Scope of collection
The account book of C.S. Toppan, a wealthy merchant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, contains 298 hand-written pages detailing his ventures in ship owning and his investments in manufacturing companies and real estate. He began the book with total assets as of January 1845 of his "property in possession...the same being valued as is earmarked for capital in trade." Among his debtors were various men, women, businesses (Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Massachusetts), religious groups (Baptist Society), and political groups (Whig Committee). The last pages were written by his will executors, describing his estate at his death.
