I've become so enamored of very old books as objects and for the stories they tell about the people who owned them and how they were used, such that one just feels the presence of that life on every page--and this one is a case in point. The book, which its owner gave a custom leather cover with lovely hand-written title on paper pasted to the front--is Scriber's Ready Reckoner, published (in 1846) for ship builders, boat builders, and lumber merchants, which provides tables and measurements relating to scantling, boards, planks, square and round timber, saw-logs, wood, etc., as well as tables of wages, interest, and railroad distances - from Albany NY! Well and warmly worn, one can imagine that the E. Decker of Menasha, Wisconsin who owned it kept it very much at the ready, perhaps always in his pocket, reliant on it for his his living. I love seeing all the tables and charts, but best of all, to me, is a wonderful little drawing, perhaps a charicature of Decker himself, on the inside back cover.

5" x 3 9/16".  In very good condition for age, with wear to the cover but still tightly bounds and not fragile. 72 numbered pages.