Our collections are growing with amazing rapidity but there are still many things that should be contained in them.

(That our collections are proving serviceable in a wide variety of purposes is shown by the article which follows, a sketch interestingly recreating from the unlikely medium of a prosaic set of household account books, something of the domestic life of the old New Bedford whalers of a century ago. Ed.)

Announcement has recently been made in the public press of the projected fusion of business literature now contained in the Boston Public Library and the Harvard Business Library. These collections, together with that of The Business Historical Society and others, it is now planned to amalgamate into one unified collection of business material in the new Baker library building of the Harvard Business School.

Something of the determination with which Massachusetts, and particularly Boston, waged the struggle for connection with the West, that is to say, for existence, is mirrored in a rather scarce state document which the Society possesses. The “Report of the Commissioners of the State of Massachusetts on the Routes of Canals from Boston Harbor to the Connecticut and Hudson Rivers” (Boston, 1826) conceals, beneath a mass of engineering data, a vivid story of New England's past.

The Editor of the Bulletin feels that it is his privilege to acquaint our membership with those opportunities which appear from time to time to acquire small collections of primary business historical material. The funds at the disposal of the Society for the purchase of this rare old material are not yet sufficient to provide for all the collections that turn up, and rather than lose them, we feel sure that some of our members would, as in the past, appreciate being told of the opportunity to add to the collections of the Society.

In the days when New England lived on and through the sea, it was no unusual event for one of her tiny vessels to return home, after having spent three or four years knocking round the world, with its cost paid for and in its hold a cargo bought with a portion of its freight money. The modern imagination is struck with the tale of riches but is apt to relegate to the sphere of romance the chance stories of hardship and adventure that have come down.

The Library's constant growth in variety as well as in physical size is nicely illustrated by the recent acquirement of the three books which form the subject of this article. Not only is a very wide range of American material available, but also we are reaching out into other lands and other times.

The generosity of Mr. Joseph P. Day has recently enabled the Business Historical Society to buy an interesting little collection of pamphlets on transportation.

The Library has just added to its material relating to the early history of California the second volume of “The State Register and Year Book of Facts” (1859).

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts has recently given the Business Historical Society its endorsement, and in its weekly periodical — “Industry” — there has already appeared a two-page article descriptive of the purposes and functions of this Society.

To write the history of an industry in the days before income-tax returns and statistical departments is a baffling task. In the absence of complete records of any sort, — for the industry, for a locality, or even for a single company, — every scrap of evidence becomes a pearl of great price. Every production sheet or worker's contract, every order for machinery or letter about the business, must be used to fill in the blank spaces of the picture.

The above title is used to designate temporarily the numerous runs of chemical engineering journals for the period 1890-1920 which have just come in by purchase from the library of H. J. Williams. Mr. Williams was for many years the chemical expert in the fuel division of the Boston Elevated Railway Company.

The Society's set of the Scientific American, oldest of scientific periodicals in this country, is now complete, the first three volumes, 1845-46-47, all rare, having by the generosity of Mr. Joseph P. Day, a founder member, been acquired within this last month.

There has recently come to the Library a small collection of official “Appraisements of Estates,” all from Jefferson County, Georgia, and in date running from 1800 to 1820. These appraisements give an excellent idea of the nature of the small slave-holding estate of that period, the commodities, tools and implements upon it, the stock of household goods and the price of slaves.

Through the kindness and generosity of a number of friends of the Business Historical Society in the field of accountancy, a most valuable treasure has recently come into our hands.