 1850 account book documents the state of the business at its re-opening.

The company’s inventory of goods and their values is recorded in detail. Eleven pages listing pharmaceutical products —chemicals, solutions, oils, drops, tinctures, pills, patent medicines, nursing bottles, etc.— suggests that these medical goods were an important part of the company’s business. Other sections record separate assets like store fixtures, notes (i.e. pledges to pay), legal judgments, and open accounts.

Dr. Andrew Bedford (1800–1890), a native of Wyoming, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, graduated from Yale’s medical school. He began his medical practice in 1825 and settled in Waverly in 1826. Bedford was one of the first directors of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad and a delegate to the Pennsylvania constitutional convention of 1837 and 1838.

Ante-bellum business and financial snapshot of a general merchants’ and druggists’ re-entry to the marketplace after a disaster.

Sold