A receipt for the sale of twenty four bales of cotton sold on behalf of Aaron Spell, March 25, 1836.

This document and the following document are receipts for cotton sold on behalf of cotton planter Aaron Spell on two separate occasions, one before the panic, in 1836, and one during the panic, in 1840. On this receipt, the numbers in columns represent bale numbers and weights. The total weight is then multiplied by the price paid per pound of cotton, in this case seventeen cents per pound for the first group of fifteen bales, and sixteen cents per pound for the second group of nine bales. Varying sale prices may suggest that some of the cotton was better quality than the rest. The notes at the bottom of the receipt detail additional charges deducted from the total sale price, such as shipping, storage, insurance, and broker’s fees.

Transcription:

Sale 24 Bales Cotton by order and for account of Aaron Spell Esq.

Sold N N Wilkinson

A Spell

[[object Object]]

Bale 7; Weight: 440

Bale 28; Weight 434

Bale 14; Weight 406

Bale 10; Weight 412

Bale 4; Weight 492

Bale 23; Weight 400

Bale 17; Weight 433

Bale 9; Weight 400

Bale 16; Weight 378

Bale 21; Weight 425

[[object Object]]

Bale 18; Weight 454

Bale 2; Weight 423

Bale 13; Weight 430

Bale 8; Weight 430

Bale 15; Weight 423

4223 [[object Object]] 2160 [[object Object]] 6383 @ 17¢ [[object Object]] $1085.11

(Total weight from column 1 top plus total weight from column 2 top)

[[object Object]]

Bale 20; Weight 421

Bale 19; Weight 420

Bale 1; Weight 382

Bale 25; Weight 411

Bale 3; Weight 416

[[object Object]]

Bale 26 / Weigt 420

Bale 24 / Weight 406

Bale 5 / Weight 455

Bale 2 / Weight 407

2050 [[object Object]] 1688 [[object Object]] 3738 @ 16¢ [[object Object]] $598.08

(Total weight from column 1 bottom plus total weight from column 2 bottom)

[[object Object]] $1683.19

Charges

Paid freight at $1.25 per bale...$30.00

[[object Object]] River Insurance on $70 “[[object Object]]” [[object Object]] ¾% [[object Object]] Pol[[object Object]] $1...13.60

[[object Object]] fire @ ¼% [[object Object]]... 4.21

[[object Object]] Drayage Storage Labor and Weighing @ 50 ¢ [[object Object]]...12.00

Commission 2 ½...42.08

[[object Object]] 101.89

Net Proceeds Dollars $1581.30

E + OE Due in cash 5 April

New Orleans 26 March 1836 for Leigh Maddux & C.

M. Conway