For over forty years at the beginning of the railroad era, the Taunton Locomotive Works constructed engines of all shapes and sizes for railroads in every section of the country. Fragments of the fascinating history of this company may be recaptured by reading the two locomotive record books and one sales book now in the possession of the Baker Library.

In the development of our modern industrial society, the form of marketing institutions have constantly been in flux. New types of distribution have been brought forth to meet changing conditions only to become obsolete as a result of further change. An institution that became influential after the War of 1812, reached its heyday by 1825, and then declined into relative unimportance by 1840 was the wholesale auction system. In the Society's possession are the records of Jacob Peabody and Company, a Boston auction and commission house that operated in this era of the auctioneer. Study of the papers of this collection not only gives considerable detail on methods of conducting an auction business, but also discloses much on the historical development of the auction system in this period.

That the Boston collector of custom in the year 1843 was a proverbial “Jack of all trades” is revealed in a letter-book of the Boston Custom-House in the files of the Baker Library. Detector of criminals and smugglers, benefactor of sailors in distress, counsel for importing merchants, and adviser for foreign consuls — these were all tasks within the range of duties of this custom-house.

For several years the Society has been active in securing action photographs of industrial processes for deposit in the Baker Library, and during the past year the organization has carried on an intense campaign to enlarge this collection. Because of these efforts, the number of pictures has been increased to a point where there are now over two thousand items.

In the history of America, war has proved a powerful stimulus to industry. Naturally, hostilities will bring forth increased activity in most branches of trade, which enhancement of activity lasts only during the persistence of the war stimulus. However, there have been a few industries in each major war that have been permanently advanced. A survey of the diversified collections in the Society's possession calls to mind certain industries that normal development would have caused to bloom at a much later date and others that might never have been developed had it not been for the exciting influence of war.

When Illinois was still a part of the American frontier, the Chicago Historical Society began collecting and preserving manuscripts and museum pieces important in the development of the great Northwest. It was in 1856 that a group of Chicago's foremost citizens, led by Dr. William Barry, founded the Society. A year later the organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of Illinois. According to the articles of incorporation, the purpose of the Society is “to institute and encourage historical inquiry and to collect and preserve the materials of history especially concerning the states carved from the Old Northwest Territory.” In this broad field, the activities of the institution have been chiefly of two sorts, the assembly of manuscripts and other material for its Library and the collection of historical pieces for its Museum.

As a result of an invitation from the Pan American Union of Washington, D. C., to participate in the commemoration of Pan American Day on April 14, the Baker Library has installed a special exhibit of materials on the industry and commerce of all Central and South American countries.

In collecting historical material, a society such as ours counts itself fortunate if from time to time the inflow of material, valuable because of its prospective usé, is sweetened by the appearance of items valuable because of their scarcity — and so usually valuable in a monetary sense.

In order to reconstruct the story of West Virginia's growth and in turn to throw light on the State's connection with our national development, the West Virginia University Collection of Historical Manuscripts at Morgantown was established in 1931. Since then, voluminous material pertaining to various significant events in the political, economic, and social evolution of the State has flowed into the Library. It is the purpose of this article to review the economic and business aspects of this collection, although, of course, it is recognized that the institution gives equal emphasis to other phases of history.

An interesting sidelight on the attitude of white laborers toward potential competition from slaves in the pre-Civil War period is found in the Baker Library's Baldwin collection.

In the development of a great industry or a new territory there is quite often one man who stands out as a symbol of its evolution. Such was the case in the development of the upper peninsula of Michigan. The man was Peter White; and the truth of this statement is borne out by even a hasty perusal of the voluminous papers, account books, and letters in the White collection held by the Baker Library.

The story of that epochal day when Europe and America were first successfully connected by cable is told in the “Diary of the Great Eastern Telegraph,” written on board the ship that completed the task in 1866. A copy of this diary, one of the few actually printed on board the ship, and autographed by Cyrus W. Field, is available in the Baker Library.

Letters asking persons to become agents for a novel device or a patent medicine, although grossly exaggerating the qualities of the advertised product, are not unusual; but when a counterfeiter pens a letter to secure an agent for the distribution of illicit dollars, it is indeed a curiosity. Two such extraordinary letters may be found in the files of the Society.

Collecting historical data possesses a lure somewhat akin to the joy of solving a tantalizing puzzle. A bit of information here, a manuscript there, and finally that last scrap of material is found which places the historical event in its true perspective. This process of building up certain business historical information into an understandable whole is often evidenced in the operations of the Business Historical Society.

The recent acquisition by the Baker Library of two booklets on Wall Street, one of them issued by a broker in the days of the Civil War and the other issued by another broker about 1880, calls to mind the many changes, not only in the physical appearance of the Street but also in the procedure of conducting business, that have taken place since 1850.