| Summary: | Chiefly 325 letters gathered into one bound volume that were written to Beatty by customers and providers between 1867-1869. The letters shed light on the way the grocery business was conducted, how foodstuffs were shipped, problems of price and food quality, and relationships among dealers and customers. Most customers lived in Georgia, while Beatty's wholesale merchants plied their trade in New York City and Philadelphia. The majority of the food was shipped by steamer, though a few orders were carried by passenger train. Sometimes Beatty or his clients complained of poor quality or rotten food. The writers also frankly discussed prices, often commenting that other grocers charged less for certain items. Though the letters were written in the middle of Reconstruction, most do not mention the Civil War. Only one letter is from Beatty himself, dealing with fruit shipments. Few letters have personal details, but in one, in July 1868, the author offered sympathies for the death of Beatty's wife. The collection also includes a short manuscript titled "The Product of one man's labour on [a] farm in Southern Georgia," written in 1844. Acquired as part of the George Washington Flowers Collection of Southern Americana. (01-025)
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