The folio volume is an account book that lists the business and personal transactions of Jonathan Monroe made during and after his years as a boot maker and cobbler. Monroe accounts for items purchased for business and personal use, work done on shoes and boots, items sold to others, and money paid others for their services. Monroe kept track of the number of boots and shoes worked on, and sometimes who they were for; of the work performed, including binding, bottoming, buffing, capping, clicking, cording, cutting sole leather, fitting, heeling, making, mending, patching, sewing, siding, stitching, and tapping; and of the different kinds of footwear, including boots (boy's, kip, long legs, thick, thin, men's, small, double sole, men's best, youth's), brogans, cacks, and shoes (thin, thick, small). He also mentioned working on insoles, uppers, straps, slippers, harnesses, and whip stocks. Monroe's biggest customer was Isaac Prouty (1798-1872) for whom he made boots and shoes to be sold by Prouty and, in turn, purchased many items from Prouty's store. Monroe also mentioned trips to Worcester to purchase goods. For the years 1839-1853, business for Monroe was good, after 1853 the volume of business dropped dramatically, and after 1858 there is no mention of it at all. The account book is not only important from a business aspect, but it also gives one a view of Monroe's personal life. He recorded tranactions of a personal nature; paying his postage, notes, taxes, newspaper subscriptions, and the Baptist Society. He also kept track of taxes paid for the years 1832-1863 and "Valuation my Real Estate 1852." The folder contains a newspaper clipping entitled "A Good Substitute for Paint" and bills and receipts of Monroe's son, John Wilder Monroe (1835-1888), dated 1876, from various stores.
