"GOODWIN'S IMPROVED BILL BOOK," and "No man is so wise, but may easily err, if he will take no other counsel but his own."- Ben Jonson Seventeenth Edition. REVISED AND ENLARGED. J. H. GOODWIN, 1215 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY. HARVAR Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, BY J. H. GOODWIN, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT, by J. H. GOODWIN, All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT, 1889, by J. H. GOODWIN, All rights reserved. PREFACE. There is no system of book-keeping, however excellent, which cannot, in some particular, be improved-and there is no man, however exalted in the scale of intelligence, who may not acquire some knowledge from his fellow-man, be the intellectual position of the latter never so lowly; therefore, let no man think that he is above instruction. When examining into the merits of a new system, we should remember that "man always believes more readily that which he prefers;" consequently, we should strive to put aside not only partiality for our own system but also prejudice against other systems, in order the better to judge of the intrinsic value of the system under consideration. It is the author's wish that you may thus test the merits of his book. The articles on "Book-keeping of 'A 1' Houses," covered in paragraphs 987 to IIII, were written, principally, from points given to the author by the following houses-each house contributing, through its particular system, something towards the whole Arnold, Constable & Co.; Austin, Nichols & Co.; Calhoun, Robbins & Co.; H. B. Claflin & Co.; Robert K. Davies & Co.; E. J. Denning & Co., successors to A. T. Stewart & Co.; E. S. Jaffray & Co.; J. & C. Johnston; Francis H. Leggett & Co.; Lesher, Whitman & Co.; Lord & Taylor; R. H. Macy & Co.; James McCreery & Co.; Mills & Gibb; Edward Ridley & Sons; Stern Brothers; Sweetser, Pembrook & Co.; Tefft, Weller & Co.; Frederick Vietor & Achelis. To these great houses, therefore, known as all of them are throughout the Union, and as many of them are throughout the World, the author is indebted for most of the material from which the articles on "A 1" houses were constructed. Pages 58, 72, and 137 to 278 were new in the eighth edition; pages 279 to the end of the book were new in the tenth edition. It has been the author's aim to make his articles clear, complete, and brief. Whenever it was not in his power, however, to make an article both brief and clear, he has sacrificed brevity for the sake of clearness. A brief article is of no value unless it is understood. Therefore, first in importance is clearness; second, completeness; and third, brevity. With these few words of introduction this work is brought before the public, in the hope that it may find a place on the desk of every book-keeper and of every business man as a book of reference. THE AUTHOR. PURCHASERS' PRIVILEGES. EAC 'ACH purchaser is given an ORDER NUMBER which will be found on the inside of the back cover of his book. This entitles him to the following privileges: GRATUITOUS ASSISTANCE. I. He is entitled to gratuitous assistance whenever any point of difficulty arises which is not covered in this book. Let the value of this privilege be noted, especially by those who appreciate counsel when perplexed by difficult problems. NEW POINTS. II. THREE DOLLARS will be remitted to the purchaser for any point of value which he has discovered in his own experience; provided that the point is not covered in this book, has not been previously given to the author, and is not to be found in any other book. BLANK BOOKS. III. ONE DOLLAR will be remitted to the purchaser for his first order for Blank Books, the regular price of which is as much as five dollars. (See page 299.) IF THE PURCHASER finds that all his valuable points are covered in this book, and that consequently he cannot secure the three dollars offered in Section II., let him place his next order for blank books with the author, and thereby secure the dollar offered in Section III. WHEN THIS BOOK is purchased from any person other than from the author, the purchaser is requested to send at once to the undersigned his name and address, order number, and the name of the firm by whom he is employed or of which he is a member. THE "OUTFIT which accompanies this book consists of papers numbered A, B, C, D, E, and F. As all of these papers are of considerable importance, the undersigned should be notified when any one of them becomes lost or misplaced, when a new copy will be sent. IN ALL CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE AUTHOR, the purchaser must give his ORDER NUMBER; otherwise he will not be entitled to the privileges mentioned on this page. J. H. GOODWIN, 1215 Broadway, New York. |