They relate to the business activities of Freeman Clarke of Rochester. The checks not only give an insight into nineteenth century business practices, but also reveal the decorative arts of the period. Many have engravings of cartouches and vignettes of historical and commercial scenes, including such subjects as ships, railroads, farming scenes, liberty, horses, eagles, and portraits.
Some checks have two and even three such engravings.
A few have the name of the printer, a number have revenue stamps from the Civil War period and later. Some of the checks are signed by locally prominent people. Historical Directory of the Banks of the State of New York . New York, New York State Bankers Association, 1946. Also with the collection are about 275 banking letters of protest from 1853.