Predecessor and Miscellaneous Companies
name: label: Collection Donor
content: Nickse, Hugo
label: Collection Donor
content: Johnson, Hanford
label: Collection Creator
content: Comstock, Cheney and Co.
label: Collection Creator
content: Pratt, Read and Company
label: Collection Donor
content: Steinway, Henry Ziegler
setName: label: See more items in
content: Pratt, Read Corporation Records
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1839-1870s
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0320, Series 1
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This series is composed primarily of early 19th century records from several of the ivory working companies that directly preceded the formation of Comstock, Cheney & Company.  The records include a cash book, dated 1847, from S. M. Comstock & Company, an 1860 agreement between Julius Pratt & Company and Pratt, Read for the joint sale of ivory combs, and tintype negatives of some of George Read & Company's early ivory cutting machines.  Other early records of importance include the minute book of Pratt, Spencer & Company, 184-1848, and the minute book of the Deep River Ivory Comb Company, 1860-1864.

The series also contains box labels  or photoprints of labels  from several manufacturers of ivory combs who were active in the same area of Connecticut in the early nineteenth century.  Although largely unrelated to Pratt, Read, these labels were part of the collection as received by the Archives Center.