This notebook was used to record purchases of books and other materials while publisher George Merriam visited locations like Southwick, Granville, Sandisfield, Tyringham, and Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in 1839.
Merriam sometimes included comments about the towns, schools, and types of books wanted. For example, he declared Granville as "a very un-business-like place--where can they get books." He also occasionally included notes on clients, encounters with people, and business transactions.
George Merriam was born to parents Dan Merriam and Thirza Clapp in Worcester County, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1803. He married Abigail Willis Little (1807-1841) in May 1828, and Abigail "Abby" Fiske (1812-1875) in March 1842. Between both marriages, George had seven known children.
As a youth, George apprenticed at the printing office of his father and uncle. He began a book-selling and publishing business with his brother Charles in Springfield (G. and C. Merriam), making a series of school readers; in addition to the readers, the Merriam brothers' firm acquired the plates and copyright of Noah Webster's dictionary, and produced many of Webster's other works.
George Merriam died in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1880.
